Studio Forbes - Blog

Coast-to-Coast Bike Culture

Bikes serve many purposes. They give us speed, agility, and utility; they help us exercise and grant us independence. They carry risks and can be dangerous in extreme situations. They can stimulate us intellectually and erotically (I'm not the only one, am I?).  They also both give rise to and reflect local communities and cultures, and this might be their most magical and underappreciated quality. I was reminded of this recently when I attended two back-to-back bike events on opposite coasts this month: I was a juror for part of a bike design contest at the Oregon Manifest, and a guest at Bike Rides, a show at the Aldridge Museum in CT. The events and opening night parties highlighted cultural contrasts from two very different communities. Portland is the bike Mecca of the US, and the Portland Manifest grows out of a bike community supported by a range of civic-minded biker groups with icon Chris King at the center. Bike performance, usually speed and racing, is at the heart of this bike cult, and the aesthetic has refined traditional underpinnings. We juried 27 handmade bikes designed to meet strict functional criteria, like carrying capabilities, portage, and special locking systems. The bikes also had to be put to the test of a 77-mile road and off road race the next day. The Pacific Northwest is home to more independent designer/builders than anywhere else in the world – thanks in part to nearby United Bicycle Institute.    The opening night Manifest party was a beer and burrito fest, with all the handmade, juried bikes on display. The downtown Portland venue had all the raw character of a SOHO art opening without any of the pretense, though I suppose you might have felt misplaced if not a biker. There were unadvertised contests as well - how big a backpack could be carried through the crowd, and how cute a cap could be worn. It’s mostly a guy thing. The party was a celebration of the people behind the bikes and of Portland as the epicenter of the US bike movement. The Aldridge Museum event focused on the bike as cultural symbol rather than as performance object. Many of the bikes on display would not have made it through the 77-mile course required in Portland. Some were in fact immobile, like the bronzed still life from Cai Guo-Qiang, an amazing artist whose show at the Guggenheim was a tour de force. Lance Armstrong’s winning Trek was given celebrity placement, but was getting less attention than the Puerto Rican Schwinn Club’s cruisers. A community bike design contest – how to pimp up your ride – was held the next day in the parking lot. The prize deservedly went to some local kids who had decorated their bike with stuffed animals (presumably unaware of how close their work came to some by the Campana Brothers). The opening party combined some Cirque de Soleil-like stunts, performers on mini-cycles, unicycles (replete with hula hoops), trial ride demonstrations and some amazing erotic dancers. Martinis and fine food were on hand to brighten the event and assist the museum in its fundraising. There were as many women as men in attendance, most dressed up in eveningwear. No cute hats (on men) or backpacks (on anyone) – this was a proper east coast social event. The two events had little in common except the fact that they existed because of bikes, and in both cases the bikes reflected the local culture and brought the community together. Bikes can do that. They are as comfortable being appreciated as aesthetic creations as they are on the street or pounding along off road. The US is way behind most other modern industrial societies in terms of bike usage. We ride bikes about 80% less than do the citizens of most European countries. I know, Europeans are just Europeans, but they were right about cheese and wine and yoghurt, and hopefully events like these two will help focus our attention and wake our culture up to bikes and biking. Both events deserve a closer look and a visit if you are near. We sold out of our signed copies of David Byrne‘s book immediately. This was a limited offer and there are no more. But we will sell you unsigned copies at the bargain price of $18.00 including shipping (US only). Check it out Non-bikers Wanted We are working on an online project to learn more about the reluctance many people have towards purchasing (and using) bikes. If you would like to be part of this focus group please let us know.

David Byrne - A Talking Head, Not a Gear Head

Musicians and Bikers are not conventionally grouped together. Not on the streets; not in literature. So it makes perfect sense that David Byrne stands at the intersection of these two pursuits. He recently completed his book Bicycle Diaries, a culmination of 30 years of bike rides and observations from city streets around the world.

We have 50 signed copies of the book available (sold out). And if you sign up on our new Public website we'll have many other bike related items in the near future.

Reading Byrnes' book is a lot like taking a bike ride through a new city. You don't know what to expect next. You will encounter some stuff that makes you want to get off, stop and think, other parts you can't wait to rush through. You are never told what to think and are always allowed to proceed at your own speed. You could even take the ride in reverse, beginning with the Appendix and Epilogue where you will learn a range of things - why raccoon tails present problems on helmets, what New York can learn from Bogota, why "sidewalk ballet" is essential, and a lot more. There is something for everyone here, unless you are not interested in any of the following: art, politics, music, food, Brazil, modernism, David Byrne himself. At his formidable website  you will find, among many other things, many more professional book reviews.

I came across David Byrne's connection to bikes and urban culture while researching a bike rack design contest for NYC earlier this year. Having some parallel interests and a little good fortune, I met with him shortly thereafter, and have been keeping in touch with him a bit since. He's helped me to figure out some practical things, like what type of foldable bike works best for travel, and some designer things, like how Corbusian concepts screwed up urban planning. More than anything, he has reminded me how much more authentic (and fun) it is when the world is truly seen from an individual viewpoint. He helped remind me why I really ride my bike so often.

Byrne's biking perspective has little in common with the Lance Armstrong racing culture, cardio-oriented sports riders, or die hard commuters. "I don't ride my bike all over the place because it is ecological or worthy. I do it mainly for sense of freedom and exhilaration." There is thankfully very little focus on mechanics or technology. He is after all, a Talking Head not a Gear Head. His fierce political leanings are a constant refrain throughout the book. But even more persuasive are his actions. He has been riding a bike (and often risking his noggin) for thirty years, long before it became chic.

Bikes simply allow Byrne to view the common world in a way that cars and other forms of transport do not. "On a bike, being just above pedestrian and car eye level, one gets a perfect view of the goings-on in one's own town." Biking keep him agile, balanced, a little defensive and humble. There is great humility in a rock star viewing the world this way. The book reminds me of George Nelson's How to See, which Nelson originally wrote to help civil servants appreciate design. Both works share the mission of asking us to look and think more personally and curiously about our man-made environment, as if it were new to us.

David Byrne hasn't only been studying urban culture from a bike saddle. He has used his celebrity to meet with the leaders of the modern urban design movement, like Denmark's Jan Gehl, Bogota's Enrique Penalosa, and New York's Janette Sadik- Kahn. He has incorporated the thought and vocabulary of Jane Jacobs into his view, and has become an articulate spokesperson for urban design fundamentals: intelligent sidewalks, mixed-use planning, diversity, density, and other basic concepts still generally underappreciated. His Town Hall meetings have reached a wide international audience. If this book does nothing more than introduce the ideas of these leaders of the urban movement to a broader public he will have been a remarkable advocate, as much as he demurs from that role.

I was lucky enough to see David Byrne in concert this summer at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. The performance was staggeringly great - tight, provocative, inspiring, even astounding. He is a consummate and riveting performer. OK, so Bicycle Diaries does not have quite the same energy and focus. It is after all, a diary. But this book, together with Byrne's other bike related activities - blog, Town Hall meetings, bike rack design - are as original as his seminal Talking Heads music, and may turn out to be as enduring. It is classic David Byrne. Same as it ever was.

*These fifty signed books (were) available on a first come first served basis. They cost $30 including shipping. We might not ship very fast, but biking is not always first about speed.

Best,

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