Bicycle Diaries

What do you make of a book title Bicycle Diaries written by an artist best known for lead for leading the Talking Heads? David Byrne has a created a "diary" that really isn't a diary; A "bicycle advocacy" book that really isn't a bicycle advocacy book - and even a "social criticism" book.

And in the end, it is a pretty good book.

Byrne is not a "cyclist" but a person that likes to get around on a bike. He finds it as a great vehicle for exploring world cities, not an excuse to dress up in spandex and race. As such his "advocacy" tends much more to the practical side. Cities should make themselves friendly for "normal" people to do "normal" things on bikes. However, he is not going to wait for that to happen. He has been willing to bring his bike around the world and use it to get around. He ha acknowledged the degrees that different cities around the world either encourage, accept or disregard cycling.

He is also an artist that travels extensively. His stories are those of an artist and his encounters with the city. The "diary" portion reflects his interest in art galleries, music and the associated people (both contemporary and historical.) He documents the artistic "vibe" of cities around the world that he visits.

Finally as a social critic, he finds a way to open-mindedly analyze and criticize many different aspects of modern society. (He even managed to bring in the plight of Zimbabwe farmers in to the mix.) He comes across as the type of person that could find the positive side of just about any negative argument (and the negative of any positive.) About the only absolutes he seems to have are that cities suffer from car-dependence and the US suffers from Bush's wars.

The book is organized in to chapters covering major cities. They all tend to be built around a visit to the city and a bike ride through some part of the city. From there each chapter goes in its own direction. Sometimes he observes musical tastes (Argentines don't know much about Latin music, while Philipinos are really in to Karaoke). Other times he analyzes the way a city was built, what art really is, or different types of nightlife.

The book finally winds down to biking and cities. The suburban experiment was a flop. Urban areas do need to be reclaimed from the car. Some of his suggestions would probably make bike advocacy groups cringe, while others would strike fear in to the hearts of politicians. However, his goals are practical and viable. He mentions diversity of development and the presence of children on the streets as a sign of healthy cities. If only we could find more of those places these days.