Growth of Cycling - 1891-1896

Article in the Washington DC "Morning Times for June 21, 1896, describes the phonomenal growth from less than 1,000 to 30,000 plus in 1896, with a graphical representation of this growth.

There are several places in the city at which the bicyclers meet unconsciously in the great afternoon tours which are usually taken to the north into the lovely suburbs. One or these places is on Capitol Hill, Second street and Pennsylvania avenue southeast. A writer from The Times took the pains the other afternoon to watch the stream or bicyclers as they passed that point, some going down the grade toward the Botanical Gardens, others north toward new Library Building, and all heading for points west and north. He counted the flyers for forty minutes, and found that the average was nine per minute. This, of course, does not mean all day, but in those, at present, delightful hours of the after noon, when the Departments are closed and the prospective tourists have dined well.

and

INCREASE IN SALES. Another measure of the phenomenal increase of sales is had from the records of the dealers. The record of one of these is as follows: In 1892 he sold 12 machines; In 1893, 80; In 1894, 124; In 1895, 200; and 633 so far in the present year. He expects to make a record of 1,500 sold for the whole year 1898. [Well, 1898 was not so good, I expect]

and

The police bicycle squad is doing good work. Although comprised of but three officers and organized less than one month ago, the silent riders have made nearly 100 arrests for reckless riding and other offenses against the bicycle regulations. Scorching- has now become the exception, where heretofore it was the rule. This city, with its smoothly-concreted and splendidly shaded streets and avenues is a paradise for wheelmen and a standing inducement for speedy riding. There are thousands of bicyclists In Washington, and while manly of them are careful and cool headed, there are others who are reckless to a degree bordering on criminality.

Riding on Arlington Streets - WebCam View

East on Wilson/Clarendon Boulevard from Mark Blacknell on Vimeo.

This isn't my video, and it isn't the kind of street riding I do much of in this weather, generally - the motorists around here don't tolerate bikes so well in the best of weather but in winter conditions . . . their tolerance falls off, it seems to me. Mostly I can stick to trails to get to and from work, so that's what I do. Although as we see in the last few seconds of the video, below, the trails can have some issues too.

Cold Ride Blues

Washington DC is south of the Mason-Dixon line and is supposed to be warmer than this in winter, or so it seems to me. Even last year when it snowed quite a bit, there was more up-and-down variation in the winter temps than this year when it seems as though it has been more consistently below freezing at night (and during the morning bike commute). I am tired of it. (Poor poor me . . . )

Winter Biking Primer from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Anyway, then I found this video (above) on another local bike blog and I'm afraid it had the opposite of the intended effect for me - instead of seeing how easy riding in winter is, I was reminded of various aspects of winter riding that I have been finding annoying, like how long it takes to get all the winter stuff on and off. The "model" in the video has her clothes put on in double time yet it still takes her a while to get on all the layers. Oh for summer and a pair of shorts, a shirt, socks and shoes . . . And not to mention dealing with ice hither and yon on the bike trails.

Of course, it could be much worse for clothing, like this getup my daughter wore when we lived in Russia more than ten years ago ~



Is there a child in those clothes??

Soviet Time Trial Bike (Unusual Design)

Found in Flickr - a Soviet bicycle design from the 1980s. The "Takhion," (Tachyon in English) - used by Soviet Olympic teams among others.

(I had a different photo from Flickr, but it disappeared, so I have substituted this one from user Anders.)

An article translated (by Google) from cyclepedia.ru, a Russian site devoted to cycling (in Russian). The translation is a little wonky, but you can get the basic idea and see more photos. Since only 400 Takhion cycles were made of various types, they are pretty rare!

As noted in several sources, it isn't a Russian bike design but from Kharkov, in the Ukraine. The designer's name was Vorontsov and his signature is on this card in the upper left.

Bicycle Messenger 1896

Nice photo of a bike messenger in New York in 1896 from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.



Item's record with details. This was taken by Alice Austen, a photographer who did the photographs of a woman rider for Bicycling for Ladies also published in 1896.

More about her photography is available at the "Friends of Alice Austen House" site.

Wheels of Change - Women Cycling 1890s

Wheels of Change is a brand new book about the liberating influence of bicycles on the lives of American (mostly) women in the 1880s and 1890s.

The bicycle craze swept the nation and allowed women to ride into a new world full of all sorts of freedoms.

Dust jacket blurbs often resort to hyberbole, but this volume really does include "an astonishing number of primary source research gems" that I have been enjoying.



The author, Sue Macy, has her own author site where she uses as part of her web design the picture I have above, so I know we have been looking at some of the same stuff that is out there!

I suppose this is intended for a teenage audience, but I find it excellent.

To be a Russian Wheelwoman . . .

(Scroll down the above image if you wish to see text in original - lower right of page). Under "Wheelwomen in Europe" in the February 1901 issue of L.A.W. Magazine we read ~

In Russia everything is managed "by order of the czar," and cycling is no exception to the rule. Before a woman can possess a wheel she must obtain royal consent, and as this is granted quite sparingly there are but few wheelwomen in Russia.

Can this have really been true???