The Solution of Cycling. Bicycle Politics: Review Essay. (1 of 4)

Work on my community bicycle PhD research project requires me to read a lot of academic literature on bikes. Whilst it is my immense pleasure, there is always more to read. Recently, I came across a review essay by Dr Jennifer Bonham (University of Adelaide) that summarised and appraised three key (and popular) American ‘bicycle politics’ books. This essay a very interesting read as it identifies critical histo-politico-social aspects of bicycling from each of the books in an accessible, succinct and thoughtful way. Woohoo! What a gift! So here is Dr Bonham’s full essay IDEAS IN MOTION: ON THE BIKE as a series of four blog posts. This first post covers the intro and background, followed by three more – one post each reviewing, in turn, the three bicycle books below. A massive thank you to Jennifer for her analytical synthesis explaining why riding a bike is a political act. Enjoy! NG.

Wray, J. H. (2008). Pedal power: The quiet rise of the bicycle in American public life. Boulder, CA: Paradigm Publishers.
Furness, Z. (2010). One less car: Bicycling and the politics of automobility. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Mapes, J. (2009). Pedaling revolution: How cyclists are changing American cities. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.

Bicycle Politics: Review Essay. The Solution of Cycling. 1 of 4. Bicycles Create Change.com. 8th April, 2019. — Image: Golfian.com

Introduction: The Solution of Cycling

by Dr Jennifer Bonham (University of Adelaide).

Since the mid-1990s, bicycling has been identified as a solution to problems ranging from climate change and peak oil to urban livability, congestion and public health. A plethora of guidelines, strategies, policy statements, plans and behavior change programs have been produced— especially in industrialized countries—in an effort to encourage cycling. Despite many localities registering increases in cycling over the past decade, English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and United States continue to have extremely low national rates of cycling. The benefits of cycling are widely accepted and barriers well documented but changes are slow, uneven, and often contested. The disjuncture between government rhetoric and commitment to bicycling (via legislation, funding, infrastructure) foregrounds the broader cultural and political context within which cycling is located.

Implementing pro-cycling1 policies is difficult in cultural contexts where bicycles/bicyclists are set in a hierarchical relation with automobiles/ motorists and the latter valued over the former. It is equally difficult to effect cultural change when decision makers fail to prioritize cycling on the political agenda. A key research problem has been to understand how the hierarchical relation between different travel practices has been established and reproduced. Often, this problem is approached by centering the automobile in the analysis:2 a tactic which positions the motor vehicle in a series of dichotomous relations with “other” travel practices—private/public, motorized/non-motorized, choice/captive.

Such dichotomous approaches have been widely criticized for re-creating rather than undermining established hierarchies.3 An alternative tactic involves unpicking the mechanisms through which these categories are produced and bodies are differentially valued. Recently the bike has been placed at the centre of the analysis in an effort to unsettle its persistent marginalization. However, this type of analysis will be limited if it simply reproduces the bicycle/automobile dichotomy.

Throughout the late twentieth century, “cyclists” and everyday practices of cycling have been constituted through concepts and research practices within the field of transport and positioned as problematic—in terms of safety, efficiency, orderliness. But the past 15 years4 have seen researchers from a range of disciplines—health, political science, geography, sociology, urban planning and transport—creating new “versions” of cycling.5 As they centre bicycling in their work and offer recommendations on “what is lacking” and “what should change” they also provide insights into the mechanisms by which cyclists have been explicitly excluded from or marginalized within public space, academic study and public policy. This literature is a fundamental part of political and cultural change not so much for the veracity of its claims but in re-constituting cycling as an object of study and opening the path to alternative ways of thinking about and practicing mobility.

From the early 2000s, there has been a steady growth in research into practices of cycling and cycling sub-cultures.6 Arguably, this ethnographically oriented work can be traced to Michel de Certeau’s seminal essay Walking in the City,7 which made apparent the historical and cultural specificity of contemporary travel practices. There has been a steady growth in research into particular travel/mobility practices and sub-cultural groups who identify through their mobility.8 The study of local cycling groups and cycling sub-cultures challenges hegemonic meanings, which devalue bicycling, and offers alternative mobility futures. They can also link bike riders to more mainstream values and beliefs thereby questioning their marginal status. The very practice of riding a bike and/ or being part of a cycling sub-culture is implicitly political as it challenges dominant forms of mobility. However, some individuals and sub-cultural groups are explicitly political as they use the subject position of cyclist as a means by which to resist exclusion and advocate for bike riding.

