Review: Bike Snob Abroad

I started maternity leave this week!  No baby yet, just lots and lots of free time combined with being too large and awkward to ride a bicycle successfully. 


BORING!

Luckily, my other first love besides bicycle cycling is the reading of books.  And I had a good one waiting in the wings for just such a boring occasion. 

The trifecta of bike snobbery.

I totally adored Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling.  The second book, The Enlightened Cyclist: Commuter Angst, Dangerous Drivers, and Other Obstacles on the Path to Two-Wheeled Transcendence carried an important message but did not inspire the  fits of LOLling I've come to expect from Bike Snob. 

So, I guess in the scheme of things, Bike Snob was too funny, The Enlightened Cyclist was not funny enough, and Bike Snob Abroad: Strange Customs, Incredible Fiets, and the Quest for Cycling Paradise was juuuuuust right.

They say timing is everything, and maybe that's part of the reason I liked this third volume so much.  You see, the Snob is facing the final obstacle on his way to the summit of cycling smugness - having a family and continuing to ride a bike.  I am about to have this struggle myself, so I could relate.  He faces judgment and condemnation when riding around with his toddler.  I've had the same problem whilst riding pregnant.  How silly that people are so worried that I will fall off my bike on dry pavement, yet in previous months they encouraged me to take frequent walks on the skating rink we call a sidewalk.

Buy it!

Anyway, Bike Snob thinks this is bullshit, so he explores some of the European cities where cycling is more mainstream.  In Amsterdam, for example, no one bats an eye to see a toddler on a bike, helmets are uncommon, and bikes seem to be less of a status symbol and more of a functional means of transportation.

Sounds awesome, right?  I'm already planning our first international trip as a family to Amsterdam!

So, overall, I enjoyed the book.  And I think the take-home message was a good one: if you want your city to become more bicycle-friendly, the best thing to do is ride your bike as often as you can.