Book Review: Cycling to Work

Tom Crispin said:

I have been asked to write a book review for the National Association
for Environmental Education. Here it is. Constructive critisism is
welcome before I send it off. I expect the first paragraph will be
heavily editied or deleted altogether. Still, I've a point to make
about GSK.

If you want to make that point I would have a lawyer check it thoroughly
first. If its printed as is and you cannot prove your claim (and can
afford to do so) you could potentially be in big trouble for libel. Any
half awake editor will remove it but I wouldn't take the chance if I
were you.

Tony

On Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:17:22 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Tom Crispin said:

I have been asked to write a book review for the National Association
for Environmental Education. Here it is. Constructive critisism is
welcome before I send it off. I expect the first paragraph will be
heavily editied or deleted altogether. Still, I've a point to make
about GSK.

If you want to make that point I would have a lawyer check it thoroughly
first. If its printed as is and you cannot prove your claim (and can
afford to do so) you could potentially be in big trouble for libel. Any
half awake editor will remove it but I wouldn't take the chance if I
were you.

I can prove it all right.

In a society where university students are sent down if they so much
as kiss, pregnancy out of wedlock is considered criminal behaviour.
When the Chinese management of GSK learnt of her "condition" she was
fired immediately.

The Chinese government is little better. They fined her a sum
equivalent to about US$3,000 when she had a second child. But I
suppose that if the society you live in allows you only one child you
have to accept the consequences if you break the law.

"Tom Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been asked to write a book review for the National Association
for Environmental Education. Here it is. Constructive critisism is
welcome before I send it off. I expect the first paragraph will be
heavily editied or deleted altogether. Still, I've a point to make
about GSK.

The first paragraph alone would remove any desire of mine to buy the book.
I'm not interested in the fecundity of your sister in law and the ante natal
practices of employers abroad.

If the book is about UK cycling practises, review UK cycling practises.

Tom Crispin said:

Both books introduced me to the term BUG
(bicycle use group)

I'd always thought it was Bicycle *User* Group.

Tim

Tim Hall said:

Tom Crispin said:

Both books introduced me to the term BUG
(bicycle use group)

I'd always thought it was Bicycle *User* Group.

Ta.

On Sun, 22 Jul 2007 18:14:06 +0100, "vernon" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Tom Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been asked to write a book review for the National Association
for Environmental Education. Here it is. Constructive critisism is
welcome before I send it off. I expect the first paragraph will be
heavily editied or deleted altogether. Still, I've a point to make
about GSK.

The first paragraph alone would remove any desire of mine to buy the book.
I'm not interested in the fecundity of your sister in law and the ante natal
practices of employers abroad.

If the book is about UK cycling practises, review UK cycling practises.

Yeah, well it was never likely that the first para would make it
beyond the draft stage.

I still find it extraordinary that two books with the same title
should make it through my letter box in one week.

Tom Crispin said:

The
journey continues through a discussion of cycle friendly workplaces -
which provide showers and irons and may even give you £2 a day for not
using a parking space

Only one of the many GSK sites does this. The others do not. It's not
because
they are pro-cycling - they just don't have enough parking spaces. The
GSK site
I used to work at made it impossible to cycle to the bike shed and
when
the smoking ban happened in Scotland, they made one end of the bike
shed the new smoking facility. They also banned bicycles from site on
alleged safety grounds. Hardly cyclist friendly.

So, an excellent company to work for if you are a cyclist at GSK House
(they
have secure bike parking, lockers and showeres for cyclist as well as
the
Evans vouchers), but not really any good for most of its employees.

PhilO

Tom Crispin said the following on 22/07/2007 17:28:

Quoted message said:

I can prove it all right.

Maybe, but what relevance does that have to the book reviews?

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:00:54 +0100, Paul Boyd

usenet.dont.work@plusnet said:

Tom Crispin said the following on 22/07/2007 17:28:

Quoted message said:

I can prove it all right.

Maybe, but what relevance does that have to the book reviews?

Nothing. But I will not mention the virtues of GSK without mentioning
its exploitations.

How about this:

CYCLING TO WORK - A beginner's guide
Rory McMullan; Green Books, Foxhole, Dartington, 2007
96 pages of 93% recycled paper; ISBN 978-1-900322-12-6
75p - £4.95 depending on quantity purchased

Weird! In forty years of life and thirty-five as a cyclist not one
book titled "Cycling to Work" has been sent to me… And then, last
week, two arrived through my letter box on consecutive days, one from
the London Cycling Campaign and one from NAEE. Both books introduced
me to the term BUG (bicycle user group) and neither book considers
wearing a helmet to offer any significant benefit for commuting by
bike.
Rory McMullan's book takes the reader through the thought process of
why you should cycle, breaking down the obstacles and barriers, before
taking you on a tour of a bike shop, explaining the bewildering array
of bikes you may encounter. He then discusses what clothing you might
need, which, if the photos, posted on the Internet, of the London
naked bike ride are to be believed, is not a lot. He then goes on to
talk helmets and bells and lights and locks and other bike bling.
There follows an excellent chapter on safety checks and safe riding
position (which is not hugging the kerb, but making sure you can see
and be seen), and then a handy chapter on bike maintenance. The
journey continues through a discussion of cycle friendly workplaces -
which provide showers and irons and may even give you £2 a day for not
using a parking space - before it concludes with a mention of the joys
of leisure cycling and a list of handy WWWs for you to tap into your
web browser should you not already have enough information to dust off
that bike of yours in the shed.
A very basic no nonsense guide. Very useful if you are, or are
considering becoming, a new or returning cyclist.