The books reviewed in this paper examine the bicycle culture-politics nexus in the context of the United States. They provide explanations for the marginalization of cycling but more particularly they are concerned with how to bring about change. Each author addresses culture and politics to different degrees, recognizing them as inextricably linked but emphasizing one or the other in their analyses. They draw upon research from health and environmental sciences, architecture, urban, and transport planning to support their arguments rather than reflecting on this knowledge as a fundamental part of contemporary culture or cultural change. Culture is discussed in terms of the sites through which meanings are attached to cycling—especially film and television, literature, advertising, and news reporting—and how these are being challenged through the bicycle cultures and everyday mobility practices that form part of a growing social movement in cycling.

Notes

Pedestrians, public transport users, scooter riders, roller bladers and so forth could be included along with cycling.
For example, James Flink, The Car Culture (Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1975); Peter Freund and George Martin, The Ecology of the Automobile (Montreal: Black Rose Books Ltd 1993); Mimi Sheller and John Urry, “The City and the Car,” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 24 no. 4 (2000): 737–757.
Feminists from Butler to Hekman have been at the forefront of this critique. Judith Butler, Gender Trouble (New York: Routledge, 1990); Susan Hekman, The Material of Knowledge: Feminist Disclosures (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010).
This timeline reflects research into everyday cycling in English-speaking countries.
Borrowing Annemarie Mol’s theorization of different versions of reality, I want to suggest we do not have a single object (the cyclist) which is studied through a different lens by each discipline; rather we create the cyclist in different ways through the methodologies we use within each discipline. Annemarie Mol, The Body Multiple: Ontology in Medical Practice (Durham: Duke University Press, 2002).
The Ethnographies of Cycling workshop held at Lancaster University in 2009 included presentations from a number of researchers working in this area since the early 2000s. http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/centres/cemore/event/2982/
Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984).

Dr Jennifer Bonham is a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide. She has a background in human geography specializing in urbanization and cultural practices of travel. Her research focuses on devalued mobilities as it explores the complex relationship between bodies, spaces, practices, and meanings of travel. Her current research explores the gendering of cycling. Jennifer’s work is informed by a concern for equitable and ecologically sustainable cities.

Contact details: School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. jennifer.bonham@adelaide.edu.au

This excerpt is from: Bonham, J. (2011). Bicycle politics: Review essay. Transfers, 1(1), 137. doi:10.3167/trans.2011.010110.

Images included here are not part of the original publication.

14/02/201925/02/2019

Valentine’s Day: Ode to Bicycles

Valentine’s Day is celebrated internationally as ‘Lover’s Day’.

Poems are often shared as a way to express that which we love.

This year, I’ve turned to Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda.

Neruda was a prolific poet, a political and social activist, and an international diplomat.

He had a wonderful sense of humour and wrote collections of love and life. Neruda also wrote many odes to celebrate simple daily objects that may be taken for granted, like tomatoes, salt and socks … and bicycles!

Neruda is regarded as one of the most influential voices in contemporary poetry.

He was born 1904, died 1973, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Pablo Neruda is the focus of the 1994 Spanish speaking film Il Postino (The Postman).

This is a gorgeous film in its own right, only made better by having the lead character delivering love poems by bicycle!

Perfecto!

So for all the lovers of bicycles – and the people who ride them, here is Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Bicycles.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Enjoy!

Ode to Bicycles

I was walking
down
a sizzling road:
the sun popped like
a field of blazing maize,
the
earth
was hot,
an infinite circle
with an empty
blue sky overhead.

A few bicycles
passed
me by,
the only
insects
in
that dry
moment of summer,
silent,
swift,
translucent;
they
barely stirred
the air.

Workers and girls
were riding to their
factories,
giving
their eyes
to summer,
their heads to the sky,
sitting on the
hard
beetle backs
of the whirling
bicycles
that whirred
as they rode by
bridges, rosebushes, brambles
and midday.

I thought about evening when
the boys
wash up,
sing, eat, raise
a cup
of wine
in honor
of love
and life,
and waiting
at the door,
the bicycle,
stilled,
because
only moving
does it have a soul,
and fallen there
it isn’t
a translucent insect
humming
through summer
but
a cold
skeleton
that will return to
life
only
when it’s needed,
when it’s light,
that is,
with
the
resurrection
of each day.

