Bike Snob review: He's not so snobby after all

Admittedly, I'm a late bloomer when it comes to Bike Snob.

The popular, NYC-centered cycling blogger remained off my radar until I came across a review of his book last year. The book, titled "Bike Snob: Systematically and Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling," came in response to his hugely successful blog that has been drawing readership in droves since 2007. Likewise, his book has also been a huge seller.

Unlike health & fitness-centered cycling blogs, the Bike Snob pokes and prods at the cultural aspects of cycling. He's critical of all types of bikes (matter of fact, I'm a little scared to think of what he'd say about my 2-wheeled transport, probably nothing good), rips on hipsters and basically holds nothing back when it comes to daily nuisances that annoy him. The result of which is a rant-filled blog that covers a rainbow of societal topics and makes more movie references than one would care to keep track of.

I don't know how it took me so long to discover this cycling-centric gem (I'm guessing it's because I live in Minnesota and because I do enough reading at work), but I've grown to enjoy the Bike Snob's blogosphere ramblings (check out his blog here). His cultural jabs can be rather biting, but for the most part, it's all good-natured ribbing.

However, a lot of his topics are difficult for me to relate to, as his blog is very urban-oriented and Mankato isn't exactly a sprawling metropolis. He can write about bike messengers all he wants, but I doubt I'm going to spot one cruising on Madison Avenue anytime soon.

By comparison, his book turned out to have a much more positive tone. Instead of poking fun at the foibles of others, he actually does a great deal of poking fun at himself, talking about his early cycling experiences with his BMX bike as a kid and his early career as a bike messenger.

His personal experiences help establish that, at the core of things, the Bike Snob is really a huge cycling enthusiast. He loves bikes and clearly feels strongly about them being one of the world's great inventions. As the Bike Snob puts it, a bike:

"can give you the feeling of freedom and speed you get from riding a motorcycle, the sense of well-being and peace you get from meditating, the health benefits you get from an afternoon in the gym, the sense of self-expression you get from learning to play guitar, and the feeling of victory you get from completing a marathon." (page 11)

In that regard, the book is considerably more accessible than the Snob's blog. Rather than worrying if his social commentary is going to hit close to home, you can sit back and enjoy the writing of a man who loves his bike.

For the novice cyclist, the book serves as an introductory guide for anybody looking to get into biking. There's a brief, wonderfully-lampooned history lesson on the bicycle, a section on the essential repairs all cyclist should be able to do themselves and a few safety tips everyone should adhere to (like looking around for stuff you don't want to run into).

That's not to say the book reads like a "Cycling for Dummies" guide. Instead, the Bike Snob's book seeks to take away some of the fear surrounding cycling by pointing out that bikes are user-friendly machines that everyone can use. You might use the wrong chain lube or fall off the bike a time or two (Lord knows I have), but those are learning experiences you can build off of.

For the experienced cyclist, the book is a reaffirmation of why we love cycling to begin with. It also serves as a wake-up call for people who take themselves too seriously on a bike.

Which brings me to the social commentary aspects of the book. Like his blog, the Bike Snob's book is full of em. However, he keeps his rants brief and the reading pace brisk. There's still a healthy dose of pop culture tidbits (he may have hit max capacity for "Forrest Gump" references and even referenced "Krippindorf's Tribe" at one point), but they never get convoluted to the point of bogging down the points he's trying to make.

Some of his points were pretty thought-provoking as well. I found myself spending the most time on his chapter breaking down all the different types of cyclists, mostly just because I wanted to see which category I fit into.

Like any other well-written, opinion-based work, I found myself disagreeing with the Snob from time to time. He claims cyclists never have the feeling of impotency a motorist has being stuck in traffic, whereas I can attest from my sunburn-filled trip to Blue Earth last summer that it's very possible to feel impotent on a bike. I also take exception with the Snob saying that there's no such thing as a "biking culture." If a cycling-centric event like RAGBRAI isn't a cultural experience, then I don't know what is.

