Cyclist's Manifesto The Case For Riding On Two Wheels Instead Of Four

by Hurst, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780762751280
• ISBN10: 0762751282
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-05
• Publisher: Falcon Guides

Summary

Robert Hurst takes off his gloves to lay out the case in favour of the bicycle as today's superior mode of transport - and to voice a resounding call to action for people to use it. In an engaging narrative that takes us from the past to the present and into the future, the author visits a surprising variety of places and historical moments. Hurst argues that the West's aversion to bicycling for transportation is a unique historical - cultural absurdity based largely on false assumptions and bad information. Humorous but more than a little exasperated, "The Cyclist's Manifesto" paints a tantalizing picture of just what the effects of substantially increased bicycle usage might be - the health care savings would be astronomical, for example, and the ways that individuals and governments can go about wresting back control over their energy destiny.

Author Biography

Robert Hurst is a veteran bicycle messenger and all-around cyclist who has cycled more than 180,000 miles and 18,000 hours in heavy traffic. In this time, he has completed something like 85,000 deliveries. He is a native Coloradan who is just happy to be in one piece after working for more than twelve 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 The Art of Cycling, Mountain Biking Colorado's San Juan Mountains and Road Biking Colorado's Front Range (FalconGuides).

Table of Contents

Interesting Times
Of Explosions and Implosions	p. 1
The Invisible Solution	p. 4
Circle of Power
Night Dreams	p. 8
The Bicycle Idea	p. 9
Maxim, Pope, and the LAW	p. 12
To Be Taken Seriously	p. 15
Gapers	p. 17
Not Enough	p. 18
Ford Gawks King	p. 19
Flight	p. 21
Hot Bikes	p. 22
Camel Nation	p. 24
A Tool for Liberty and Oppression	p. 26
Circle of White Power	p. 30
The Intolerance of the Wheelmen	p. 31
The Next Big Thing
Faster than Fear	p. 34
Major Taylor versus Tom Cooper	p. 37
Next Big Thing	p. 40
999	p. 43
The Death of Tom Cooper	p. 46
The Death of Major Taylor	p. 48
Uses
The Utility Bicycle	p. 51
Impenetrable Advance Cloud	p. 52
Flying Pigeons	p. 54
Official Things	p. 57
Unofficial Things	p. 60
Protest	p. 61
The Bicycle Bomber	p. 64
The Aliens
The Flare-Up	p. 68
Reversing the Trans-Atlantic Flow of Style	p. 69
The Bicyclist's Costume	p. 72
Challenges of the Wheel
Willard's Wobbles	p. 77
Fear Itself	p. 79
Safety in Numbers	p. 84
The New Potters	p. 89
The Sharrow Revolution	p. 92
Baggage	p. 97
Resentment	p. 99
Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist	p. 102
The Code of Movement	p. 106
Law and Order	p. 108
The Sorry State of the Motoring Dream
Energy Density	p. 113
Double Down	p. 116
Depletion Never Rests	p. 119
Pie in the Ground	p. 125
Substitute Phrases	p. 128
Fallacies of History, or Not	p. 129
What Happened in Europe	p. 133
New Visions	p. 137
Bonfire of the Vanities	p. 139
The White Van Episode	p. 141
New Demands	p. 142
Child Drivers	p. 146
What's Good	p. 150
Bailout Nation	p. 155
Seriously, James Woolsey?	p. 157
Half Measures	p. 159
Plug In, Tune Out	p. 163
Reasons to Ride
The Flying Machine	p. 167
Adventure	p. 169
Tyranny of the Bus	p. 171
Two Birds	p. 174
One Thousand Miles per Gallon	p. 176
Drive Less, Live More	p. 179
Acknowledgments	p. 180
Notes	p. 182
Bibliography	p. 201
Index	p. 205
About the Author	p. 214
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