Just Ride by Grant Petersen (book review)

It can be very easy for a new bike rider to get really bogged down in the whole spandex clipless pedal carbon frame stuff. The other end of that is the whole fixed gear thing though it seems that both wear their own fair share of spandex. You just want to ride your bike down to the grocery store, to work or down to the local bar for a few drinks and not die. You're not looking to enter any sort of race and definitely not one of those alley cat bullshit things. Mostly because you're city probably doesn't even have bike messengers. I mean really it's called email.

Both of these groups fill your head with the single biggest aching question -- Am I doing this shit right?

I mean when you're a kid, well if you're a kid that was born in the previous century before the 1984 type crack down on any type of outside fun, you hopped on a bike and you went places, ran each other off the road and generally had a good time, but now that you're an adult you have your doubts about whether it's actually okay to just jump on your bike in street clothes and get where you're going.

The race crowd says "Well if it's a hundred mile endurance ride in a pace line, you have the right gear, you fuel, carb load, wear lycra and generally look like you're getting your prostate checked than yeah you can just jump on your bike and ride."

The fixed crowd says "Well yeah you can jump on your bike and ride, but you're not really riding a bike unless it's fixed gear, in a big city...and you have a gauge earring."

It's hard to tell what's what and that's where Just Ride comes in by Grant Petersen. It's everything you really needed to know about how to practically cycle without all the crap of trends and shiny magazines.

He dispels all the myths of equipment, health, safety and attitude. Basically the message is just get on your damn bike and ride already. It will make you feel better about just riding and by just riding you'll end up faster than most spandex wearing weekend warriors. 

Get it, read it and don't pay for it. It's available at the Forsyth County Central Public library. At least it will be when I return it.