tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3858936825205287587.post1233715113870108343..comments2023-10-09T02:23:07.545-05:00Comments on Bike Walk Tennessee: Book ReviewsAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18183903690670393144noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3858936825205287587.post-83471188120531609952010-04-29T18:51:49.167-05:002010-04-29T18:51:49.167-05:00oh, well, okay...on to the next book... :)oh, well, okay...on to the next book... :)Sarah I Lovetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02900842995402143651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3858936825205287587.post-3784751468715600612010-04-29T11:35:22.724-05:002010-04-29T11:35:22.724-05:00I have just an initial observation about Mr Hurst ...I have just an initial observation about Mr Hurst and his book. As your reviews continue, it will be interesting to see how you view the book.<br /><br />Hurst is the author of a number of books aimed at helping new riders navigate the perils of the auto-centric urban environment. Most notably, he wrote a book called ¨The Art of Urban Cycling,¨ which is a sort of thoroughgoing treatment of the conditions faced by urban bicyclists and prescriptions for how to overcome the city´s myriad challenges. <br /><br />This earlier text, along with Hurst´s deceleration that America will never be a nation that bicycles like the Netherlands or Denmark, belies his need to identify as a ¨cyclist.¨ What I mean is, Hurst needs to see himself as a sort of lone wolf battling the dangers of urban traffic; it feeds his own image as a ¨cyclist,¨ but it problematically precludes the possibility of normalizing the bike. This perspective obscures his intellectual prowess as he reduces the high levels of cycling in the Netherlands and Denmark to accidents of history, seemingly un-preventable trajectories of Northern European Cultural evolution. In truth, these high bicycling levels are man made consequences of specific traffic policies. <br /><br />For many ¨cyclists,¨ if women and children and grandmas take to the bike in droves, both the risk and excitement factor for urban cycling declines precipitously. It becomes ¨less cool¨ to ride, and, suddenly, the world occupied by bicycle messengers and urban warriors has been taken over by pig-tailed little girls and 10K per hour pedaling grannies. Many bike people are afraid of losing their image to such heresy. <br /><br />One of the challenges BWTN faces as it continues to grow is learning to appreciate the dedicated cyclists in our midst without compromising a future generation of would-be bicyclists. In this regard, Mr Hurst´s book leaves some advocates yearning for better insight.Anthony C. Siracusahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15619769469849846781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3858936825205287587.post-89653662808135932452010-04-28T21:23:02.683-05:002010-04-28T21:23:02.683-05:00Check Cyclist Manifesto with Pat. He thought it w...Check Cyclist Manifesto with Pat. He thought it was great.Tom_Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18103712739396207656noreply@blogger.com