Saturday, June 07, 2008
By Larry Walsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jim Joyce of Emsworth calls his book “a celebration of the bicycle by people who ride.”

And that it is.

It was the logical step for the veteran bicyclist, who first had the idea in 1996 that led to The Bicycle Exchange, an online magazine (www.bikexchange.com), and now to “The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom and Wanderings.”

The book is a compilation of stories, essays and cartoons from 25 talented writers and cartoonists, including a Pulitzer Prize winner, most of which were first published on the Web site.

Seven contributors to the book have roots in Pennsylvania.

“I put out a feeler for stories and cartoons and got so many good ones that I thought it would make a good book if I could put it together,” Joyce said.

“Then I started pitching it to a publisher.”

He eventually found one in Julie Murkette of Satya House Publications in Hardwick, Mass.

Joyce and one of his contributors, Bradley Swink of Springdale, a former pro cyclist, will autograph the book and read from it at 7 p.m. Monday at the Springdale Free Public Library, 3312 School Street in Springdale.

In “Greasy Food, Sweat Socks and the Mountains,” Swink describes a day of training in the Laurel Highlands in 1990 with William Mac Martin, “a bike racer and multi-sport athlete who would later become a multiple world champion biathlete and triathlete,” as well as his daily training partner.

Swink and Joe Ross, a mutual racing friend, were told the ride would be “an easy parade through the lowlands with a climb or two thrown in to stretch the legs.

“Looking back on that ride, I can’t recall even a single pedal stroke turning with any resemblance of ease,” he wrote.

The day was memorable for several things, including an early morning rainstorm followed by sunshine and 90-degree temperatures that transformed the two-lane country roads into a succession of saunas.

Swink recalled that they covered about 100 miles in seven hours or so and finished by climbing the road out of Ohiopyle State Park.

The enjoyment factor of the book increases incrementally with the number of shared experiences between reader and writer.

Topics include:

“An Invitation to the Open Road and the Laws of Cycling; Bike Bonding; A Bike-Illogic World in Perfect Balance; Are You a Gearhead.

“Vacation Survival for Bike Maniacs Who Travel with Non-Bikers; Of Dogs and Cyclists: The Difference Between Riders; Joy Ride; Romancing the Bike.

“Bits’n bolts from “Ask the Mechanic;” Snap, Rattle, Crunch, Bang; Shifting Ahead: Predictions for Cycling in the 21st Century; Our Best Day Ever; Spinning His Way into History.

“Beyond the Streetcar: Way Beyond; Riding Buddies; Cross Country Tandem Trip: A Journal; and Bicycle Touring in Your Own Backyard.”

There are also tips for riders of all persuasions.

Jay T. McCamic of Wheeling, W. Va., an attorney, offers one of the best for riders from out of town — the local library.

“The folks there know everyone in town, and they also are in the business of finding the answer,” he wrote. “They are not in the business of selling you something.”

Joyce is donating 15 percent of the royalties from the $14.95 book in equal shares to:

The League of American Bicyclists of Washington, D.C., an organization “working for a bicycle-friendly America.” (www.bikeleague.org)

SoldierRide.org of Jacksonville, Fla., an adaptive cycling program “providing cycling tours for wounded soldiers and raising public awareness and money for those who have been severely injured.” (www.soldierride.org)

The United States Association of Blind Athletes of Colorado Springs, Co., an organization “providing opportunities for serious competition, including tandem bike racing, for blind and partially-sighted athletes.” (www.usaba.org)

For more information, go to www.BikeBook.net and www.SatyaHouse.com.
Larry Walsh can be reached at lwalsh@post-gazette.com and 412-263-1488.

Click here to read another article about the Bicycle Book from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review