The coming global oil crisis, mapped and explained
The largest oil shock in history is just weeks away – what’s going to happen when it hits? We dig into futures markets, supply chains, and more to map out how the world economic order is about to be remade.
Max Fisher is a veteran journalist who has reported from over 20 countries. His show, The Bigger Picture, illuminates our world by exploring how it really works, from the sweep of geopolitics to the deepest recesses of our minds. Before going independent, Max was a staff writer at The Atlantic and The Washington Post, a founding editor of Vox, and a long-time foreign correspondent and columnist for The New York Times, where he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His book, The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World, was an NPR and New Yorker best book of 2022.
This is the second time recently I’ve seen you proselytizing for ebikes here recently and you make very convincing arguments. Let’s say I have a less than stellar opinion of the median American driver, what kind of safety gear do you run with? I poked around on reddit earlier for answers and saw everything from helmet + glasses/goggles + gloves to full on riding gear recommended.
i’ve read that drivers give you more room if you have long hair and no helmet, so gear kinda depends on what you’re worried about. there’s crashes where you want it, crashes where no amount of it will save you, and crashes where maybe you’d rather die from it than have lifelong problems and debt.
I overdress for it and use that as thermal layering since crashing one at 32kmh is basically equivalent to falling off a one floor house. What I spend now, I make up for in lost wages and physical therapy costs that I’d incur from breaking a single bone.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6XSHJ95 - Reinforced jacket with pads everywhere I’m likely to contact and a fleece layer. If I keep it open I’m good to ride up to 35C, fully zipped and insulated it’s all I need to ride at 0C.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DY81F43X - Reinforced gloves with pads, wrist guards, and webbed fingers to keep me from splaying them out in a crash. These are all I need to 5C, with a thermal layer beneath them if colder
amazon.com/dp/B0FK4KTCSQ - Heated gloves. These allow me to ride to -20C which is my max. At that point I have two layers of pants, 4~ torso layers, a scarf, a full helmet, and a ski mask which makes it bearable.
amazon.com/dp/B094X9C28Y - Full face helmet. I use this one when it’s cold and an open one (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZXZK6BC) when it’s hot. If the weather is nice and I don’t plan to do any risky riding, I wear a normal half shell helmet with MIPS.
I also use a smartwatch that has accelerometer-linked fall detection (Google Pixel). If I go down, it tries to wake me for a minute before calling 911 and my emergency contact with GPS coordinates. Both android and apple options do that. It’s a nice backup that also lets me dial in my heartrate to the target zone (220 minus your age, 50-80% of that) and maintain it across the ride. The only other accessory I’d want for safety is one of those Garmin traffic radars that audibly alerts you as it detects cars.
Wow this is a very detailed answer, thank you for
your attention in this matter!sharing your valuable insight on both the setup and the reasoning. Edit: The fall detection is really neat emergency tech. I noticed you did not list any protective pants here, I assume that omission is intentional?Those watches are neat now. I didn’t like when they were gimmicky step counters, but having cardiac feedback and a life alert button is good peace of mind since I usually ride alone. I don’t have any special pants yet beyond wearing a fleece layer below 0C. Those would be nice for hip and knee impacts. The big leg injury you risk though is the bike tipping over onto you, called Lime Leg in the UK. I don’t know if there are padded pants that reinforce your femur and lower leg bones.
Cool thanks again for putting this info out on here and also explaining the wherefore behind it. Like you said in your other reply, any bone that doesn’t get broken is worth it.