We appreciate the headline above is a bit misleading, but we assume you already know that the Sea Otter we mentioned is an event rather than an actual animal. Actually we assume you know that we poke fun at it a lot on the years we’re not there.
Amid the sea of tech-bro marginal gains this weekend, there’s rumor of cartoon-based joy. Cycling activist and All Bodies on Bikes co-founder Marley Blonsky is launching her debut children’s picture book, The Ragtag Best Friends Bicycle Club: A Story About Riding Your Own Way, alongside a matching apparel capsule from Shredly.
A Cure for the Typical Cyclist
Published by Strong Girl Publishing and featuring vibrant illustrations from Pip Claffey, the book is designed for kids ages 4 to 8. It follows a group of friends who don’t fit the mold of what the industry usually tells us a “typical cyclist” looks like.
We’re often cynical. We can’t drive past someone on a bike without criticizing their setup. (Yes, drive. Obviously we don’t pass people when we’re riding, we’re too slow.) But our philosophy is always that more people on bikes is better.
Forget the unspoken rules about how you should dress, what you should ride, and what your body is supposed to look like. If you’re on a bike you’re right by us. And Blonsky has spent her career dismantling those barriers. Now she’s taking that message straight to the next generation.
“This book is the story I wish I’d had as a kid,” Blonsky says. “It’s for every child who’s ever felt left out or doubted whether they belong—on a bike, in sport, or anywhere else.”
Whether they want to race, pop wheelies, or ride to get ice cream, the book celebrates the simple, universally appealing freedom of getting on two wheels.
The Book Release Meets the Kit Drop
Less excitingly, Blonsky is pairing the book launch with a Shredly apparel drop inspired by the artwork in the book. IDK, man. It’s hard to imagine what book we would possibly wear as a kit. The Medusa fighting the Odalisque from Infinite Jest? Some kind of incomprehensible cosmic viral horror representing salvation, from our novel Chaos Terrain? One of the fake diarrhea medicine sponsored teams we invented for Striking the Sun might be the true answer.
Anyway. Blonsky will be hosting book readings at the Sea Otter Kids Zone, the Prevelo booth, and the Shredly booth throughout the weekend.
The Ragtag Best Friends Bicycle Club officially launches tomorrow, April 15. You can grab a copy at StrongGirlPublishing.com, and check out the new kit at Shredly.com.