In his introduction to “Live to Ride,” author Peter Flax, former editor-in-chief of Bicycling magazine, writes: “I don’t think of my bike life as a hobby or a fitness routine or a leisure activity…..For me, riding is something that truly shapes my identity—how I look at the universe, how I center myself in a complicated world, how I find joy and meaning and, often, very good cups of coffee. If you are a bike rider, I bet you understand what I mean.”
He describes the many sub-cultures of cycling and the barriers that we put up, often unconsciously but sometimes with intent, gate-keeping others from our category and reinforcing our own membership in it. But since relocating to Los Angeles in 2014 and becoming a regular bike commuter, Flax has seen a shift in those sub-cultures as riders moved outside of their once defined niches. He saw racers turn into cycling advocates, the rise of e-bikes and gravel ones, the pandemic that lit a spark for a new bike boom. “Live to Ride” takes into account these new shifts and explores what their meaning can be to each of us.
The book is divided into six chapters, each with a defining section followed by short profiles of riders who exemplify that aspect, plus some examples of suitable equipment for that particular pursuit. “Adventure” covers the growth of the new kind of bike touring, bikepacking, that takes riders off-road to exotic destinations usually not considered for biking; “Speed” is about the joy of just going fast, something we discover early on as children and never grow tired of; “Utility” is how we use bikes for every day purposes, whether commuting or moving cargo; “Nature” covers the discovery of the outdoors on a bike, whether green spaces close to home or dramatic mountainscapes featured in the Tour de France; “Competition” is not only about structured racing but the pleasures of participation, no matter the outcome and is up-to-date with a look at the very modern world of indoor racing; and “Self-Expression,” unique ways in which people make cycling their own, including that ultimate cycling personalization of the custom-made bicycle.
Given the author’s background, it is not surprising that the book is fairly US-centric but includes a lot of great stories: the five women, including “Tillie the Terrible Swede” who raced to acclaim before 1905; the development of bikepaths in Davis, California beginning in in 1967; the origin and success of Bikecentennial, a cross-country bike route set out in 1976 to celebrate the nation’s 200th anniversary and which has grown to encompass a whole range of themed two-wheel travel under the Adventure Cycling Association brand.
The profiles of individuals also make for good reading. Here you will find retired-pro-turned-KOM-chaser Phil Gaimon, adventure cyclist Rebecca Rusch, eccentric Aussie endurance freak Lachlan Morton, Paris’ mayor Anne Hidalgo, activist Kathryn Bertine and her promotion of women’s sports, master framebuilder Richard Sachs, people of minority groups making a difference, and icons like mountain bike pioneer Gary Fisher. It is clear that the six headings of the book can barely encompass the breadth of what cycling can mean to people, how they find not only personal pleasure in the act of riding but also in their enthusiasm to share that by making cycling accessible and useful to others.
Reading “Live to Ride” makes one reflect on what cycling brings to one’s own life. Everyone will have a unique story. While I enjoyed the usual pleasures of cycling as a child, my own path then included my first big experience of independence and self-reliance when cycling from London to Munich one summer as a teenager. Decades past now, thoughts of this big adventure have always remained with me and led to so much more, probably even my non-cycling career in the Foreign Service. Other bike tours have included the Camino de Santiago across Spain, wine regions in France and Italy and meanderings along German rivers. I have ridden the famous climbs of the Tour de France and the Giro, bumped along Belgian cobbles, commuted for years to work (even when the snow was deep and the chill brutal). There was some racing, too, with forgettable results but with great camaraderie as well as the solo effort of digging deep within during time trials. I have seen the pros race close up and hung out with interesting people—even Richard Sachs!
Perhaps the most fun of all came with the retro tours: l’Eroica in Chianti, Anjo Velo Vintage in France, the Retro Ronde in Flanders. We were all on steel racing bikes made obsolete by time, dressed in wool and cosplaying in a way those people at Comecon can only dream of. And, yes, l’Eroica does appear in the “Self-Expression” chapter, with not only a nice photo but a little map showing the “Medio” route that I did twice. And in spite of being exhausted at the end, I know that I was smiling as much as the two riders in the photo because everybody looks happy at these events.
The book is extremely positive, although there is some mention of the evil forces in the world working against cycling (although it should be noted that in many places cycling traffic fatalities have fallen even as miles cycled has increased). These would include expense, group snobbishness, poor town planning, and aggressive drivers who cannot accept that roads could be shared. The author describes the book as kind of covert advocacy but at its core is the idea that everyone is welcome and his simple mantra is just “If you’re riding a bike, you’re doing it right.”
“Live to Ride” is a beautifully-produced book, with superb images meant to conjure up the great moments you get in cycling, whether doing a dramatic wheelie or gliding through a canyon at sunset. Peter Flax’s thoughtful and elegant writing will trigger memories of your own bicycle life and what meaning they bring to you. As he writes in this highly original book: “Ask yourself why you ride. No matter what kind of bikes you own or what you were when you ride, I bet you have some common aspirations. To test yourself and find yourself and express yourself. To find some peace and beauty. To inject fun and adventure into your busy life. To get where you need to go—especially if the journey involves coffee.”
“Live to Ride—Finding Joy and Meaning on a Bicycle” by Peter Flax
223 pp., illustrated, hardcover
Artisan Books, New York, 2024
ISBN 978-1-64829-131-9
Suggested Price: US$30.00/C$39.00
*** Buy it on AMAZON.COM ***
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