Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet

by Birk, Mia; Kurmaskie, Joe (CON)

• ISBN13: 9781594857607
• ISBN10: 1594857601
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-12-01
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books

Summary

Joyride tells the inspiring story of Birk's twenty-year crusade to integrate bicycling into daily life. With only table scraps of funding, Birk led a revolution that helped grow Portland, Oregon into the country's premier cycling city. She then hit the road, teaching communities how to incorporate cycling into their civic DNA to make their towns healthier, safer, and more livable. Through a panoply of hilarious and poignant stories, Birk takes readers on a rollercoaster journey of global and local discovery, while bringing into sharp focus some of the planet's most pressing and hotly debated energy and transportation issues, policies, shortcomings, and solutions. Her funny, touching, and instructive Joyride offers hope and experienced how-to advice to anyone interested in changing our world for the better - one pedal stroke at a time.

Author Biography

Mia Birk is president of Alta Planning + Design, focusing on sustainable transportation planning, design, and implementation; principal at Alta Bicycle Share, Inc.; and adjunct professor at Portland State University, where she co-founded the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation. She and her husband and three children live and ride in Portland, Oregon. Learn more at www.miabirk.com and www.altaplanning.com. Joe Kurmaskie is the best-selling author of Metal Cowboy, Momentum Is Your Friend, and Mud, Sweat and Gears. He contributes to Bicycling Magazine, Men's Journal, and the New York Times.

Table of Contents

Second Edition: The Making of Joyride	p. 9
Foreword	p. 14
Prologue: Nine Brothers in a Box	p. 16
Training Wheels	p. 19
Reality Check	p. 21
Cleopatra Opens Her Eyes	p. 31
Breaking Away	p. 39
Go Like Hell	p. 45
Build It and They Will Come	p. 49
Wheel-and-Pony Show	p. 51
Viva la Revolution!	p. 61
Ask for Forgiveness	p. 63
All News Is Good News	p. 69
So, Sue Me Already	p. 73
No Free Parking	p. 79
Painting the Town Blue	p. 87
Walk on Water	p. 95
Bridge the Gap	p. 101
The Devil's in the Details	p. 107
Broken Glass	p. 109
All Aboard!	p. 115
The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back	p. 121
Be the Bike	p. 129
Plant Seeds and a Garden Will Grow	p. 133
Slugfest	p. 135
Cubicle Charm	p. 139
Enjoy the Ride	p. 143
Touching Souls	p. 149
Let the Rain Come Down	p. 155
Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance	p. 159
Metal Cowgirls	p. 163
Bike to the Future	p. 169
Spreading the Love	p. 173
Cockroaches	p. 175
Biggest Bang for the Buck	p. 181
Learning the Ropes	p. 187
Hope in the Burbs	p. 191
Sharrows	p. 195
Bicycling Home	p. 203
A Long and Winding Path	p. 213
Imagine	p. 215
Redemption in Blue, Part One	p. 219
Redemption in Blue, Part Two	p. 225
Boxes	p. 227
The Gift	p. 241
Patience and Faith	p. 245
Joyride	p. 251
Fifty Keys	p. 257
Resources	p. 260
Q&A with Mia Birk	p. 264
Acknowledgments	p. 268
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