Road Rash - Introduction

Road Rash: A Literature Review of Cycling on a Car-Continent

The first understanding I had when doing a literature review of North American bicycle transportation is that such texts, scholarly or otherwise, are sparse. This is in contrast to literature on sport or recreational cycling, of which there is plenty, but which is not our subject.

Only in the last three to four years have texts related to cycling lifestyle become more pronounced. Academic writing on bicycling culture is sparse, and this is all the more apparent when looking for a specifically North American perspective on bicycling. However, the writing that is available on life with bicycles reveals an interesting divide between the success of cycling in some European countries and the struggle for some North American cities to likewise transform their car-oriented habits. In short, it proved difficult to do a literature review on North American writing on cycling culture without continually being brought back to texts that referred to European bike culture. Much of the North American writing on cycling is either on the topic of European models of cycling (such as some choice cities in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany) or commentary on how North American bike culture compares to or is different from European models. Of course there are exceptions to the rule.

There are flourishing biking cities in North America such as Vancouver and Portland, and there are also some cities in the aforementioned European countries that have challenges with their cycling goals. This literature review will refer to the general rule as opposed to the exceptions in an effort to highlight the current overall status of bicycle transportation in North America.

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