Valentine's Day: Ode to Bicycles. Bicycles Create Change.com. — Oda a la Bicicleta. Image: lesmolletsmoteurs

22/01/201918/02/2019

Epic Bikes Rides of the World

If you can’t actually be out riding your bike, then reading about cycling and planning your next trip is the next best thing.

Book and bikes are a regular theme at BCC.

We have previously featured schoolteacher Saber Hosseini who cycles his home-made library to far-flung rural Afghani villages so locals there who have no access to books can learn to read, the whimsical children’s storybook Along a Long Road, book, how bicycles can be promoted in local libraries and BCC’s own project A bike in my life – Recycled Dreams Community Storybook.

This week, I picked up a copy of Lonely Planet’s Epic Bike Ride of the World.

This book details 200 of arguably ‘the best places in the world to ride a bike’. The book is a colorfully illustrated hardback and is a delight to read.

It was published in 2016, so is still pretty current, although I’d love to hear how they decided on what rides to include and what to leave out.

Epic Bikes Rides of the World. Bicycles Create Change.com. 22nd Jan, 2019.

Key Features

The book is divided into continents chapters. This means you can quickly find what you are looking for and get info on exactly what you’re interested in.
Each entry has a visual grading: green for ‘easy’, blue for ‘harder’ and red for ‘epic’.
It covers all types of cycling: individual, family, sightseeing, road, mountain biking, bikepacking, urban rides and a heap of ideas for those into epic off-track adventuring. off the beaten track.
Each ride is accompanied by awesome scenic photos and a map. There are also toolkit and advice boxes to help with the practicalities of planning that particular trip.
The photos are ohhhh, sooo very motivating. I like how they include not just cycling and scenery, but also lifestyle, people, culture and travel vignettes that really showcase the uniqueness of riding in the region.
The locations included show judicious selection. What wonderful geographic spread: Moab, California, Canada, India Himalayas, NZ, Vietnam, Norway, Argentina, Japan, Denmark, Wales, Thailand, Australia … and heaps of other places. Impressive!
At the end of each section (which is more descriptive), there is a short factual ‘more like this’ section, which includes suggestions for other rides elsewhere in the style of that ride – what a great idea!

It was really inspiring reading this book. I’ve definitely added a few more thumbtacks into my bikepacking map of the world!

And it’s not just me who liked it. Ed Wright from Roadcycling.co.nz gave it a rave review as well.

This book won the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 and was the winner in Favorite Travel Guide category.

So do yourself a favor – next time you’re in a library or bookshop, see if you can grab a copy of this book and check it out.

I guarantee, if you are a bike rider of any type, you will not be disappointed!

All images: Epic Bikes Rides of the World

28/11/201801/01/2019

NiAcaWriMo

Source: 15five

Many creatives use a month-long challenge to encourage productivity.

My personal favorite is still Skull-a-Day by Noah Scalin.

Last year, this blog covered the month long illustration challenge of INKtober and showcased Walt Cahill’s whimsical cycling illustrations.

Many of us would love to undertake a month-long challenge.

But work, family and hobby demands often get in the way.

Two days ago, I came across the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.

In this event, I saw an opportunity to adopt certain principles of NaNoWriMo to use in an academic context that would not detract time and energy away from my current work/research demands – but would, in fact, be a productivity kick-starter!

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) happens every year, It is an Internet-based creative writing challenge to write a 50,000-word novel from 1^st to the 30^th of November.

The National Novel Writing Month website started this challenge in July 1999 with only 21 participants. In 2010, 200,000 people wrote 2.8 billion words and in 2015, 430,000 participants completed 50,000 manuscripts.

This is a great challenge to get inspired, build a regular writing routine, overcome writing anxiety and writer’s block, and also be part of a highly active online community.

Using NaNoWriMo for academic writing

During NaNoWriMo, it is the length of the draft, not the quality that is the main goal. Editing and polishing the document comes later.

Producing writing is a constant pressure for academics and PhD candidates.

Essentially PhDers are assessed on their writing output. PhDers are required to, at a minimum, produce an 80,000-120,000-word high-quality dissertation and at least one peer-review journal article in order to fulfil their candidature. Having additional publications, conference proceeding and other written documentation are also expected.

That is one of the reasons I started this blog – to force myself to write regularly.

