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'Pedal Power' book showcases Chicagoland
By Margo O'Hara
DePaul
University professor Harry Wray may seem like a typical professor
– papers stacked on his desk, books crowding his office walls
– but his take on bicycling is anything but.
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| Professor, author and Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
member Harry Wray. |
In his newest book,
“Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public
Life,” Wray calls out bicycling as an influential force
that has shaped and continues to shape our country’s political
climate.
“Politics is inherently self-centered, and the politics of
bicycling is no different,” said Wray, who is also a Chicagoland
Bicycle Federation member.
“What distinguishes this agenda, however, is the very direct
way biking also benefits the greater good. Bike-friendliness is
good for those who never affix their cheeks to a saddle.”
And Chicagoland rests at the nexus of this political transformation.
Aside from highlighting individuals’ efforts, "Pedal
Power" names the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s strength
and its members’ passions as critical components of the momentum
that continue to push this change forward.
“Pedal Power” gives a crash course in the current bicycling
climate in the country and connects the variety of bicycling experiences,
motivations and outcomes to political progress – on more than
one front.
“The key to understanding the power of the bike is understanding
that it is not a solution to one particular problem, but part of
the solution to so many problems,” he said. “One can
have fun while doing good.”
A subtle but important point of the book is that all kinds of bicyclists
affect change, whether they are actively fighting for progress or
just enjoying the ride.
What Wray calls “Bike Eccentrics” and bicyclists not
in direct advocacy groups—groups like Critical
Mass, Rat
Patrol and Chi-Town
Cruisers – are vital to the bicycling movement. They get
people onto bikes and grow the base and make the bicycling movement
stronger and stronger.
As for the people who are directly involved in bicycle advocacy,
Chicago’s role is unmistakable. The book introduces readers
to key players, like Jane Healy and Alex Wilson.
Through researching Pedal Power, Wray discovered the undeniable
national movement around bicycling.
Though Wray admits “there are still miles to pedal,”
he is optimistic about the future of bicycling and its potential
to create political change that benefits the greater good.
“ ‘There’s something about a bike’ is a
phrase enthusiasts often use. I have tried to figure out what that
‘something’ is, and I think it is that the bike is a
very powerful builder of community,” Wray said. “Nothing
says ‘me’ like an automobile. Nothing says ‘we’
like a bike.”
Margo O’Hara is the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s
Communications Director.
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