But really, that's half the fun of reading his book if you're an avid cyclist: finding things to disagree on. The Bike Snob has built a name for himself in the blogosphere by expressing his opinion.

There's plenty of opinion in his book, but the joy in reading it doesn't come from his usual social commentary. It comes from his refreshingly-open profession about his love for cycling.

Exercise for the mind: A trip to the library

Admittedly, I'm kind of a bookworm.

I bring a book with on most biking day trips, enjoy a good read while on one of the exercise machines at the Y, and even have a favorite reading spot in Mankato that I like to bike to (Weagel Park off the Red Jacket Trail).

So with time to kill on my day off earlier this week, I swung by the Blue Earth County Library and searched for books about biking in Minnesota. Considering my interest in the topic, I figured it would at least be material I'd enjoy reading and possibly give me ideas for bike rides to try in the future. Who knows? Maybe there's a cool ride in the Mankato area that I haven't experienced yet.

After a healthy amount of searching, I settled on two books to take home with me: Road Biking in Minnesota; and Bicycle Trails of Minnesota. The two books have similar titles, but each takes a different approach at describing cycling goodness in Minnesota.

The road biking book is probably my favorite of the two. It maps out 40 bike rides that the writer (M. Russ Lowthian, an avid midwestern cyclist) feels best encapsulates Minnesota as a state, ranging from 25-mile jaunts to 110-mile mega-challenges. Granted, there's an obvious skepticism that comes with any book that tries to label things as being the "best" (really, a matter of opinion), but Lowthian's approach in choosing and formulating the rides is both logical and fun to read.

He specifically avoids using bike trails whenever possible, instead opting for low-traffic back roads or roads with a deep shoulder for cyclists. This gives the rides room for creativity rather than relying on trails to guide them. Another appeal of the book is that the routes aren't just described by maps and elevation guides; Lowthian also lists points of interest, camping, food stops and bike shopes you can find along the way. Instead of focusing on distance and exercise, he focuses on the appeal of the journey (definitely a view point that's right up my alley).

There are three rides in the book that are relatively close to Mankato. There's the Blue Earth Challenge (an 82-mile loop that starts in Mankato and travels to Lake Crystal, Good Thunder and St. Clair); the Sakatah Cruise (60-mile loop between Elysian and Faribault in which half of it takes place on the Sakatah Singing Hills trail); and the Quad Park Cruise (a 52-mile loop that begins and ends in New Ulm). Those three rides, in addition to few other ones in the book, can be found here.

By comparison, the bicycle trails book is a lot more basic. It's part of the American Bike Trails series and thus focuses entirely on trails. Each of the 120+ trails in Minnesota is described with maps, parking lot listings, facility locations, and the occasional area attractions.

The biggest flaws in the book are its age (published in 2007, numerous trails have been completed or revised since then and merit updating) and its failure to list practical points of interest for riders. Maps and parking lots are essential information to find a trail, but that isn't the information needed to explore a trail.

For example, the listing for the Sakatah Trail has the campsite in Madison Lake and the bathroom facility in Elysian listed, but it doesn't include the Trail Blazer Bar & Grill or Tucker's Tavern, both of which are great places to eat along the trail. It also doesn't have nearby bike shops listed for any of the trails; information that could definitely come in handy for any down-on-their-luck cyclist (Lord knows it would have for me a time or two).

Perhaps I'm alone in this thought process, but I envision to ideal cycling book to be a mix of a park map and a tour guide. It should give a detailed map and description of a bike ride, then discuss the nooks and crannies that make said bike ride appealing.

It pretty much boils down to what you're looking for in the book. If you want logistical information on trails, the bike trails book is the way to go. If you're looking for ideas for adventurous rides you can go on, than Lowithian's book is what you want.

Both books are useful in their own way, but I found Lowithian's to be the more useful (and interesting) read of the two.