Seattle PI Newspaper and Cycling in 1897

Newspaper sponsored cyclists riding from Seattle to SF

The Page devoted to cyclist interests in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of 1897. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for 16 May 1897.

According to Biking Puget Sound (2nd edition) by Bill Thorness published in 2014 Seattle in 1900 had 55,000 residents and these 55,000 had 10,000 bicycles. Pretty impressive!

In looking at Seattle papers online, I see evidence of the interest in cycling with occasional full page coverage of the subject.

Here is the article's text:

SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO

Arthur W. Whaliey, W. W. Ewing and Arnet Johnson, three well-known Seattle athletes, are now on their way to San Francisco by the pedal route. They left the city Friday afternoon at 2:45 o'clock on the steamer Flyer and commenced their long ride from Tacoma, intending to follow the telephone line to Portland. After leaving Portland the stumbling block will the Siskiyou mountains, but as their trip is not made on a wager or for the specific purpose of breaking down their constitutions by overexertion, they may be able to ride over the difficulties.

Prior to the completion of arrangements for the trip it was mutually understood that it was merely a pleasure jaunt, to end at San Francisco, providing the roads were !n good condition, and the riders did not play out. If the journey proves too hard a strain on one or all of them, they will take the first train and ride the remainder of the way, free from the companionship of the first relay of tramps.

The riders have followed the common-sense plan of reduicing the weight to be carried to the minimum. Every article that Is not absolutely necessary to their welfare has been discarded. In fact, the only supernumerary is a kodiak. which might be called a necessity tn this latter part of the nineteenth century.

The Hardmen: Legends and Lessons from the Cycling Gods (Book Review)

The Hardmen: Legends and Lessons from the Cycling Gods by The Velominati

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Apparently the idea is to celebrate tough guy cycling, mostly road racing figures, mostly (but not entirely) men. The point of view, according to the dust jack, is one of "(ir)reverance." Well, perhaps.

Each of the 38 chapters focuses on a particular cyclist. The chapters are not long enough to say that much. The tone is . . . well, it might be fine for a blog, but it seems a little much for a book.

I suppose as much as anything I was annoyed when the chapter about Rebecca Twigg said she attended Washington University in Seattle. Of for God's sake, it is the University of Washington. Washington University is not in Washington state. Geez.

There is a snarky attitude towards dopers such as Tyler Hamilton or Mr. Armstrong, but the casual thumbs-up, thumbs-down approach of the collective authors disregards the historical complexities of this topic. To take just one example, the same Rebecca Twigg won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in part because of admitted blood doping, which at the time was merely discouraged and not forbidden - the chapter doesn't mention this.

The intent of the book seems good, and the person chosen seem interesting enough, but the execution could have been better.

View my other book reviews

"Bike" or "Bicycle" or Weak Automated Recognition

If you search for "bike" in the Library of Congress materials in Flickr, there is a considerable amount of noise. It seems to be a result of Flickr's automated recognition of certain things and automated adding of tags that is often incorrect when it identifies "bikes" in particular.



The tags for the above photo added by Flickr include "bike" and "vehicle."



Again, "bike" and "vehicle" (and also "outdoors)" - it appears it is the spokes that confuse things.



A motorcycle is arguably a kind of bike - tags added by Flickr here were again "vehicle" and "bike."



This is in fact a bicycle - this photo has same automated tags "vehicle" and "bike."

If however you search for "bicycle" in the Library of Congress metadata, a different, but complementary, pattern emerges.



As with many photographs in Flickr of bicycles, the spokes are not that visible. Here there is no automated added tag for either "vehicle" or "bike." Instead there is a tag that was manually added for "bicycle" providing access. And in fact, the overlap between items with both "bike" and "bicycle" is quite small, only 14 items and for several of those, both the "bike" and "bicycle" tags were manually added.

In conclusion - searching for historic photographs of bikes and bicycles can be a noisy process.

"Bicycle Riding in the District Runs Back Quite a Number of Years"

"High Wheels Launched Bicycle Riding in the District - Stories of Early Experts are Recalled by Washingtonians Who Admired Their Skill, Century Runs, Hill-Climbing and Rough-Riding Contests Between Popular Events for Young People"

Newspaper article from the Washington Evening Star Newspaper from 1929. Article starts on this page, filling the entire page, and continues to the next page, also taking up the entire page.


Illustration with article showing an early member of the Capital Bicycle Club with a "high wheel" bicycle

From the article:

Credit is given to Charles G. W. Krauskopf for introducing the modern bicycle in Washington in 1878 This machine was known as the “Ariels," and had double spokes and 46-inch wheels. With a desire to learn something more about this pioneer rider, the City Directory was consulted, and the only per son of this name found was Charles G. Krauskopf, who kept a hotel and restaurant at the corner of Tenth and E streets northwest, over which he resided. He had obtained the machine from the British vice consul stationed at Baltimore.

