I was sorry to read on Bicycle Retailer yesterday about the death of author Tom Cuthbertson at age 60. Not long ago, I bought an original 1972 copy of his book “Bike Tripping” at a garage sale. As the title implies, the book is full of great information about cycle touring and many other types of riding. The humorous prose and the really great pen and ink illustrations have the flavor of the decade in which this book was written. To me, the 1970’s slant really adds to the book’s appeal. This book, along with his better known “Anybody’s Bike Book”, are credited with helping to start the bike boom of the 70’s.

For those of you wondering what this book has to do with the design of bicycles, I highly recommend the bonus chapter titled “the frame”. This chapter was written by the well-known frame builder Albert Eisentraut, and explains in layman’s terms, but not without some detail, the design and construction of traditional bicycle frames. The whole book, including the frame chapter, is very entertaining. I recommend checking it out if you get the chance.