I love the idea of a writing challenge. I have not been producing as much writing as I did when I first started my research and my usually productive writing routine has slipped.

Although NaNoWriMo is a novel writing challenge, I am going to use it as an opportunity to apply some of its principles to jumpstart my academic writing productivity.

Many NaNoWriMo ideas are transferable to an academic writing challenge.

So I went on an online binge to glean some of the most useful NaNoWriMo approaches.

As an R &D homage to the original NaNoWriMo, I’ve called my initial checklist (below) NiAcaWriMo – or Nina’s Academic Writing Month.

Here’s what I came up with….

NiAcaWriMo

Have all equipment and materials prepared.

This includes working tools like the keyboard, monitors, laptop/desktop, notebooks and any other paraphernalia needed. Delete Netflix or any other distractions. For me, this also meant setting up a dual monitor stand-up desk and putting my laptop in for a service and updating the operating system and all software.

Spring clean and organise your workspace.

To create productive energy and focus, declutter and spring clean your workspace. Clear out any distractions, tidy up or better yet, remove as much as you can out of your workspace to make it a lean and clean studious area. Dust off screens and keyboards, and wipe down any surfaces, IT cords and equipment as recognition that this space is open to new and fresh ideas. Commit to keeping the space clear by not allowing others to put anything in your workspace, clearing your desk at the end of each day and only keeping the basic work materials needed on your desk.

Prepare a soundtrack.

Some people listen to music while working, others prefer silence. Either way, know what kind of soundscape is most productive for you. When I work in an open office, I use ear plugs as well as high-performance ear muffs (a technique I use on public transport as well) if I want quiet and little sound. Or I use headphones with my own soundscape. I have had great success with alpha, beta and gamma binaural beats, which I used to complete a 17,000 minor thesis in four days. Another option is classical or instrumental music with no lyrics. Or have background music in a different language so your brain is not subconsciously engaged with the lyrics, but focused on your written language. For this technique, I’d recommend the French R & B duo Les Nubians album Princesses Nubiennes. Other creatives swear by having the same song on constant repeat which helps to create a consistent and familiar flow state. Find what works best for you.

Tell others about your challenge.

This means getting your significant other/s, family, work colleagues and friends on board with what you are doing. This will save a lot of misunderstanding and issues in the future and people will be a lot more understanding and supportive. If you are upfront with your purpose and time frame, then measures can be taken to organise and negate possible future complications such as invitations and drop-in visits and even further to include things such as house cleaning and grocery shopping.

Protect your focus

For one whole month, you need to make your writing challenge top priority – and this protecting your focus. This step requires you to know what you need to do your best work, what time of day you are most productive and that you put into place strategies to minimise interruptions and stay productive. This can include setting a schedule or a daily timetable. Or read some key literature that is not only inspiring, but is at a standard you wish to achieve. For academic writing, I like to have 3 journal articles that are my gold standard – two by my favourite author in my research field and another on a different topic whose style, expression and vocabulary I really enjoy reading. Another way to protect your focus might is to set your phone to silent and leave it in another room for your sessions. Or use an app to help your focus and build self-control, or a productivity app that helps avoid distractions, like Cold Turkey, which I recommend to postgrad students.

Prepare body and mind

We all know looking after the body and mind is important during intense work bursts, but the challenge is to make it a priority in order to sustain productivity. This includes eating well, being hydrated, taking regular screen breaks, doing regular exercise (until sweaty), getting adequate sleep and generally looking after your overall well-being. Build these elements into your daily schedule to ensure you protect your focus and keep yourself working at the optimal level. Have a look at A Year of Productivity for other strategies to help prepare the body and mind.

Other NiAcaWriMo considerations

Once prepared, you then need to put it all into action.

This is an area I am still refining. So below is an outline of some tactics I’ve found to be incredibly helpful in consistently producing written work.

Morning Routine: I have had great success using a priming morning routine that I have adapted and personalised over the last three years.

iThinkwell. Over the last two years, I have attended two iThinkwell workshops: Turbocharge your writing and Seven habits of highly successful research students. I still some of the strategies from these workshops. If you get to one of these sessions, get your library to order the companion books which cover the same material so you can still get ahead.

An additional bonus is that iThinkwell have a range of awesome free resources to track progress, manage time frames and organise priorities.