Quoted message said:

Weird! In forty years of life and thirty-five as a cyclist not one
book titled "Cycling to Work" has been sent to me… And then, last
week, two arrived through my letter box on consecutive days, one from
the London Cycling Campaign and one from NAEE. Both books introduced
me to the term BUG (bicycle user group) and neither book considers
wearing a helmet to offer any significant benefit for commuting by
bike.
Rory McMullan's book takes the reader through the thought process of
why you should cycle, breaking down the obstacles and barriers, before
taking you on a tour of a bike shop, explaining the bewildering array
of bikes you may encounter. He then discusses what clothing you might
need, which, if the photos, posted on the Internet, of the London
naked bike ride are to be believed, is not a lot. He then goes on to
talk helmets and bells and lights and locks and other bike bling.
There follows an excellent chapter on safety checks and safe riding
position (which is not hugging the kerb, but making sure you can see
and be seen), and then a handy chapter on bike maintenance. The
journey continues through a discussion of cycle friendly workplaces -
which provide showers and irons and may even give you £2 a day for not
using a parking space - before it concludes with a mention of the joys
of leisure cycling and a list of handy WWWs for you to tap into your
web browser should you not already have enough information to dust off
that bike of yours in the shed.
A very basic no nonsense guide. Very useful if you are, or are
considering becoming, a new or returning cyclist.

You'll prolly need to write wot NAEE stands for, and one of your sentances
has five commas in which seemed a tad excessive (naked bike ride). Would
it read better if a couple of commas moved to the first sentance "In forty
years of life, and thirty-five as a cyclist, ..."?

In the conclusion you call the book 'very basic'. I took this as a bit of
a bad point.

On 23 Jul 2007 10:26:14 GMT, Mark
<pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Weird! In forty years of life and thirty-five as a cyclist not one
book titled "Cycling to Work" has been sent to me… And then, last
week, two arrived through my letter box on consecutive days, one from
the London Cycling Campaign and one from NAEE. Both books introduced
me to the term BUG (bicycle user group) and neither book considers
wearing a helmet to offer any significant benefit for commuting by
bike.
Rory McMullan's book takes the reader through the thought process of
why you should cycle, breaking down the obstacles and barriers, before
taking you on a tour of a bike shop, explaining the bewildering array
of bikes you may encounter. He then discusses what clothing you might
need, which, if the photos, posted on the Internet, of the London
naked bike ride are to be believed, is not a lot. He then goes on to
talk helmets and bells and lights and locks and other bike bling.
There follows an excellent chapter on safety checks and safe riding
position (which is not hugging the kerb, but making sure you can see
and be seen), and then a handy chapter on bike maintenance. The
journey continues through a discussion of cycle friendly workplaces -
which provide showers and irons and may even give you £2 a day for not
using a parking space - before it concludes with a mention of the joys
of leisure cycling and a list of handy WWWs for you to tap into your
web browser should you not already have enough information to dust off
that bike of yours in the shed.
A very basic no nonsense guide. Very useful if you are, or are
considering becoming, a new or returning cyclist.

You'll prolly need to write wot NAEE stands for, and one of your sentances
has five commas in which seemed a tad excessive (naked bike ride). Would
it read better if a couple of commas moved to the first sentance "In forty
years of life, and thirty-five as a cyclist, ..."?

As magazine which has asked me to write the article is published by
the National Association for Environmental Education, and is
distributed free to all NAEE members, I don't think an explaination is
necessary.

Is this better for the Naked Bike Ride sentence?

He then discusses what clothing you might need, which if the photos on
the Internet of the London naked bike ride are to be believed, is not
a lot.

Quoted message said:

In the conclusion you call the book 'very basic'. I took this as a bit of
a bad point.

It didn't really teach me anything I didn't already know (I lied about
the term BUG). I don't really know who would buy it. Perhaps a bulk
purchase by an organisation trying to encourage employees to cycle to
work. Note the list price is £4.95, but the bulk purchase cost is as
little as 75p.

How about this?

The book is a no-nonsense guide which, if you are a new or returning
cyclist, would be very useful.

Tom Crispin said:

On 23 Jul 2007 10:26:14 GMT, Mark
<pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[snip review]

...commas... ...excessive...

Is this better for the Naked Bike Ride sentence?

He then discusses what clothing you might need, which if the photos on
the Internet of the London naked bike ride are to be believed, is not
a lot.

