Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne

Title: Bicycle Diaries 
Author: David Byrne 
Type: Travel Journal 
Genre: Non-Fiction 
Series: No 
Pages: 297 
Copyright: 2009 
Publisher: Viking 
Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
A renowned musician and visual artist presents an idiosyncratic behind-the-handlebars view of the world’s cities

Since the early 1980s, David Byrne has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes and started taking them on tour. Byrne’s choice was made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation it provided. Convinced that urban biking opens one’s eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city’s geography and population, Byrne began keeping a journal of his observations and insights.

An account of what he sees and whom he meets as he pedals through metropoles from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Istanbul to San Francisco, Manila to New York, Bicycle Diaries also records Byrne’s thoughts on world music, urban planning, fashion, architecture, cultural dislocation, and much more, all conveyed with a highly personal mixture of humor, curiosity, and humility. Part travelogue, part journal, part photo album, Bicycle Diaries is an eye-opening celebration of seeing the world from the seat of a bike.


Feelings: 
This was a hard book for me to put a rating on. I really enjoyed parts of it and other parts were not as interesting to me. The insights about society that can be gained from looking at how cities perceive transportation were very intriguing.

I should note that the book wasn't all about biking in different cities, that was only a small part of the book. A large part of the book was about David Byrne meeting people and going out and his thoughts about his. I did not find these as interesting as his musing on society.

In a care one would have sought out a freeway, one of the notorious concrete arteries, and would never have seen any of this stuff. Riding for hours right next to it was visceral and heartbreaking--in ways that looking at ancient ruins aren't. I recommend it. (p.26)

He says after a bike through the ruins on the outskirts of Detroit. I thought it was very interesting to compare ancient ruins to modern ruins and how the houses that were falling apart would never become ancient ruins but would be gone long before then.

I can't say I recommend this book as a whole but parts of it were very interesting to me.