Hi, I'm Willow Belden and you're listening to Out There, the podcast that explores big questions through intimate stories in the outdoors.

On this episode, we have a story about a cyclist, a cyclist who won't shut up. His name is Noam Osband, and he lives in New York City,

which has not traditionally been a bike-friendly place. Bikes are slowly becoming more commonplace there,

but animosity towards cyclists still runs deep. The streets are full of pedestrians,

tourists, food carts, buses, cars.

So it's hard to be heard and easy for frustration to boil over.

Sometimes you feel you have to raise your voice and shout at people just to get anywhere on a bike.

But earlier this year, something happened on the Brooklyn Bridge that changed the way Noam thinks about things.

On today's episode, he shares his story.

It's a story about communication and about how to get what we want.

I'll let Noam take it from here.

I've always been a chatterbox.

I just like people.

When I wait in line at a supermarket or a pharmacy, I always start a conversation with the person next to me.

Typically, I ask people questions about themselves.

Nothing too personal, nothing too direct, and most folks

really just open up, as if they've been waiting for someone to puncture that invisible bubble

of propriety that separates us from each other.

Part of the pleasure of these conversations is just the randomness.

I'm with complete strangers, but for a brief moment, the parallel lines of our lives intersect.

I find that really special.

It's just always been in my nature to engage with people like this, But what I didn't realize until recently was that this tendency might be more than just a goofy character trait.

...