Quoted message said:

How about this?
The book is a no-nonsense guide which, if you are a new or returning
cyclist, would be very useful.

They can't both be right :-). A punctuation expert may be along ina
moment but I think the comma delimiting the condtional clause should
be /after/ "which"

best wishes
james

email hidden said:

Tom Crispin said:

On 23 Jul 2007 10:26:14 GMT, Mark
<pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>
wrote:

They can't both be right :-). A punctuation expert may be along ina
moment but I think the comma delimiting the condtional clause should
be /after/ "which"

Ta.

Tom Crispin said:

On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:00:54 +0100, Paul Boyd

usenet.dont.work@plusnet said:

Tom Crispin said the following on 22/07/2007 17:28:

Quoted message said:

I can prove it all right.

Maybe, but what relevance does that have to the book reviews?

Nothing. But I will not mention the virtues of GSK without mentioning
its exploitations.

How about this:

Much better. Since you had two books it would be interesting to have a
contrast and compare or at least a few words about the other book and
its relative merits. It is also not clear which of the two books the
one you review is. Is it the NAEE or the LCC one that Mr McMullan wrote?

Tony

On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:05:55 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Tom Crispin said:

On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:00:54 +0100, Paul Boyd

usenet.dont.work@plusnet said:

Tom Crispin said the following on 22/07/2007 17:28:

> I can prove it all right.
Maybe, but what relevance does that have to the book reviews?

Nothing. But I will not mention the virtues of GSK without mentioning
its exploitations.

How about this:

Much better. Since you had two books it would be interesting to have a
contrast and compare or at least a few words about the other book and
its relative merits. It is also not clear which of the two books the
one you review is. Is it the NAEE or the LCC one that Mr McMullan wrote?

Is this clearer?

And then, last week, two arrived through my letter box on consecutive
days, one from the London Cycling Campaign and one written by Rory
McMullan sent to me by NAEE.

By citing two examples of where the books agree and nothing where they
differ, I had hoped that I'd established that both books say the same
things. The LCC one is, in fact, a 16 page A5 booklet, and carries
less detail and is more focussed, e.g. no maintenance advice or buying
a bike advice.

For your information, here are the contents pages of the two books:

LCC
3 It's good for you
4 It's fast!
4 Lose pounds, save pounds
5 Save the world
6 London and rain
7 Being safe
8 Cyclewear
9 But how do I get there?
9 Arriving at work
10 Work, and how to make it better for cyclists
10 Tax breaks
11 Bicycle User Groups
13 LCC Corporate Affiliation
14 Give it a try

McMullan
9 Why cycle?
17 Can you cycle to work?
25 Buying a bike
41 What else do you need?
51 Getting started
59 Cycle maintenance for beginners
71 Is your workplace cycle-friendly?
81 It's not all work
89 Further information
94 Index

"Tom Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been asked to write a book review for the National Association
for Environmental Education. Here it is. Constructive critisism is
welcome before I send it off. I expect the first paragraph will be
heavily editied or deleted altogether. Still, I've a point to make
about GSK.

CYCLING TO WORK - A beginner's guide
Rory McMullan; Green Books, Foxhole, Dartington, 2007
95 pages; ISBN 978-1-900322-12-6
75p - £4.95 depending on quantity purchased

If it's the same as the one I've just read, spot the typo on page 12, I
think, something like "giving up your bike and driving a car will improve
the environment." oops!

I found it to be an excellent little book, generally well informed, easy to
read and informative, but there were a couple of interesting omissions:
despite a much longer list about what type of bike to buy than most, no
touring bike, and no mention of the CTC under the section on leisure
cycling - I wonder if the two are linked. Both rather surprising given the
number of CTC people who contributed. The list of bikes includes something
called a "comfort bike" which I've never come across before, and I wonder
why that was included in a book about commuting.

burt said:

If it's the same as the one I've just read, spot the typo on page 12, I
think, something like "giving up your bike and driving a car will
improve the environment." oops!

Nope, apparently correct the first time. Die young and save the planet:
http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~ulrich/documents/ulrich-cycling-enviro-jul06.pdf

Tony

"burt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Snipped to save space

Quoted message said:

I found it to be an excellent little book, generally well informed, easy

to

Quoted message said:

read and informative, but there were a couple of interesting omissions:
despite a much longer list about what type of bike to buy than most, no
touring bike, and no mention of the CTC under the section on leisure
cycling - I wonder if the two are linked. Both rather surprising given

the

Quoted message said:

number of CTC people who contributed. The list of bikes includes

something

Quoted message said:

called a "comfort bike" which I've never come across before, and I wonder
why that was included in a book about commuting.

"Comfort Bikes" seem to be one of Shimano's ideas http://tinyurl.com/yt6p8l
The relevant section on the Shimano site is undergoing modification but you
will see what sort of thing they are if you click the above link.
--
Colin N.

Lincolnshire is mostly flat ... But the wind is mostly in your face