Prepare the next day the night before. One key technique is starting a new day fresh and proactive, is to prepare what you are going to do the next day before you leave your desk the night before. Identifying The Next Thing is a quick and easy way to get a new productive day started without wasting any valuable energy or focus on planning the day, you just get on and do it. Some writers like to leave a question as a stimulus for the next days’ writing session, or dot points that need expanding on, others leave notes to complete, or end the previous day mid-sentence so there is an idea to complete the next day and continue on.

Have a daily goal. I have a PhD friend who has a daily goal of writing 250 words a day. Another academic I know has committed one hour every day for the last five years to writing. Whether it is time, words count, tasks or any other goal, having a clear daily goal is a good way to set the intention for the day, track progress and establish milestones of achievement.

50,0000 words in a 30-day month equals 1,667 words per day.

Take each day separately. Keep in mind that progress is based on day-to-day productivity. Set-backs are inevitable. Don’t be too hard on yourself and be realistic. There will be blow-outs, mess-ups, crappy days and interruptions – this is part of life and work. If you struggle one day, reset and try again the next, but don’t try and catch-up as this adds extra stress. Take each day as a stoned alone session and accept that there will be ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’.

Know what a ‘good day’ looks like. How do you define ‘a good day’ of work? What does it look like? Is it producing a 500-word outline? Or writing 1,500 original new words? Reading a journal article? Having this clarification means that you know when you have achieved it. If this is not clear, you are at risk of ending each day feeling like you have not achieved your goal and could have done more, no matter how much your produce.

Garbage in, garbage out. Be mindful and actively manage what you allow yourself to be exposed to. This includes TV, social media, movies and the news – and also people. Remember the quality of your output is determined by the quality of the input. Read quality literature, reduce media exposure, unplug and read more engaging books.

Acknowledge milestones and reward. As you progress with writing, acknowledge micro-successes and milestones achieved. Having small rewards helps track activity, recognise breakthroughs, monitor improvements and boost motivation.

Writing is not editing. Writing and editing are two different skills, yet many people edit as they write and this can hamper progress and flow. For NaNoWriMo, participants are writing a 50,000-word draft. There is no editing at this stage and this a good idea to keep in mind. Many people get distracted while writing by fact-checking, looking up a definition, searching for a ‘better word’ or stopping to insert an accurate reference as they write. Doing these during the writing phrase inhibits ‘writing flow’ and focus. So the aim is to get ideas in writing down on without stopping to edit.

I use the write fast, edit slow – and the read a bit, write a bit, edit a bit adage to instil the distinction and importance of doing each of these tasks regularly. Another way to achieve the writer’s flow state as advocated by Blindboy is to write with fire, edit with ice.

Next steps

I only found out about NaNoWriMo this week, so it was too late to participate this year.

But it has inspired me to get organised and get back into my writing routine.

Who needs a formal date to write? A month-long writing challenge can be undertaken at any time!

Take this blog post as an example: just writing about this challenge has produced a 2048-word blog post and helped clarify my next steps and preparation for NiAcaWriMo. That in itself is already a valuable and productive writing activity.

As we come up to the end of the year, I’m gearing up for a NiAcaWriMo challenge in the new year.

And I will certainly be looking out for NaNoWriMo next November.

So if you have any kind of writing project, perhaps now it the time to get inspired and create your own month-long writing challenge to crack the whip and get those important first words onto paper.

Happy productive writing!

The content and ideas included in this post are my own with additional ideas and facts sourced from NaNoWriMo, NY Book Editors, Storyist, Writer’s Digest, Jerry Jenkins and Wikipedia.

08/09/201811/09/2018

Along a long road – a bicycle storybook

I saw this book in my local library and I couldn’t resist the cover.

This quirky picture book for preschoolers (ages 3-6) is the first foray into children’s books by Frank Viva, an award-winning illustrator/graphic artist for Esquire, Time and The New Yorker.

The story focuses on a winding, uninterrupted road that is both a stylistic feature of Viva’s work, a fundamental that leads the reader through the story and a necessary motif given this particular story – which is of course…cycling along a lon road!

The road features prominently and runs from the very start of the book by loops across the inside front cover, then out across each page as it weaves around towns, farms, a theme park, forests and past ocean foreshores.

The cyclist is on an elongated bicycle, which he expertly rides through tunnels, over bridges, up and down hills and around bends…. all in order to get to the end FAST – only to start the journey all over again!

