Book Review: On Bicycles

I just completed reading On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike culture Can Change Your Life edited by Amy Walker, cofounder of Momentum magazine. Amy Walker opens up the collaboration by sharing her experience living in various cities and commuting by bike, many of which was about San Francisco which I completely connected to immediately. I was mostly impressed by the wide group of cycling writers who contributed to sharing the ways that biking can change, and is changing, lives and cities. The perspectives from activist, policy makers, business owners, parents, and planners opens a dialogue for North Americans who would like to start using a bicycle as a means for commuting and fun.

There is a lot of interactive information starting from Why We Ride, Bike Style, Transporting Kids, Activism, Different Types of Bikes, Women and the Benefits of Biking, Bike Business, and thoughts on redesigning infrastructure and culture to encourage safe and better cycling in cities. It’s definitely friendly to those who aren’t knowledgeable about city planning, bicycles, or bike culture and would be a great gift for someone who’s interested in making the change from car to bike or incorporating their family into commuting by bike.

It’s great to see a collaboration like this while every page is filled with something adventurous and new for even someone like me whose been in the know for a bit now. iIm a huge fan of community building to bringing in change for sustainable development and this was one of those knowledge tools that has empowered me to take activism to new level.