Review: Jobst Brandt Ride Bike!

It's no secret that I'd been a follower of the late Jobst Brandt for many years, and have indeed read all of his trip reports hoping to follow some of his routes and glean his hotel recommendations. When Isola press offered a Kickstarter copy of a book with photos from his various outings to the alps I jumped on it, knowing full well that most of the text would have been stuff I'd read before.

My kickstarter copy was a softcover with high quality perfect bound back. The binding is such that it's not easy for the book to lay flat, so it's best read with both hands on the book. The photographs and drawings are reproduced with high fidelity, including the faded photographs from his youth. The slides of course reproduce well with no hint of color fading. You get to see how much ice there used to be on the Rhone Glacier and on Grosse Scheidegg back in the 70s and 80s, and how the glaciers there are now but pale shadows of their former self. You also get to see how few cyclists there used to be.

I did learn many things in this book, including about his honeymoon drive through the alps, as well as the story of how he got into Stanford (yes, faculty kids do get legacy-style access to top universities).   The old ad copy of him leaning his bike way over on treadless tires reminds me that so many follow-ons (like Jan Heine) are basically frauds in terms of actually understanding the mechanics behind traction. The text is well organized and fun to read, including stories from industry luminaries such as Tom Ritchey and Joe Breeze (who's confusedly abbreviated as JBr in the book!).

The whole book oozes quality, and I reads it cover to cover in a night. You're unlikely to find it at the library but it will look nice on your bookshelf. Recommended.