Grant Petersen's "Just Ride": The Campy Only Review

Years ago, long before my friends and I were old enough to drive, we rode our bikes everywhere. We rode to school, we rode to friend's houses, we rode to the movies. At the time, motocross racing was exploding in popularity, and we updated our Sting Rays to look like the motorcycles our heroes rode, adding nobby tires and sturdier handlebars and number plates with decals on them. Forget that we were just kids pedaling bikes along a dusty trail in a not-yet-built subdivision--we were having fun, and the trappings of motocross racers we followed were part of that fun.

In many ways, Grant Petersen's new book "Just Ride," reflects the spirit of those early days of cycling that most of us share, when riding was done for fun end enjoyment, without the need for 100- and 200-mile endurance tests, superlight bikes, and a seemingly neverending focus on speed.

Petersen speaks at the US Bicycling Hall of Fame

Petersen, founder in 1994 of Rivendell Bicycle Works and before that a marketer and designer for Bridgestone USA, has in many ways never left those days too far behind. Yes, he dabbled in racing (in fact, he competed for almost a decade), but his focus in his Bridgestone and Rivendell years has been on creating bikes that hearken back to an earlier era. (Full disclosure: I own two Rivendell bicycles, and I can attest to the number of comments and questions I get about the bikes, usually something like, "How old is that bike? It sure looks like a classic.")

Grant Petersen's "Tireside Chat" at the US Bicycling Hall of Fame

The 13th stop on Grant Petersen's nationwide tour for his latest book, "Just Ride," saw the largest turnout yet for his personal appearances. Petersen, founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works, gave a presentation at the US Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis, CA, then answered questions ... and made some of the "controversial" statements he is know for (helmets encourage people to ride unsafely, clip-in pedals and shoes don't work, etc.).

Grant Petersen at the USBHOF

We'll have a review of Grant's book in this space soon; in the meantime, here are more photos from the event.