The Art of Cycling — A Guide to Bicycling in 21st Century America
  Road rash is a precious gift. Road rash is your friend. Bask in it, appreciate it, love it. Above all, learn from it.
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 urban 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, urban cyclists can thrive in this hostile environment.
Author Robert Hurst dismantles the experience of urban cycling, slides it under the microscope, and examines it piece by piece. The primary concern of this book is safety, but Hurst goes beyond the usual tips and how-to, revealing the bicycle's historical truths and its pivotal role in the origin of the automobile, the psychology of blame and responsibility, the social advantage of communicating solidarity with drivers, and the economics of riding a bike. This book empowers readers with the big picture of bicycling—and gives riders useful insights to ponder while pedaling their next commute or grocery run.
Riding a bike will never be the same.
Table of Contents
Foreword | Acknowledgments | Introduction
ONE: FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER
Continuum | Bicycles in the age of manure: Leonardo to Starley | The bicycle craze of the 1890s | Chumps of the road | From bicycles to automobiles in sixty seconds | Speed and greed | Barney Oldfield and the arena of death | A dark wave cometh | Fake gas tanks | Transportation and the shape of cities | Automobile suburbs | The great streetcar massacre | Congestion | Enclosure | Rage | Cycling the new American city | Invocation
TWO: THE CITY SURFACE
Pavement: get over it | Responsibility and surface hazards | The great American pothole | Cracks and seams | Waves | Lane markers | Wet metal | Drainage | Railroad tracks | Toppings | Plazas | Curbs
THREE: IN TRAFFIC
Beyond vehicular cycling | Blame versus responsibility | Vigilance | Route choice | Road position and location | The invisible cyclist | Space versus visibility | The myth of lane ownership | Running green lights | Eye contact, stop signs, and fake red lights | The gap effect | Four-way stops | Momentum | Notes on traffic lights | Waiting at traffic lights | Running red lights | Left turns | Corner cutters | Looking back | Seeing without looking | Instinct unveiled | Turn signals | Hand signals | In defense of gutters | The door zone | Reading parked vehicles | Close combat: Positioning in heavy traffic | Riding a straight line | Track stands | Turning and cornering | Panic stops | Bicycle lanes and paths: Good or evil? | On the bike path | Sidewalks and the law | Riding at night | Riding with others
FOUR: BICYCLE ACCIDENTS and INJURIES
The statistical quagmire | The stats at a glance | Cycling fatalities | The paradox of experience | The accident immune system | Road rash | Collarbones | How to fall | Facial injuries | Head injuries | Other injuries | Disclaimer | The helmet controversy | What are helmets built for? | Torsion injuries | The helmet verdict
FIVE: AIR POLLUTION and the URBAN CYCLIST
A historical reality check | The good news about urban air pollution | What am I breathing and what does it do to me? | Breathing strategies for the urban cyclist | Does air pollution cancel the health benefit of cycling?
SIX: PUNCTURES and FLAT TIRES
Flat repair equipment | Fixing flats: A primer | Broken glass | Tire wiping | Glassphalt | Tribulus terrestris | A thorny dilemma | Random sharpies | Pinch flats | Blowouts
SEVEN: EQUIPMENT
The cult of equipment | Bike choice | Track bikes | Bike fit | Tools | Clothing | Messenger bags, backpacks, and panniers | Drivetrain maintenance
EPILOGUE: OF BICYCLES and CITIES
Chapter notes | Bibliography | Index | About the author
"This empowering urban cycling book should come in the glove box of every new car sold."—Marla Streb, from the Foreword.
About the Author
Robert Hurst is a veteran bicycle messenger and all-around urban cyclist who has cycled more than 150,000 miles and 15,000 hours in heavy traffic. In this time, he has completed something like 80,000 deliveries.
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