Boneshaker gets interviewed on PDX Writer Daily. Here’s an excerpt:

PDX Writer: First, maybe you could tell us a little bit about the origins of Boneshaker, because the first issue isn’t out yet, right?

EPS: That’s correct. Boneshaker’s first issue, BA 42-100, will be released at the end of May. [We] have been discussing the prospect of book about bicycle commuting and the bicycle as a tool for social and environmental change for many years, but we finally realized that a one-time definitive book would be almost impossible. We settled instead, then, on a serial that celebrates the ways and reasons people use the bicycle in their everyday lives.

PDX Writer: How often will it come out?

EPS: We’re releasing it two and a half times a year; or five times every two years. Whichever way you want to look at it...And so, as an almanac, Boneshaker will feature profiles, interviews, facts, fictions, figures, maps, graphs, and/or drawings, all of which will cover various aspects of bicycle transportation. It’s “the practical bicyclist”s handbook,” or “the basic field and street manual for the perpetual commuter,” if you wish, pocket-sized and presented in good conscience.

PDX Writer: With that comment about “pocket-sized,” maybe you should mention a bit about the format and design of the journal...

EPS: Well, when [we] sat down to hash out the physical details of the almanac, we came across an old 1941 Department of War soldier’s handbook, which was intended to be carried by war-going young men heading into battle, presumably in their coat pockets. So, as self-proclaimed members of this nation’s bicycle army, we thought it was only fitting to model Boneshaker after that little book. As a result, every issue will measure only 4 ½” x 6 ½”, willing and ready to be taken into the heart of cities where cars and large, loud trucks still reign supreme...

See the whole interview at http://pdxwriting.blogspot.com.

Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac is published two and a half times a year by WFP with the intent of providing relevant, interesting, and useful considerations of bicycle commuting. Geared towards anyone even remotely interested in going by bike, the pocket-sized collection gathers news, information, facts, figures, and fictions for the common cyclist.

With interviews of respected members of the bicycling community, as well as profiles of bike-related grassroots organizations and individuals, not to mention essays, graphs, lists, letters, and stories, Bonesheker attempts to shine light on utilitarian bicycling.

The editors of Boneshaker believe that the bicycle, when conceived of and used appropriately, can become a tool for social change and community building. And though bicycling has become, for better or worse, an activity tied to radical undertones and bohemian implications, we are less interested in those types of categorizations and more so with simply riding bicycles to get where we are going. This almanac is, therefore, a collective ode to the ride itself, that fundamentally lonesome experience one has in the saddle, and the results of repeating that ride over and over in different directions on different days with different destinations in each instance. Boneshaker is not, however, anti-car; it’s just thoroughly pro-bike in heart and mind.

Modeled loosely after the War Department’s 1941 Soldier’s Basic Field Manual, Boneshaker fashions itself to be the practical bicyclist’s periodical-style handbook.

Release Schedule: - BA 42-100: May 2008.

- BA 42-200: Oct ’08
- BA 42-300: Feb ’09
- BA 42-400: Jun ’09
- BA 42-500: Dec ’09 (available also as a five issue bundle)

Boneshaker is available for $5 at bookstores, bike shops, and cafes in various parts of the country, or via subscription, and always, by asking the editors nicely.

Contact:

Evan P Schneider at boneshakeralmanac@gmail.com

Please visit us at http://www.myspace.com/boneshakeralmanac