Bicycle Memoir Reveals Disturbing Group Behavior

A new memoir, called Bike Hunt, uncovers disturbing patterns in bicycle advocacy and other nonprofits. In the early 2000s, Sue Knaup believed she had landed her dream job as director of the Thunderhead Alliance, a national bicycle nonprofit. Though she had escaped abuse as a child, her ambition obscured her descent into workplace abuse. Over the ensuing five years, she discovered she was not the only nonprofit leader struggling against bizarre manipulations.

Ten years after her board fired her without cause, Ms. Knaup has published her memoir capturing not only the disturbing group behavior she encountered, but her own role in allowing the abuse. Her first years at Thunderhead are thrilling as she compares her successes to her previous jobs in nonprofits. All the while, a system of manipulation is laid out by one particular board member as he slowly gains support from others within Thunderhead as well as the bicycle industry. Meanwhile, she watches in dismay as bicycle nonprofits across the United States are crippled by similar group behavior.

As she fights for her job, Ms. Knaup’s “Bike Hunts,” searching for then giving away used bikes, become her lifeline back to her former, courageous self and the world. Recollections of her daring as a San Francisco bike messenger, river guide, and hitchhiker remind her of a time when no one could bully her. Her previous experience in the animal rights, environmental, and special populations movements help her decipher how her time at Thunderhead went so terribly wrong.

The day after she surrenders the fight, Ms. Knaup founds One Street, an international nonprofit serving bicycle organizations with kindness and respect.

Bike Hunt is a tragic love story of an enchantment with and sacrifice for a magical machine. In the end, it is a story of hope and resilience for anyone who has ever let themselves slip away into ambition.

“Sue Knaup’s Bike Hunt is at once a compelling memoir, a narrative of discovery and political activism as well as a look at bicycles as you haven’t seen them before,” said Thomas Cobb author of Darkness the Color of Snow and Crazy Heart.

“Knaup’s story is deeply moving—sad and funny and full of moments of insight. She has the rare talent to see with clarity where meanness or dishonesty have prevailed, and her adventures are a thrilling read,” said Elaine Greensmith Jordan author of Mrs. Ogg Played the Harp. 

Buy your copy of Bike Hunt through booksellers worldwide or at www.OneStreet.org. All proceeds support One Street’s service to bicycle nonprofits around the world.