Bike Snob Abroad: Strange Customs, Incredible Fiets, and the Quest for Cycling Paradise Kindle Edition

Having thrown away the snobbish author's other bike snob book for it's overload of personal and political crap before halfway through, I trashed this one (sorry I bought them together) before opening the cover.

Since I am a follower of bikesnob since quite a long time I am normally in agreement on his views in general. What I like in his books is that he gets a chance to focus on one area and take up more space that is not really possible on a blog.This book is good since it compares differences between places and what is perceived as "normal" in one place is totally "abnormal" in another place. In many places of the world using a bicycle is the norm and considered not strange at all. Also - if you happen to get wet because of rain doesn't mean that you will catch pneunomia and die - we are not made of sugar after all. Also - being a cyclist it is possible to connect with people all over the world and share storiesTo sum it up - I like his thinking and even more his sense of humour.

BikeSnobNYC is a talented and entertaining author, and while this latest effort is certainly worth reading, it smacks a little of the "We have an established fan base now so we can toss together something fairly mediocre and still sell enough copies to make it worthwhile" syndrome, to which many successful authors and franchises seem to fall victim.

This book series is great. You can't go wrong with this purchase. Content is great, and very humerous. Books are beautifully bound and illustrated. A pleasure to own the whole collection and have it on my bookshelf.

If you bought this book hoping to find the same rapid-fire wit and humor as the Bikesnob NYC blog you may find yourself disappointed. Bike Snob is at his most clever and funny when he's systematically destroying the pretentious attitudes and values held by so many cyclists, but here he's trying to analyze cultures (notably, the Dutch) that treat bicycles merely as everyday transportation. As a result, Bikesnob is more thoughtful in this book than he is satirical. Some people may enjoy that, but others could find it a bit of a letdown.

Weiss continues his ride through life , this time bringing his family along. His observations and comparisons of London, Amsterdam, Brindisi and New York bring hope to those two ride that the future of transportation will include bicycles.

The Bike Snob’s approach to riding bicycles comports very well with my own: bikes are practical and could be put to use to advantage in our lives, in order to expedite almost activities which require transportation, and also as an excellent form of recreation, promising both higher levels of physical and mental fitness. The prose is crisp and witty, as the snob fully explores his precarious position as someone who has issues with his own biking subculture and who lives in a society that is in many ways not conducive to (mentally healthy forms of) cycling. Bike Snob Abroad also serves as compelling cultural criticism for his American readers, as he makes the case for America as a country which despises weakness (cyclists, kids, the poor, etc.). The Dutch, on the other hand, come off quite good, by comparison. The prose is fluent, and the belly laughs are frequent. Reading this book is so much fun that you regret it when it's over, and you look for ways to extend the experience—such as writing book reviews like this.

Recommend for any bike enthusiast. Easy fast read loaded with strange and interesting facts. I enjoyed it very much and go back to rerasd parts on a regular basis.

i love Bike Snob's writing on cycling. He's everything the blurb always says - wry, cynical, funny but most of all I feel I would like to get together and talk bikes with him. It was interesting (as a London bike commuter) to get his take on cycling in London (shared lanes for buses, bikes and taxis - it could only work in a city where everyone is really, really polite - really? wow!) and Amsterdam. I loved his previous books and this was not a disappointment.

This was my first Bike Snob book (I'd never read the blog or heard of it) and I loved it. It was an impulse buy on my Kindle and I'm pleased I got it (I've since gone on to buy his other two books). The style is really friendly - it's as if your listening to a very literate friend tell you his tales of (almost) adventure... I'd recommend this to anyone who has even a casual interest in cycling.

My partner thought this was classic Bike Snob fodder and laughed a lot, though the concept is an anathema to me.

The bike snob has hit all the right buttons. Why is cycling seen as a dangerous activity? The bike snob addresses this and many othe thorny subject that affect us cyclists. Brilliant must read.

this book is awesome and a pleasure to read. am currently reading it for a second time and it hasn't lost any of its wit and charm.