Bike Nation

Peter Walker has written the book I wanted to write. It should be compulsory reading for anyone in a decision making role. This might seem a sweeping statement but when you see the diverse and positive impact more cycling could have on our lives - cyclist or not - you’ll understand. * Chris Boardman *Stacked with stats and filled with stories, this book is as exhilarating as a clear stretch of highway. If we are at a turning point for cycling in big cities, this book is it. * Jeremy Vine *Where cycling is considered normal, and where it’s done by 25 percent of more of the population, people are healthier, happier and richer, demonstrates Bike Nation. – Carlton Reid * Bike Biz *Peter Walker may just have written the most convincing argument ever seen for ‘how cycling can save the world’… Walker provides invaluable information on every discussion that you are likely to encounter when making the case for cycling… This book should be sufficient to convince rational people that we would all benefit from a society that is less centred on motor vehicles and more open to the benefits of cycling – Richard Peploe * Road.cc *It’s the sort of book best read with a highlighter pen as there lots of different quotes, facts and interviews that you’ll want to refer back to again and again… If you’re involved in cycle campaigning, this book is an excellent introduction to new members of your group to help get them up to speed. It’s also a powerful read for transport planners, councillors, MPs, council officers and local influencers. Anyone with even a semi-open mind in making the town they live in work better for everyone (including drivers) will find this an illuminating read. I highly recommend this book * Girodilento *This is not just a book for cycle campaigners. It will help everyone who cycles to understand how they are part of something that has the potential to change our nation for the better – Victoria Hazel * Cycle *This is a very timely book. Peter Walker is a political columnist at the Guardian, and when it comes to writing in a calm, fact-heavy tone that still manages to hold your attention, there are few that can match him. He’s also been one of the newspaper’s regular writers on cycling for several years now, and for this book he clearly had a wealth of material to draw on… Overall this is a great summary of the challenges facing cycling, as well as the opportunities it presents to transform our cities and our lives. It’s accessible enough to be read by anyone, regardless of their knowledge of cycling, and I’d happily drop a copy in every town hall or transport authority’s office in the UK, like a sustainable transport version of a Gideon Bible. It’s also imbued with an empowering sense of optimism, particularly around the recent developments for cycling in London. We have a huge amount of work to do if we want to turn cycling back into an attractive, safe form of everyday transport in the 21st century. But this book sets out the why and the how as elegantly as anything I’ve read – Antony de Heveningham * Singletrack Magazine *

Peter Walker is a news correspondent for the Guardian. In 2009 he set up the Guardian Bike Blog which has published dozens of writers and has quickly become a primary destination for cycling debate. In 2014 he was named by BikeBiz magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in UK cycling, and in 2016 he was shortlisted in the Specialist Writer category at the Cycling Media Awards.