arts+culture
cycling’s greatest
misadventures edited by erich schweikher Casagrande Press, Solana Beach, California 252 pages, $US 16.95
reviewed by terry lowe this book is an anthology of 27 true stories
drawn from a full spectrum of cycling experiences. As the title suggests, most of these tales are stories of accidents, foolishness, or calamities ranging from silly to tragic. At least one story describes behaviour so infantile I was surprised the author would admit to it, much less publish it. Bob Mina’s Spin Cycle tells how he managed to crash a stationary bike in a gym class by pretending he was in a road race and braking much too hard. Amy Tavala’s story Riding Tandem with Rodent describes her experience of having a large live rat trapped in her front spokes, wrapped around the hub. The rat’s tail whipped her bare leg with each rotation of the wheel. There are stories of mountain bikers who were attacked by a bull; of an aspiring hotshot road racer who was defeated by husky young farm workers riding singlespeed clunkers; and of a guy who thought he could sew up a rip in a tire with dental floss. There is also an engaging historical story about the US Army’s 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, which was formed in 1896. That year and the next, the Corps made three long-distance rides (often where there weren’t any roads), before being disbanded at the beginning of the SpanishAmerican war. Photos of these rides are included. Several stories relate the type of endurance cyclists must find within themselves to keep going against adversity. Michael McCann’s Divided on the Basin tells of crossing the Great Basin, a high plains desert in southern Wyoming: “a 134 mile stretch of desolation, without trees, drinkable water, or resources of any kind.” (The guidebook neglected to mention the wind.) Heather Andersen’s The Shock and Numbness Are Starting to Set In is a sensitive account of two people struck and killed by cars while on cross-country tours that she was leading. The book concludes with Shashi Kadapa’s wonderful The Gowda And His Bike, about the first bicycle to appear in his remote Indian village in 1923, mail-ordered by the chief to impress the residents. He never did learn to ride it; instead he commanded two henchmen to run along beside him and hold it upright, a practice which continues in that village to this day. As in any such anthology, the quality of writing varies, but all is acceptable, most is quite good and some is outstanding. Overall, the stories are well-chosen and well-edited. Recommended. Exhilarated after first going upright on a two-wheeler decades ago, Terry likes to ride up and down and all around.
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www.momentumplanet.com
do not park bicycles! twenty of america meredith’s original Cherokee Spokespeople paintings and a half- dozen of her spoke cards are featured in the show “Do Not Park Bicycles” running from May 3 to June 9 at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba. The show, curated by Jenny Western, as a response to the growth of the cycling population, features the work of five North American native artists with the common theme of the bicycle. In an essay about the show, artist Dylan Miner associates the bicycle with modernity and colonialism. Looking at the bicycle through the eyes of native artists invites re-contextualization and Bicycle Race by Terri Saul, 2005 terrisaul.com challenges conceptions of first nations and the bike. The show incorporates a bike related workshop, a group ride and other interactive events. The other artists whose work is featured in the show are Tania Willard, Dylan Miner, Terri Saul and Yatika Fields. The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba is located at 710 Rosser Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brandon, Manitoba. www.agsm.ca
you never bike alone by damon rao
Since Return of the Scorcher, we have seen a number of bike documentaries on the theme of Critical Mass. Some, such as San Francisco’s The Truth Is Out and, more recently, Still We Ride from New York City, are simply an attempt to highlight police crackdowns. You Never Bike Alone is much more than just another Critical Mass documentary. It’s a well constructed, historical sequence of events spanning the last 15 years of bicycle advocacy and activism in Vancouver, BC and surely just the first chapter of a colourful history of bike culture community development. You Never Bike Alone is now available on DVD. Produced and directed by Robert Alstead Documentary 82 minutes, 2006 Featuring music by The Peacekeepers, Dubfreque, Roots Roundup, Boskey, Wannes Rombouts, NN, Hieronymus, and The Flykicks. Copies of the DVD are available for $20 CAD from www.youneverbikealone.com/dvd Damon Rao has been Critical Massing in Melbourne, Australia for ten years as of this month. He has been living in Vancouver for a year.