Abstract
Cycling studies are booming. As the need to reduce transport-based emissions by increasing the modal share of cycling becomes more urgent, it has become imperative to understand cycling in all its facets more deeply. A growing number of publications and conferences (Cycling and Society; Cycling Research Board) testify to this. This new edited volume provides state-of-the-art cycling studies and is an excellent representation of this trend. Counting no less than 48 relatively brief chapters plus 13 vignettes, the Routledge Companion to Cycling is a valiant attempt at providing an overview of the field and, as such, can be regarded as a successor to Cycling and Society (Routledge, 2007). The book is divided into eight sections: The first, Cycling and Society, serves as a general introduction and discusses cycling's relationship to, among others, theory, gender, sociality and inclusivity. Parts two and three deal with topics usually less visible in cycling studies, namely, the bicycle as a technical object (Cycle Technology) and an economic object (The Cycling Economy). Parts 4 to 6 discuss specific types and places of cycling (Urban Cycling; Sport Cycling, Health and Lifestyles; Places of Cycling), while the last two sections deal with cultural representations of cycling in images and writing, respectively (Visual Culture of Cycling; Cycling in Literature).
Editor Glen Norcliffe hints at the volume's approach in his introduction: “There is no universal understanding of a bicycle. Its function is contingent upon the perspective adopted, and its position in space and time, culture and politics, so it may be understood in many ways” (p. 1). This book then goes on to chart many of these different understandings. Each chapter serves as a brief, well-referenced introduction to its topic. The chapters alternate between rather encyclopaedic entries on broader issues and more in-depth looks at specific aspects of cycling, making the book a relatively engaging read, not least because of the lively vignettes.
It is impossible to mention all the contributions. Some of the stand-outs include Buliung, Kruse, Norcliffe, and Radford's Chapter 13 on cycling technologies and disabilities, Sarmiento-Casas’ chapter on street vending using cargo tricycles in Mexico City (Chapter 19), and Vivanco's chapter on cycling in Bogotá (Chapter 38). Hans-Peter Hahn, in the sole chapter on African cycling, argues convincingly how historians of African mobility have ignored the role of the bicycle as a source of freedom and economic benefits by focusing too heavily on cars (Chapter 34). McCullough's chapter 32 (“Cycling's symphony of place”) is also a highlight, providing a fascinating argument for how historians and geographers have generally ignored the revolutionary role of early cyclists as “landseeërs” who transformed landscape perception (p. 364). The entire section on bicycle technology itself is welcome, as this subject is often ignored. It corrects some assumptions about the presumed unchanging nature of the cycle as an object since the invention of the safety bicycle in the late nineteenth century.
While this wide-ranging book lacks a section explicitly devoted to cycling history, readers of this journal will be happy to know that there are quite a few historical chapters. Others devote short passages to the history of their particular sub-topic. Bonham and Jungnickel's Chapter 2 on gender and cycling extensively discusses this historical relationship. The chapters in the Cycle Technology section often detail the history of various bicycle parts like wheels, frames, and brakes before delving into more recent developments. Hahn's and McCullough's aforementioned chapters deal with African cycling and nineteenth-century cycling culture as a way of being in nature, respectively. There are also many insights into the history of the bicycle industry in Taiwan and China in part 3 (Chapters 14, 15, and 18). Part 7 on the visual cultures of cycling and part 8 on cycling and literature are primarily historical, with numerous examples of depictions of cycling in art. However, the focus is rather heavily on nineteenth-century French, British and, to a lesser extent, American cycling culture. This is fairly typical for much cycling history, which tends to discuss the upper-class cycling culture of the nineteenth century and the revival of cycling since the 1970s, but not the critical decades of predominantly working-class cycling in the middle of the twentieth century. In addition, while work on the history of cycling policy and infrastructure by Albert de la Bruhèze, Veraart, and Oldenziel is cited occasionally, the history of the politics of infrastructure and the clash between cycling and driving doesn’t get much attention.
As comprehensive as this volume is, there are inevitably some other omissions. It is especially striking how little attention is paid to the cycling cultures of Denmark and the Netherlands. Outside a brief chapter on Copenhagen, there is nothing. Much has been written on these countries, and introductory chapters to that scholarship would surely have belonged in this book. In addition, in terms of inclusivity, the book presents many insights into cycling and disability, as well as cycling and gender, but fewer on the relationship of cycling to race or age. Cycling's health benefits are discussed, but not its potential for sustainable urban mobility.
Nevertheless, the number of aspects of cycling this volume touches upon is truly impressive. The editors have compiled a remarkably diverse, engaging and stimulating collection of essays that will interest any reader interested in cycling, no matter their background. This volume will serve especially as an up-to-date introduction to cycling studies. It is perhaps not a book to read from cover to cover, although that would provide an excellent overview of the state of the art. In short, this book provides a must-have resource and an ideal starting point for anyone interested in getting into or teaching cycling studies.
