Book Review: Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne

This was a book I wasn't aware of until very recently, although I was aware that David Byrne cycles when on tour as I previously stumbled across his account of riding the banks of the Tyne and though the fab cycle tunnel. You can read that account here here

If you don't know, David was the lead singer and founder of the rock band Talking Heads and has done a lot of other art projects since.

Anyway back to the book. It's basically a series of explorations by bicycle though various cities from Buenos Aires to London and San Francisco to Manila. 

It's much more than a bunch of bike ride stories as David is a person of deep thought and curiosity and he delves deep into the culture and society in the various locations with musings on everything from art to urban planning. This makes for a very interesting and entertaining set of travelogues.

There's a short section at the back with some of David's cycling tips along with some bike stands he designed for New York, but it's not a book about bicycles and cycling. They are just the magic carpet for this zen like journey across the world and David's inner thoughts.