Cyclist's Manifesto: The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four
The basic thesis of the manifesto is as follows: The American aversion to bicycling for transportation is a unique historical-cultural absurdity that is based largely on false assumptions and bad information. As the nation's acute energy predicament intensifies, the most simple and elegant remedy available is the one that almost never gets mentioned. The avoidance of the bicycle in recent public discourse has been conspicuous, ridiculous, and downright strange. While bicycling, for a variety of reasons, will not be the best choice for everybody, it is realistic to think that we in the US could grow the mode share of the bicycle to around 5%. (This would represent a huge increase in the number of cyclists currently on the road, but would still be far below levels currently seen in many European countries.) Boosting the mode share of bicycling to this seemingly modest level would produce rather intense, far-reaching positive effects (and a few negative ones), at an extremely low cost. The latter half of the manifesto will be devoted to painting the undeniably tantalizing picture of just what those effects might be -- for instance, the health care savings would be astronomical -- and the different ways that individuals and governments can go about wresting back control over their energy destiny. The author's recommendations are surprising. It'll be easier than we think. It will even be fun. The roads are already bikeable, and there's an old bike waiting in the garage behind the wetvac.
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Cyclist's Manifesto: The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four
The basic thesis of the manifesto is as follows: The American aversion to bicycling for transportation is a unique historical-cultural absurdity that is based largely on false assumptions and bad information. As the nation's acute energy predicament intensifies, the most simple and elegant remedy available is the one that almost never gets mentioned. The avoidance of the bicycle in recent public discourse has been conspicuous, ridiculous, and downright strange. While bicycling, for a variety of reasons, will not be the best choice for everybody, it is realistic to think that we in the US could grow the mode share of the bicycle to around 5%. (This would represent a huge increase in the number of cyclists currently on the road, but would still be far below levels currently seen in many European countries.) Boosting the mode share of bicycling to this seemingly modest level would produce rather intense, far-reaching positive effects (and a few negative ones), at an extremely low cost. The latter half of the manifesto will be devoted to painting the undeniably tantalizing picture of just what those effects might be -- for instance, the health care savings would be astronomical -- and the different ways that individuals and governments can go about wresting back control over their energy destiny. The author's recommendations are surprising. It'll be easier than we think. It will even be fun. The roads are already bikeable, and there's an old bike waiting in the garage behind the wetvac.
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Cyclist's Manifesto: The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four

Cyclist's Manifesto: The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four

by Robert Hurst
Cyclist's Manifesto: The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four

Cyclist's Manifesto: The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four

by Robert Hurst

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Overview

The basic thesis of the manifesto is as follows: The American aversion to bicycling for transportation is a unique historical-cultural absurdity that is based largely on false assumptions and bad information. As the nation's acute energy predicament intensifies, the most simple and elegant remedy available is the one that almost never gets mentioned. The avoidance of the bicycle in recent public discourse has been conspicuous, ridiculous, and downright strange. While bicycling, for a variety of reasons, will not be the best choice for everybody, it is realistic to think that we in the US could grow the mode share of the bicycle to around 5%. (This would represent a huge increase in the number of cyclists currently on the road, but would still be far below levels currently seen in many European countries.) Boosting the mode share of bicycling to this seemingly modest level would produce rather intense, far-reaching positive effects (and a few negative ones), at an extremely low cost. The latter half of the manifesto will be devoted to painting the undeniably tantalizing picture of just what those effects might be -- for instance, the health care savings would be astronomical -- and the different ways that individuals and governments can go about wresting back control over their energy destiny. The author's recommendations are surprising. It'll be easier than we think. It will even be fun. The roads are already bikeable, and there's an old bike waiting in the garage behind the wetvac.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780762757671
Publisher: Falcon Guides
Publication date: 05/05/2009
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 224
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Robert Hurst, a veteran bicycle messenger who has cycled nearly 200,000 miles and 20,000 hours in heavy traffic, is a student of history and the author of several FalconGuides, including The Bicycle Commuter's Pocket Guide and The Art of Cycling.

Table of Contents

I Interesting Times

Of Explosions and Implosions 1

The Invisible Solution 4

II Circle of Power

Night Dreams 8

The Bicycle Idea 9

Maxim, Pope, and the LAW 12

To Be Taken Seriously 15

Gapers 17

Not Enough 18

Ford Gawks King 19

Flight 21

Hot Bikes 22

Camel Nation 24

A Tool for Liberty and Oppression 26

Circle of White Power 30

The Intolerance of the Wheelmen 31

III The Next Big Thing

Faster than Fear 34

Major Taylor versus Tom Cooper 37

Next Big Thing 40

999 43

The Death of Tom Cooper 46

The Death of Major Taylor 48

IV Uses

The Utility Bicycle 51

Impenetrable Advance Cloud 52

Flying Pigeons 54

Official Things 57

Unofficial Things 60

Protest 61

The Bicycle Bomber 64

V The Aliens

The Flare-Up 68

Reversing the Trans-Atlantic Flow of Style 69

The Bicyclist's Costume 72

VI Challenges of the Wheel

Willard's Wobbles 77

Fear Itself 79

Safety in Numbers 84

The New Potters 89

The Sharrow Revolution 92

Baggage 97

Resentment 99

Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist 102

The Code of Movement 106

Law and Order 108

VII The Sorry State of the Motoring Dream

Energy Density 113

Double Down 116

Depletion Never Rests 119

Pie in the Ground 125

Substitute Phrases 128

Fallacies of History, or Not 129

What Happened in Europe 133

New Visions 137

Bonfire of the Vanities 139

The White Van Episode 141

New Demands 142

Child Drivers 146

What's Good 150

Bailout Nation 155

Seriously, James Woolsey? 157

Half Measures 159

Plug In, Tune Out 163

VIII Reasons to Ride

The Flying Machine 167

Adventure 169

Tyranny of the Bus 171

Two Birds 174

One Thousand Miles per Gallon 176

Drive Less, Live More179

Acknowledgments 180

Notes 182

Bibliography 201

Index 205

About the Author 214

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