Pedal power

the quiet rise of the bicycle
in American public life

From the night rides of Critical Mass to the dumpster diving Rat Patrol, J. Harry Wray, a bike enthusiast and DePaul University Poli Sci prof, shows the eccentric side of the biking universe. It also illustrates the mainstream efforts of politicians like U.S. Representative Jim Oberstar and plain folks like Biker Mama Jane Healy.

Dedicated to the idea that biking is an ongoing act of nondestructive living, Pedal Power shows why the dominance of the car is yesterday's idea. It edges us closer to a more democratic, multi-modal transportation system so essential in the age of global warming.

The bike, regarded as irrelevant to the 20th century, is making a comeback in the 21st. Pedal Power takes us there and suggests that the most compelling thing about rolling is that it changes the way people experience the world and, therefore, the way they think.