“Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike” is both an attractive little book and an odd one, in content as well as in physical form (I enjoy but do not understand the reason for its shape). Penned by Rivendell Bicycle Works founder and legendary bicycle designer Grant Petersen, it is as much a collection of thought-provoking rants as it is a genuine guidebook. While not, by far, the only book you’ll ever need to read about riding bikes, it might be both a good one to start with if you haven’t read any others and a good one to continue with if you have read other cycling guides and are looking for something different.
As with any and all books offering advice, one should read this book thoughtfully and critically rather than following said advice on faith alone. This is especially true regarding his advice on dieting and hydration, both of which are perpetually controversial topics. I do think that most of the book’s advice is quite sound, though; his frequent injunctions to set your bike up so that it is comfortable for your body, and his tips for figuring out what that means for you, were more than a little helpful for me when I was first getting seriously interested in cycling and wanted to figure out how to be comfortable on my bike (though the answer which I arrived at after endless saddle and bar adjustments ended up being that I had to get a bike which actually fit me).
Ultimately I would call this one of the most fun and useful books of cycling tips I’ve come across. I enjoy the author’s writing style, which conveys a sort of grumpy-but-extremely-knowledgeable grandpa personality that seems very much in keeping with what I know of Mr. Petersen. It’s an entertaining book, and, thanks to its bite-sized chapters, an easy one to pick up and leaf through. Recommended for readers who enjoy high-quality steel and questioning authority.
You can buy the book from Petersen’s company, Rivendell Bicycle Works (and ogle their gorgeous – and sometimes strange – bicycles while you’re on the site). I’m also a big advocate of using your local public library, which is where I got the copy I read (my public library, that is, not yours, unless you happen to live in the same city as me).
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