Here’s an excerpt:

Along a long road gaining speed

Again and again and again

Along a long road going fast

Around a round bend near the end

And start all over again

This book appears simplistic, however, the winding long road, even cadence of text, the steadfastness of the cyclist and the ever-changing, yet familiar scenery – all have a rhythm and movement that many riders will identify with.

Just like the cyclist in the book, many riders have felt the compulsion to ‘just keep going!’.

The illustrations are minimalist and use a limited palette of four key muted tones to focus attention on the activity in the book.

The pages are thoughtfully designed and are clear and easy to look at. Hidden on pages are little gems, like whales diving in the ocean, dragonflies and tractors in fields.

My favourite part in the book is when the cyclist is stopped by an apple on the road out the front of a library…after the apple is moved, our cyclist is off again after waving to a little boy, his mother and their dog.

Few people know that Frank Viva originally created this project as one continuous, thirty-five-foot-long artwork. Amazing!l Athough Frank might be new to children’s books, he is certainly not new to cycling – as he is an avid rider and has cycle-toured many countries.

I like this book because it reminds me of riding my bike around Brisbane: the bayside, the theme park, the forest and the farming country – and all the happy times I’ve had wooshing around the city and getting to where I want to go FAST ….. it is lovely to see it expressed in such a unique and whimsical way.

More fun picture books for kids about bikes, please!

So, if you see this book in a bookstore or the library – take the time to flip through it- it is an entertaining, easy and highly recommended read.

Thanks Frank!

Video: Frankviva

12/09/201715/09/2017

Bikes in Libraries

More bikes in libraries, please!!

Public libraries are a major hub for many communities. When I presented at the Australian National Walking and Cycling Conference in Adelaide in July, I suggested local libraries are an ideal location to integrate bicycles more into the daily community experience.

My approach was slightly subversive.

Instead of building massive expensive road transportation infrastructure to try and get more people cycling (Herculean effort!), smaller actions could be taken to ingratiate bicycles (not cycling) more into the everyday community experience. This kind of low-key familiarity and regular exposure to bikes would be ‘just part of the everyday experience’ for people. That is where I see bicycles become more socially accepted, especially by non-cycling people. This is where positive social change and greater community acceptance of bikes could be made.

So how can you start with libraries?

My suggestion was to decorate a series of bicycles in book genres. As an example I used my art bikes to help explain.

This is easily done. Decorate one bike as Romance, another with Cooking, another as Sci-Fi, Crime, Thriller….well…..you get the picture! Alternatively, you can use another theme, event or ‘International Day of the X’ ….or the library can come up with their own idea.

In any case, once decorated, each bike has a rack (bookshelf) hanging from it that offers books in the genre/theme.

There are add-on bonuses you can apply as well, like host a preceding community event to theme decorate the bikes.

As a case in point – I was delighted to see a variation of this suggestion already being enacted during the last fortnight as it was …

Australian Children’s Book Week 2017.

The last week in August was Australian Children’s Book Week 2017.

One of the winning books this year is called The Patchwork Bike by Van T. Rudd.

That means more bikes were in libraries! Woopee!

I was delighted to see a full bike related promotion featuring this event and The Patchwork Bike at my local library. This is what you saw as soon as you entered the main front door:

I love the bike and books – it is such a great combo.

It was a total coincidence that the children’s book Granny, Wait for Me! was featured on this blog in a recent post.

I saw some posters used by various Queensland schools promoting Children’s Book Week 2017 that also featured bicycles – this one is my special favourite as it also had a spunky redheaded rider (more redheaded bike riders, please!! See Ginger Rally here):

Some super progressive libraries have gone one step further.

At some rare University libraries, you can find reading bikes (below) where you can study and cycle. To date I have not seen these in any Australian libraries – if you have, please let me know!

These bike instalments have scientifically proven to significant positive impacts in learning/academic results, health outcomes and future livelihoods. A brilliant foray into this is the first chapter of John Matey’s book SPARK. It is an incredible read about how bicycles and exercise is having a significant impact on turning around the lives for hundreds of US students – especially those from low-socioeconomic schools. Awesome stuff!

Grab a copy of Spark from your local library – and ask them when they are installing a bike reading station while you are there!!

There are so many ways that bicycles can contribute and add value to readers, students and the general public.

Whether it is Children’s Book Week or not, it has been great to see bikes having a greater presence in libraries. It would be great to see bikes become a regular fixture within libraries, not just for special events.

