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bike tribes by mike magnuson. rodale books hardcover. 224pp illus. $18.99 (£12.13).

bike tribes

it's hard to know whether modern society lives in praise of the individual or would, more conveniently, wish them part of the crowd. it is surely a truism that a crowd is simply a large collection of individuals, but having banded together under that banner, the collective mind invariably takes over and the crowd behaves as one. we've all seen it happen with the borg in star trek: the new generation.

that makes it all undoubtedly true.

i have little recollection as a child, both before and during my school years, of feeling any overwhelming need to do as others did. i'm none too sure that my peers felt any differently. yet i can't help but observe that the current crop of young people (oh how i hate that phrase) seem intent on following whatever is the order of the day; haircuts, mode of dress, trainers, computer games and an inability to spell correctly when sending text messages. this is of course, to return to my diatribe of yesterday, a subjective perception, one that i would likely be loathe to apply to myself and immediate peer group.

thankfully, life is healthy enough that i have communicants who have no earthly idea what it is i see in riding a bicycle, particularly given the weather and distances this often encapsulates. these civilians, as it seems only fair to refer, are ameliorated by my extended cycling family (this is beginning to come across as an episode of the waltons) with whom i can relax and feel not out of sorts should i wish to discuss the merits and demerits of hydraulic disc brakes on your above average road bike. as such, this family inhabits the world of bendy bars, skinny wheels and a latent attraction to the spring classics.

if i was domiciled in a country other than great britain, this would surely be classified as tribal behaviour, evidenced by a plethora of similar yet different individuals agglomorated together as a crowd. or tribe.

the dawning realisation that, swimming against the tide of personal opinon, as a confirmed cyclist of whichever hue, i and my cohorts could conceivably be seen to exhibit such behaviour is not a new one, but under examination, does come as a bit of a surprise. it would paste me safely into the category of acute observants had i come to this notion all on my own, but i must devolve this intelligence in the direction of bicycling magazine columnist, mike magnuson. in the manner of the very best description of the blatantly obvious, such a situation is only seen as such after it has been pointed out.

think in terms of the purple harry pipecleaners; stunningly obvious, but it took the two harrys to forcibly bring it to our attention.

mike magnuson, however, has gone at least one stage further, by very cleverly pointing out the direct association between each of these cycling tribes who, left to their own devices, would likely be oblivious of the thread running through their adopted activity/mode of transport. i can perhaps explain myself (and mr magnuson) a tad more explicitly if i described the genres incoprporated in the book's narrative. however, in the cause of retaining a sense of obscurity that may entice you to enquire further on the book's eventual publication (22 may), i provide for your delectation, one or two of the chapter titles...

the wrench who keeps us rolling; the occasionally dirty; the legend of rando; what vintage do you prefer. you either catch my drift or you don't.

it perhaps goes without saying that a list of cryptic titles do not necessarily make for a satisfactory reading experience, and had mr magnuson simply related his observations in this manner, my enthusiasm and yours would likely remain dormant. however, there are two strategies at play in the book's 224 pages (appropriately illustrated by danica novgorodoff) adding up to a whole that is possibly greater than the sum of its parts. magnuson has subtly, but cleverly, used at least one character in each chapter to all but seamlessly segue into the subsequent tribe. the clever bit sprang to life when i was comfortably half way through the book before i realised.

each tribe is concluded by a concise precis of the bicycle affiliation to which the preceding characters belong, lest the story has left you floundering in the bike shed. as such, bike tribes is a satisfying experience for any level of cyclist or non-cyclist to read. there are conceivably some tribes previously un-met, but i defy anyone to reach the last page without having found much to agree with, or left blushing at the accuracy of mike magnuson's perceptions.

though all is portrayed without any discernible prejudice towards one or other tribal affiliation, magnuson cannot restrain from getting a smidgeon over-excited at his own cycling predilection. and i quote "in this sense, you must take it with a proverbial swig of belgian chimay when i say that cyclocross is the most totally awesome, most totally inclusive, most fun, most kick-ass, most a-1 wonderful form of bike racing on the face of god's green earth. for real! this is my considered opinion, and how the heck could i disagree with myself?" i can think of a few who would concur.

as stated above, pretty much all this is glaringly obvious, but it takes a writer and observer of magnuson's calibre to not only discern the differences and relate the commonalities, but to characterise each in such an acute and entertaining manner. the subtitle a field guide to north american cyclists has obvious leanings toward americana than this side of the pond, but that is surely merely an accident of geography, one that i feel transcends the inevitable translation when reading. tribal we may be, but international differences are considerably less pronounced than you may think.

the $64,000 dollar question, however, is: how long will it take before you recognise yourself?

bike tribes by mike magnuson is published by rodale books on may 22 2012.

posted monday 19 march 2012.

twmp

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