Just Ride

The book Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike arrived on my door step last night and since I was busy building the Ghost bike for the Hit and Run here close to home I have only been able to read thru about half of it. You can expect a more complete review in the future. Here however are some thoughts I have on this book.

1. Grant Petersen comes across as preachy, arrogant, and elitist.
2. The things I agree with him I really agree with.
3. The things I disagree with him, I REALLY disagree with.

I understand what he is trying to say, The idea of the "Unracer" and the idea that modern bicycle racing has affected how we view bikes. This is true, however the book goes in the exact opposite direction, discarding most if not all that is "Racer" in an attempt to define "Unracer" This is something I just don't agree with. I am by no means a racer, My bikes are not racing bikes, and I have desire to be part of the peleton. I do find that there are many things I can gain from the modern bike tech that has made it's way down from the rarefied air of the high tech, super light racing circuit.

He argues in his book that when we drive cars (which I don't do) we don't drive racing cars around but he fails to realize that many of the advancements in our cars which make them more efficient, safer, and better handling came from those very race cars.

That being said, I am really enjoying the book and have learned several things from it.