The Art of Cycling: A Guide to Bicycling in 21st-Century America (Paperback)
Description
Road rash is a precious gift. Road rash is your friend.
Bask in it, appreciate it, love it. Above all, learn from it.
Covering much more than just riding a bike in traffic, author Robert Hurst paints, in uncanny detail, the challenges, strategies, and art of riding a bike on America's streets and roadways. His primary concern is safety, but he goes well beyond the usual tips and how-to, diving into the realms of history, psychology, sociology, and economics.
The Art of Cycling empowers readers with the big picture of riding a bicycle in America--and gives cyclists useful insights to consider while pedaling the next commute, grocery run, or training ride. Riding a bike will never be the same.
About the Author
Robert Hurst is a veteran bicycle messenger and all-around cyclist who has cycled more than 150,000 miles and 15,000 hours in heavy traffic. In this time, he has completed something like 80,000 deliveried. He is a native Coloradan who is just happy to be in one piece after working for more than ten years as a professional bike messenger in Denver. He celebrates his continued survival by spending time in the mountains, and by riding the world's most excellent trails. Mr. Hurst is also the author of Mountain Biking Colorado's San Juan Mountains and Road Biking Colorado's Front Range (FalconGuides).
Praise for The Art of Cycling: A Guide to Bicycling in 21st-Century America…
“While there are thousands of books on bicycling, this is the best book I’ve come across for offering lots of hard-earned, practical advice for staying alive. Happily, Hurst is a skilled writer with a passion for history, so he weaves a tale that gives historical and even philosophical perspective in a manner I found totally engaging. . . . [A] gem of a book.”
—Huffington Post
"With a spot-on foreword written by Luna downhiller Marla Streb and a detailed index of footnotes and bibliography, Hurst has compiled a cerebral but hip manifesto for [urban] cyclists looking to coexist in a system that has left them to fend for their lives." -- VeloNews, Journal of Competitive Cycling "I would like to highly recommend the book "The Art of Urban Cycling: Lessons from the Street" by Robert Hurst. Not only is it delightfully written (with a sense of humour and a relaxed style) and absorbing ("just a second, dear, I'll take out the trash after I read about curbs"), but it's *dead on*. I've been riding my whole life, never having owned a car, to get everywhere from school to grocery shopping to Canada. And he's *right*. Katherine Stange, Providence, RI (Amazon review)
"There are other books about cycling that are worth reading (such as Effective Cycling by John Forester) but I think this one is the best of the bunch." - Cliff Heegel (Memphis, TN)
"The best "how to" cycling book out there. I've bought several copies for myself, strategically placed to rarely be far from one. Having ridden in cities for over 40 years, I still found every page, infact almost every paragraph contained a pearl. Pros and cons of controvertial issues are presented, and with excellent references, making the author's recommendations so much more authoritative." - Hansel de Sousa (Bethlehem, PA)
