I’m very excited to be able to share that my new book exists: Everyday Bicycling: How to Ride a Bicycle for Transportation (Whatever Your Lifestyle).
I’m particularly excited that this book exists because — well, it’s really needed. Something like 70% of people in the US want to ride a bicycle more often. Most of us are craving concrete actions we can take to feel better physically and mentally, bust out of some of the confines of our lives, save some cash, and make tangible progress in improving the world around us. Bicycling does all that, along with being seriously fun. I started to bike because friends and partners took me out and showed me I could do it, and my goal with this book is to amplify that encouragement and pass it along. To you.
There are several good books out there for people who are switching from recreational to transportation riding, or who are looking to get fit on their commute. This book is unique in that it’s written for people who are truly new to riding, who have busy lives and complicated transportation needs, and who are more focused on work, kids, friends, and running a household than on nerding out about gear ratios (though all respect is given to the bike nerds and nerds-in-the-making out there).
Also, along with all the how-to-bike stuff you’d expect, like turn signals and dealing with weather, hills, and traffic, I’ve included comprehensive chapters on carrying all sorts of different cargo, organizing and advocacy, and bicycling with your kids (featuring guest stars of the family bicycling blogosphere and beyond!). These final three chapters make the book really special and supremely useful. Bicycling is something you really can do and this book will help you figure out how to make it work for you.
All told, it’s a great gift for a partner or friend (or yourself!) who is new to bicycling or thinking about it… but isn’t yet rolling with confidence. We know that a lot of people in the US — maybe 70% — want to ride bikes more often. If that’s you, you’re the reason I wrote this book! Once you get rolling, please drop back by here to let me know how it goes. (Need more help? Check out this list of resources that serves as the book’s online appendix.)
The official release date is December 1st (that’s when it hits the big bookstores and online places) but starting today you can buy it directly from me right here.
If you’re in Portland, you can pick up a copy of the book in person at the Microcosm Bookstore (636 SE 11th Ave @Alder), or at two upcoming events: Powell’s Hawthorne small press bicycle book event on November 8th, at the book’s release party on November 29th from 6-8pm at Clever Cycles, and from my table at BikeCraft on December 1st and 2nd.
Or … buy it now!