On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life

Once the sole province of European cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, bike culture is exploding in North American cities like Portland, Vancouver, New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. Cycling in New York City alone is up 109 percent since 2006. Whether people are riding folding bikes to the train, or slipping through traffic on tricked-out fixed-gears, or carrying children and groceries on their utility bikes, bicycles are making urban life more dynamic, more enjoyable — simply better. People are giving up their cars. Cities are holding car-free street festivals for walking and biking. Dedicated bike lanes and bike parking are taking the streets back from cars. Bikes in general are becoming a bigger part of daily life for a lot of urban dwellers.

Amy Walker has been at the forefront of this trend as copublisher of Momentum Magazine, which chronicles and inspires urban bike culture. In On Bicycles, she collects a wide-ranging group of cycling writers — from the managing editor of BikePortland.org to a bike artist/scientist at MITs Media Lab — to explore the ways that biking can change, and is changing, peoples lives. From the artsy creations of freak bikes, to utility bikes like the Xtracycle that are becoming the primary mode of transportation and grocery hauling for entire families, On Bicycles will cover the whole range of urban bike culture. With accompanying illustrations by San Francisco graphic artist Matt Fleming, essays will include:

• Freak bikes like tall bikes and homemade choppers

• City bikes from major manufacturers that feature new designs to make biking to work and the store easy

• New forms of bike parking

• Separated bicycle lanes and boulevards

• Community bike shops

• Fixed gear/single speed culture

• New ways to light your bike

• Designing bike friendly workplaces

• Bike friendly coffee shops/cafes

• How European cycling culture differs from traditional American sport and recreational cycling

• New bike sharing/rental programs in cities like Paris and Montreal

• Mobile bike parties

• Rain riding

• How to choose a bike shop

• Folding bikes

• New forms of intermodal transit that include bikes

• Biking with kids and how to do it

• Internal geared bike hubs

• Future visions of sustainable cities and how they can revolve around bikes

Once the quaint province of European cities like Amsterdam, cycling is becoming increasingly popular in North American cities. People ride folding bikes to the train, slip through traffic on tricked out fixed-gears, and carry children and groceries on their utility bikes. Commuters are giving up their cars M-F, bike lanes and bike parking are being created, and Talking Head David Byrne has designed arty bike racks for various New York City neighborhoods. Its healthy for riders and clean for the environment, but is it fun? Amy Walker, who has been at the forefront of the urban cycling trend, knows the answer is "yes." She collects a diverse group of cycling enthusiasts and activists who, accompanied by the illustrations of bike culture artist Matt Fleming, show readers why. They say you never forget how to ride a bike; this helps us remember why we ride.

Bike culture is exploding in cities like Portland, OR, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Montreal, and Vancouver, BC. Whether people are riding folding bikes to the commuter train, slipping through traffic on streamlined single speeds, or carrying children and groceries on their cargo bikes, bicycles are making urban life more dynamic and enjoyable — simply better.

Amy Walker has been at the forefront of this trend as cofounder of Momentum magazine, which chronicles and inspires urban bike culture and transportation cycling. In On Bicycles, she gathers a wide-ranging group of cycling writers to explore the ways that biking can change, and is changing, peoples lives. From utility bikes that are becoming the primary mode of transportation for entire families to the artistic creations of freakbike riders, On Bicycles has something for everyone who has ever ridden a bike.

Topics include:

* cargo bikes * bike parties * a history of bike advocacy

* the bike-craft boom * folding bikes * recumbents * biking with kids

* handmade bikes * car-free streets * relocalizing * bike style

* collective bike shops * women and bikes * and many more

Amy Walker is a cofounder of Momentum Magazine, which focuses on transportation cycling and covers all aspects of urban bike culture throughout North America. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.