Forward, Comrades!

Summary: A look at the growing urban bike culture in the United States and Europe, with a special emphasis on the personalities involved.

Rating: 5/5

Availability: Order it from Powell’s if you want to feel authentic. Otherwise you could go for the usual, Amazon.

“I often saw cyclists running red lights, riding the wrong direction on one-way streets, and weaving through thickets of pedestrians with abandon. And did I mention that no one is wearing a bike helmet?”

“Wolters was surprisingly adamant in dismissing the notion that the police should target cyclists or pedestrians who violate traffic laws (with the exception of the requirement that cyclists have lights at night; the police do regard that as important and well worth enforcing). The target of the police is not to control cyclists and pedestrians,” he said. “It is to control the most dangerous part, motorcar drivers.” (emphasis added)

These words from Jack Wolters, traffic safety officer in Amsterdam are pretty surprising to American ears, especially after our recent meeting with the Austin Police Chief. On top of that, our own draft bicycle plan agrees with APD to an extent. Here though, Jeff Mapes has found a completely different opinion.

The dangerous vehicles on the road are the cars and trucks, not the cyclists.

This is not a radical’s book, necessarily. Pedaling Revolution is written by a newspaper reporter, and for the most part it feels like reporting. That’s not to say the book is dry by any means but you will certainly get a lot of facts thrown at you in 276 pages. A lot.

Jeff Mapes is an Oregon reporter who covers politics and cycling issues (sounds familiar) at OregonLive. Bike Portland has a bit more of a look into their hometown guy in their own review of Pedaling Revolution.

For the most part Pedaling Revolution feels like a long series of in-depth interviews mingled with the Author’s own experiences traveling to Europe and back home in Portland, Los Angeles, New York, Davis, California, and other “cycling meccas.”

Some of the best and most enthusiastically written portions cover, of course, Jeff Mapes’ own city of Portland where he focuses in on several of the notable bike culture personalities such as “Reverend Phil.”

I wouldn’t try to read this book in one sitting. It’s best digested in small portions and then kept around later almost as a “bike culture reference” of sorts just for all of the raw facts (and contact names!) you’ll find. For a cycling advocate this book is a must read. For others, maybe not so much. If you aren’t interested in all the details, names, and history in our growing bike culture, then you may not like this book at all.

Me? I’m a bike geek I guess. I loved this book and I’m keeping it. Go get your own copy!