I hope that there will be more creative and progressive integration of bicycles in more local, university and state libraries.

Until then – I have enjoyed seeing more bicycles being happily displayed in libraries to celebrate Children’s Book Week 2017.

Congrats to The Patchwork Bike for being one of this year’s winners!

20/08/201724/08/2017

Granny, Wait for Me!

Granny, Wait for Me! is a beautifully illustrated children’s book.

I first saw this book while at an independent publishing/meet the author book event at Little Gnome – my awesome local bookshop. This book is written by Sarah Owen and illustrated by Anil Tortop.

It immediately caught my eye because of the bicycle on the cover – and the delightful energy that the illustration exuded.

I flipped through the book and instantly fell in love with it.

What makes Granny, Wait for Me! so good?

There are many children’s books about riding bikes. But this one is a little different.

The story follows a young boy and his grandma who take their bicycles on an outing. In this book, the usual stereotypes are reversed, and it is ‘Granny’ who is speeding around, whizzing to-and-fro, racing and doing death defying tricks and the young boy who is struggling to keep up.

The pair have a day of grand adventures. It is lovely to see Granny in the position of being the strong, confident, fit, happy and able protagonist in this story. I see incredible value in children’s books presenting different ways of looking at life and in showing diversity in people, lifestyles and choices – and this book certainly sheds some new light on perceptions of what a Granny ‘should’ be, and do.

Books like these also help progress discussions about family, relationships, assumptions, social expectations and not judging a book by its cover (oh dad!).

The added bonus of the bike means discussions about positive impacts of riding, how cycling is wonderful for all people, regardless of age or ability – and that you can never really tell a people’s ability or history with bikes just by looking at them. With such a predominance in current society of cycling being associated with young, fit, male road-riders, this book provides a wonderful alternative perspective.

I have lamented elsewhere on this blog, that I find the lack of inclusion, appreciation or unconscious negative associations of older people and riding, to be serious social issue – as evidence in previous posts such as Cycling without Age and my meeting with the formidable Hubert and his tricycle.

But it is good to know that there are awesome parents (and others) out there who are actively engaging our next generation by reading these kind of stories.

This book comes with a warning!

In a review of this storybook for Reading Time, Heather Gallagher wrote: This beautifully illustrated picture book is told in rollicking verse. The story is a simple one, a boy and his granny go for a bike ride and picnic at the park. The Granny is no tea-sipping, knitting gran – she’s one who likes to swing on the monkey bars and speed off on her bicycle. In a reversal of roles, the boy is shown as the reticent one, while Granny craves adventure. This book could be used in a classroom setting to discuss different kinds of grandparents and what they like to do. It would be a good one to read on Grandparent’s Day. Just one word of caution, while the illustrations do depict a warm relationship between Granny and the boy, in practice she speeds off on her bicycle, leaving him in her wake – hence, the title. (Emphasis my own).

I really like that this book comes with a warning – that this seemingly harmless ‘whimsical and fun-filled story’ could be ‘misconstrued’ and need to be explained.

I understand how some children might find it challenging that Granny is so active that she could roar off on a bike (being abandoned). Of course this would need to be explained to a little kid who need reassurances of not ‘being left behind’ – but this is not made clear in Heather’s review. Although I am sure this is what she was implying, my mischievous brain also likes to think it is the notion of Granny ripping on a bike that is also challenging!

I like that this book is presenting Granny in a light other than being a stereotypical, gentle, frail and caring …… non-bike rider. The image of her enjoying a fast, fun and furious ride is a great equaliser for talking about any other rider gearing up for an MTB race, criterion and any other cycling event where the whole point is to ride hard, be adventurous and get ahead! What… older people don’t ride bikes? Like hell….Go, Granny Go!!

What a great conversation to have with children!

That in itself makes me love this book even more!

You don’t need to ride fast and furious to have my vote – you just need to be on a bike and going at whatever is your speed. Whatever age you are, whatever speed you go – just that you are riding a bike is what makes it awesome in my book!

More happy elders riding bikes, please!

So next time you see an elder out on their bike – be sure to give ’em hearty wave and a word of support. Heavens knows we need more like them reminding us all that biking is a wonderful activity for everyone in our communities.

Granny, Wait for Me! – cover illustration / time-lapse from Anil Tortop on Vimeo. Images in post courtesy of Anil’s Behance