In Bike Nation, Peter Walker take us on a journey around the world, exploring the varying attitudes to urban cycling. With unprecedented access to politicians and campaigners alike, he is a leading expert and a key voice in the national cycling conversation.
According to Transport for London, motorists entering central London during the morning peak in 2000 outnumbered cyclists by more than 11 to 1. By 2014, the ratio was 1.7 to 1. If these trends continue, the number of people commuting by bike will overtake the number commuting by car in 2019. And it’s not just London – councils in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds are all making multi-million pound investments in bike paths and cycling hubs. With all this in mind, it’s safe to say that cycling is one of the hottest topics on our highways.
In Bike Nation, Peter Walker explores the idea that helmets could actually be more of a hindrance than help to cyclists’ safety; that if better provisions were made for cyclists, we could improve gender equality on our roads; looking at respected medical studies, he illustrates how cycling just three times a week could revolutionise our national health. A healthier, safer and more egalitarian nation could be on the way – if we become a Bike Nation.
Peter Walker is a political correspondent for the Guardian. In 2009 he founded the Guardian Bike Blog, which has quickly become the primary destination for cucling debate. In 2014 he was named by BikeBiz magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in UK cycling, and in 2016 he was shortlisted for the Specialist Writer category at the Cycling Media Awards.
“Peter Walker has written the book I wanted to write. It shold be compulsory reading for anyone in a decision-making role. This might be a sweeping statement but when you see the diverse and positive impact cycling could have on our lives – cyclist or not – you’ll understand.” – Chris Boardman.
“Stacked with stats and filled with stories, this book is as exhilarating as a clear stretch of highway. If we are at a turning pointfor cycling in big cities, this book is it.” – Jeremy Vine.
Interested in learning more about Newham Bookshop and some of the people connected with it? We have four lessons for classroom or family use developed from On the Record’s oral history project centered around Newham Bookshop, Writing and Reading Newham. Click here for full details.
We are proud that Newham Bookshop is LoveReading’s Bookshop of the Month. The article features a Q&A with Vivian Archer, which you can read here.