Art of Cycling: A Guide to Bicycling in 21st-Century America

by Robert Hurst, Marla Streb (Foreword by)

Overview

The bicyclist is under attack from all directions - the streets are ragged, the air is poison, and the drivers are angry. As if that weren't enough, the American cyclist must carry the weight of history along on every ride.

After a brief heyday at the turn of the twentieth century, American cyclists fell out of the social consciousness, becoming an afterthought when our cities were planned and built. Cyclists today are left to navigate, like rats in a sewer, through a hard and unsympathetic world that was not made for them. Yet, with the proper attitude and a bit of knowledge, cyclists can thrive in this hostile environment.

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 modern streets and roadways. The Art of Cycling dismantles the bicycling experience and slides it under the microscope, piece by piece. Its primary concern is safety, but this book goes well beyond the usual tips and how-to, diving in to the realms of history, psychology, sociology, and economics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762751976
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/01/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Robert Hurst 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.

Read an Excerpt

¿Road rash is a precious gift. Road rash is your friend. Bask in it, appreciate it, love it. Above all, learn from it¿

¿Even after a successful tuck-and-roll maneuver, the cyclist is left with a discomforting sense of the terrible force involved with hitting the street. The pavement is not soft. You never say to yourself, man, I want to try that again¿

¿The Door Zone is a brutal, sadistic taskmaster. The Door Zone is a total beeyotch.
Getting "doored," as it is universally known in the language of cycling, is a violent, completely unpleasant experience. Unfortunately, it's also a rite of passage for urban cyclists, who remain difficult to convince about the treacherous nature of the DZ until they experience it for themselves. Then they never want to go near a door again¿

¿Theoretically, the most effective stopping force that can be applied to a wheel comes at the moment just before the wheel locks up. This leads many to believe that the shortest stops will involve no skidding. On a bicycle, it doesn't work that way. The rear wheel skid is almost automatic when the front brake is applied correctly. Trying not to skid the rear wheel in a maximum stop is like trying to keep the eyes open during a sneeze¿

¿The cyclists' struggle for visibility has been a noble and long-fought effort. Problem is, it hasn't worked. No matter how much tinsel and ornamentation we attach to ourselves, no matter how many flashing beacons we strap to our backsides, no matter what previously unseen degree of neon insanity we manage to surpass in our jersey selections, some drivers continue to look right through us, as if we were-that's right--invisible.
The dream of visibility is a sweet siren's song that will, eventually, lead us into the rocks. Not that visibility is a bad thing, mind you, we all love visibility. It's just that an attitude of faith in visibility puts the rider on a slippery slope on the way to complacency, which is a very dangerous place for an urban cyclist to hang out¿

¿Consider the condition of some of the drivers locked in the typical urban traffic grid. They're trying to make a left turn, but all they see is an unbroken line of fast-moving vehicles coming at them, with no end in sight. They're late. They're hopped up on four cups of coffee.
fs20They're about to pee their pants. They've been waiting to make that left turn since the Mesozoic Era. Actually, they've been waiting about 30 seconds or so, but to them it seems like a very long time. Like the dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era, their eyes are bigger than their brains. Suddenly, a small gap opens in oncoming traffic. They're going to hit that gap if it's the last thing they do. They stomp on the gas and crank the wheel. This is the Gap Effect in action.
One big problem, though-there's a cyclist in the gap, puttering along¿

Table of Contents

(1) Frankenstein's Monster (2) The City Surface (3) In Traffic (4) Bicycle Accidents and Injuries (5) Air Pollution and the Urban Cyclist (6) Punctures and Flat Tires (7) Equipment (8) Of Bicycles and Cities

Editorial Reviews

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"This empowering cycling book should come in the glove box of every new car sold" — Marla Streb, World Champion Downhill Mountain Bike Racer "While it's hard to imagine a book about [urban] cycling could fill over 250 pages, let alone strive to be a near masterpiece, that's just what The Art of Urban Cycling: Lessons from the Street, and all-encompassing how-to book by veteran bicycling messenger Robert Hurst, has accomplished.""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)

From the Publisher