Bike Snob Abroad

Driven by frustrations with cycling in America where pedestrians and cyclists are forced to share the road, explores the cycling cultures of European countries to find out what it means to be a bike-friendly nation.

“Equal parts critical manifesto and tender mini-memoir about a boy and his bikes” from Eben Weiss, blogger and author of The Enlightened Cyclist (GQ). Cycling is exploding in a good way. Urbanites everywhere, from ironic hipsters to earth-conscious commuters, are taking to the bike like aquatic mammals to water. BikeSnobNYC—cycling’s most prolific, well-known, hilarious, and anonymous blogger—brings a fresh and humorous perspective to the most important vehicle to hit personal transportation since the horse. Bike Snob treats readers to a laugh-out-loud rant and rave about the world of bikes and their riders and offers a unique look at the ins and outs of cycling, from its history and hallmarks to its wide range of bizarre practitioners. Throughout, the author lampoons the missteps, pretensions, and absurdities of bike culture while maintaining a contagious enthusiasm for cycling itself. Bike Snob is an essential volume for anyone who knows, is, or wants to become a cyclist. “This is a social manual that should be bundled with every bike shipped in America.” —Christian Lander, author of Stuff White People Like “I like to think I know a thing or two (or three) about being ruthless and relentless—either trying to win the Tour or fighting cancer. The Snob knows it too. Keeping us dorks in line is tough work. I take pleasure in getting picked on by the Snob, slightly more pleasure in reading his writing, but take the most pleasure punishing his ass (my payback) on the bike either in Central Park or on 9W/River Road. Long live the Snob.” —Lance Armstrong

The doyen of bike etiquette leaves NYC behind to experience a strange new world of cycling—through London, Amsterdam, and beyond. What does it really mean to be a bike-friendly country? BikeSnobNYC decided to find out for himself. With his toddler son in tow, he heads to London, Amsterdam, Gothenburg, and San Vito dei Normanni in search of the ultimate bike culture. With humorous anecdotes and his trademark wit and wisdom, BikeSnobNYC takes us on his most personal narrative journey yet, and ultimately shines a light on the growing pains that exist in any culture that asks smartphone-obsessed text-happy pedestrians, the two-wheeled, and the four-wheeled to share the road.

The author of Bike Snob helps bike commuters transcend common obstacles and handle cars, pedestrians, and other cyclists with grace. The joys of commuting by bike attract scores of new converts every year. But as fresh-faced cyclists fill the roads, they also encounter their share of frustrations—careless drivers, wide-flung car doors, zoned-out pedestrians, and aggressive fellow cyclists, to name a few. In this follow-up to Bike Snob, BikeSnobNYC takes on the trials and triumphs of bike commuting with snark, humor, and enthusiasm. He asks the question: If we become better commuters, will that make us better people? From the deadly sins of biking to tactics for dealing with cars, pedestrians, and other cyclists, this primer on bike travel is a must-read for cyclists new and seasoned alike.

Everything you need to know to purchase, maintain, and ride a bike for recreation, commuting, competition, travel, and beyond! From the bike world's most beloved and trusted advocate. Eben Weiss, aka Bike Snob NYC, is the voice of cyclists everywhere. Through his popular blog he has been informing, entertaining, and critiquing the bike-riding community since 2007. With his latest book, The Ultimate Bicycle Owner's Manual, Weiss makes his vast experience and practical advice available to bike "newbies" and veterans alike. Chapters cover Obtaining a Bike, Understanding Your Bike, Maintaining Your Bike, Operating Your Bike, Off-Road Riding, Coexisting with Drivers, Competitive Cycling, Bike Travel, Cycling with Kids, and What the Future Holds for Bikes in our Communities. Weiss's humorous, down-to-earth style takes all the mystery and intimidation out of cycling and will inspire even the most hesitant couch potato to get out and ride! Eben Weiss is the blogger behind Bike Snob NYC. He is the author of Bike Snob, Bike Snob Abroad, and The Enlightened Cyclist. He lives in New York City with his family.

As seen on TV The bicycle is one of mankind's greatest inventions - and the most popular form of transport in history. Robert Penn has ridden one most days of his adult life. In his late 20s, he pedalled 40,000 kilometres around the world. Yet, like cyclists everywhere, the utilitarian bikes he currently owns don't even hint at this devotion. Robert needs a new bike, a bespoke machine that reflects how he feels when he's riding it - like an ordinary man touching the gods. It's All About the Bike is the story of a journey to design and build a dream bike. En route, Robert explores the culture, science and history of the bicycle. From Stoke-on-Trent, where an artisan hand builds his frame, to California, home of the mountain bike, where Robert tracks down the perfect wheels, via Portland, Milan and Coventry, birthplace of the modern bicycle, this is the narrative of our love affair with cycling. It's a tale of perfect components - parts that set the standard in reliability, craftsmanship and beauty. It tells how the bicycle has changed the course of human history, from the invention of the 'people's nag' to its role in the emancipation of women, and from the engineering marvel of the tangent-spoked wheel to the enduring allure of the Tour de France. It's the story of why we ride, and why this simple machine remains central to life today.

People often say, “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.” Katie actually was. On a sunny morning bike ride in Brooklyn, twenty-four-year-old Katie McKenna was forever changed when she was run over by an eighteen-wheeler. Being crushed under a massive semi wasn’t something Katie should have survived. After ten hours of emergency surgery, she woke to find herself in a body and a life that would never be the same. In this brutally honest and surprisingly funny memoir, Katie recalls the pivotal event and the long, confusing road to recovery that followed. Between the unprepared nudity in front of her parents post-surgery, hospital happy hours, and the persistent fear that she would never walk again, Katie details the struggles she’s faced navigating her new reality. This inspiring memoir follows Katie’s remarkable journey to let go of her old life and fall in love with her new one.

Part memoir, part sports adventure, Not Dead Yet tells the inspirational story of Phil Southerland's battle with Type 1 diabetes and how from diagnosis to sheer determination, Phil Southerland beat all odds and turned his diagnosis and his passion for cycling into a platform. From leading a Race Across America to now managing a world-class cycling program, his journey on and off the bike is changing the way the world views diabetes. When Phil Southerland was seven-months-old, he lost ten pounds in a week, his body was limp and his breathing slowed to what his mother called a "death rattle." Rushing him to the ER, she was informed that tiny Phil displayed the youngest case of diabetes on record in the world at that time. Blindness, kidney failure and death were all predicted for him by age twenty-five. Twenty-nine years later, not only is Phil alive and well but as the founder of Team Type 1, he and his team of championship cyclists — many of them diabetics—have become health and fitness role models for people the world over. Together, they have taken on some of the most challenging endurance events in the world, including winning the Race Across America—a grueling 3,000-mile endurance competition—twice. Today, Phil continues to lead Team Type 1 as its professional cycling team, among one of the top 30 teams in the world, races toward an invite to the world's top cycling event, the Tour de France in 2012. Leading the pack is a serious challenge for any athlete, but for Phil and his teammates, it presents two daily battles: one to stay in razor-sharp race-fit condition, the other, to stay alive. Not Dead Yet is Phil's powerful story: his account of his relationship with his mother, and how she struggled to keep him alive; growing up quickly in the New-Old South of the 1990s, learning at the tender age of 6 years old how to check his glucose and give himself injections; of how he fulfilled his dream of becoming a professional athlete using his team and the bike as a platform, inspiring thousands of individuals and families around the world who are battling diabetes to not just chase, but catch, their dreams.