Cyclist's Manifesto : The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four

The Cyclist's Manifesto makes the most powerful case to date for a simple fact: America can no longer afford to ignore the bicycle as a tool for serious transportation. Robert Hurst takes off his gloves to lay out the case in favor of the bicycle as today's superior mode of transport—and to voice a resounding call to action for people to use it.

In an engaging narrative that takes us from the past to the present and into the future, the author visits a surprising variety of places and historical moments. Hurst argues that America's aversion to bicycling for transportation is a unique historical-cultural absurdity based largely on false assumptions and bad information. Humorous but more than a little exasperated, and strikingly nonpartisan, The Cyclist's Manifesto paints a tantalizing picture of just what the effects of substantially increased bicycle usage might be—the health care savings would be astronomical, for example—and the ways that individuals and governments can go about wresting back control over their energy destiny.

Robert Hurst, a veteran bicycle messenger who has cycled nearly 200,000 miles and 20,000 hours in heavy traffic, is a student of history and the author of several FalconGuides, including The Bicycle Commuter's Pocket Guide and The Art of Cycling.