Biking, Hiking, Running

Three Books from the 1970s

The 1970s saw a burst of books on energetic personal activities.  I was  long into bicycling, hiking, and morning runs, so I was enthusiastic over three books published that decade.

The bicycle provided my geographic liberation and  teen employment in the early 1950s.  I bought a bicycle early on arrival for graduate school in Berkeley in 1960, and years later, when on an extended job remote assignment in Southern California, I bought a folding bike which I kept in the car trunk for spontaneous excursions.

In 1970 Eugene Sloane's The Complete Book of Bicycling was issued.  It served me well when I commuted to work by bike during the energy crunch in the later '70s.

 

 

I cartooned myself in my '70s cycling.

 My 1980s folding bike was a Hon, purchased at the Orange County Swap Meet, then a center of entrepreneurial upstarts. It folded compactly and fitted a carrying bag.  Hon later became Dahon in response to a trade mark dispute wit the HON office furniture business.  More than once observers told me that I looked like I was riding a circus bike because of the small wheels and high seat and handlebar stem.  This recent ad shows a bike similar to mine, now passed along in the family.

 

 In 1975 Backpacking: One Step at a Time, Harvey Manning, appeared.  It informed my planning and outfitting of hiking/backpacking ventures.

 

 

Rounding out my 1970s trio, James Fixx's The Complete Book of Running came out in 1977.  I was already a regular morning jogger, so I picked up this book as well.  

 

 The book was immensely popular, number one on the New York Times best seller list for many weeks.  Fixx was a guest on various radio and TV shows extolling the benefits of running including promoting longevity, but alas, he died of a heart attack at the age of 52 while jogging.