The Pedaling Revolution

The review is written by David Byrne whose book, “Bicycle Diaries” will be published in the fall.

"Mapes finds the experience of riding around Portland — North America’s most bike-friendly city (though I think Vancouver is close) — so enjoyable that he takes as a given that it’s a positive thing, something that more communities should accommodate without question. But as he and I know, there’s a lot of opposition. The United States is as much a car culture as ever."

Mapes "details how cities from Amsterdam to Paris to New York to Davis, Calif., have developed policies encouraging cycling in recent decades, and how other towns are just beginning to make way for bikes.

He lays out in an easily digestible way a fair amount of material on trip patterns, traffic safety and air pollution. He quotes the relevant studies and shows how those studies have been either heeded or ignored. All this information is great ammunition for those of us who would like to see American cities become more bike-friendly."

BikePortland review:
"Mapes sets the foundation for the book with a first chapter that explains the role of the bicycle in American society from well before the 19th century. What made this book special for me is that Mapes didn’t just pull from books and online research, he traveled the country (and the globe) to ride on the streets he writes about and to talk directly with the people who have played (and continue to play) pivotal roles in America’s bike movement."