Naturally Krauskopf was kidded and guyed as he rode the “new steed” through the streets. But the bicycle had come to stay, and .it was not long before William C. Scribner ceased managing the Gazette, at 931 D street northwest. and opened a bicycle store around the corner at 1108 E street, and if he was not the first one in the city to engage in this business, he at least was one of the earliest.

Though Krauskopf was the subject of much chaffing and joking, yet it was not long before he had company, and soon other Washingtonians became infatuated with the vehicle which was to become so immensely popular in such a brief space of time.

Soon Frank G. Wood, Max Hansmann, Fred D. Owen. L. P. Einolf, Herbert S. Owen and Louis N. Jesungofsky were proudly riding the silent steed, and it was these gentlemen, with Mr. Krauskopf. who organized the Capital Bicycle Club on January 31, 1879.

So the first "modern" (that is, high wheel, or penny farthing, type of bicycle appeared in Washington 140 years ago. And the first DC bicycle club the following year.


Another illustration from the same page, from 1897 - showing DC cycling history

What Does a Woman's "Bicycle Suit" Cost? (1897, NYC)

New York journal and advertiser, May 16, 1897

The New York Journal was for its time a newspaper with many pages to fill, and it often did so at this time with human interest stories of various kinds about cycling as well as "high society" - this example of an article that took up a half page with its illustration combines both.

A Gorgeous Cycling Suit to Cost $715

The most expensive bicycle suit on record has Just been ordered at one of the swellest tailors in New York.

The girl who meets the bill is worth a million in her own right, is an athletic beauty and a reigning belle in the ultra-smart set.

The suit which makes the bill is the most elaborate ever designed in this country. It is lined with silk, finished with Jewels, and will cost a lump sum of $715.50.

Two "Scott and Adie" shawls at $75 apiece will be employed in making the skirt and jacket. And, by the way, these English shawls are the very latest thing: for any sort of fancy outing suit.

The skirt will be stitched half way to the knees, with the lines of stitching not over a sixteenth of an inch apart: this is the new device to stiffen the lower part of the skirt without adding to the weight.

The edges of the jacket are also stitched and, together with the skirt, is elaborately braided, which latter touch adds some $25 to the expense.

Bloomers and linings of suit throughout will be of silk.not less than sixteen yards of silk to be used, which gives another item of 522.50. With the bloomers have been ordered a half dozen interlining of the finest fawn, at 52.50 a pair.

Loose Jackets are no longer the correct thing for the crack bicyclist. The newest waist is tight-fitting always, and worn with a series of vests and shirt fronts.

It sounds very simple just to say, "I shall order at least three vests for my new bicycle suit," doesn't It? Well, that Is what the "millionairess" in question did, and these three vests are going to cost her 525 apiece. The principal question color in her suit is green, so she has ordered one vest of sage green, one of geranium red, embroidered in black and gold, and one of white broadcloth, in silver. With these vests she will wear snow-white linen shirt embroidered fronts and black satin ties.

And $25 is not so very extravagant for a vest when you stop to consider that the garment is made when the material is wet and was to be moulded to the figure.

A Panama straw hat, fawn color and trimmed with scarlet and green, will add one $10 Item, and bicycle boots of finest leather will add another of $18. Golf stockings in mixed greens and tans will be worn In place of the high top boot. An entire box of these stockings have been ordered, as it is difficult to match them exactly. Fifteen dollars a half dozen will buy the softest and best in the shops.

But the crowning extravagance of this particular "biking" maid is yet to come. Her belt of elephant green leather is clasped with a buckle of oxidized silver set with emeralds. The buckle is in the form of two bicycle wheels; the rim of each wheel is bordered with small green stones, a single large emerald forming the hub. This trifling decoration to adorn the "slender waist" of the pretty wheelwomen will cost treble the price of her wheel! that is to say, exactly $300.

Thinking of the Pacific NW

The well-known (let's say) tree-in-a-bicycle of Vashon Island, near Seattle - from Sea Turtle on Flickr

Apropos of nothing in particular other than a short trip planned for Seattle this summer.

Mile-a-MInute Murphy and the Need for Speed (1899)

New York journal and advertiser, June 22, 1899

This June 22 1899 issue of The New York Journal has a front page article about Charles Minthorn Murphy's attempt to cover a mile in a minute, drafting behind a train, including the "instantaneous photograph taken for The Journal" shown above. Riding on boards laid down over several miles of railroad ties between the tracks, this is one of the more extreme daredevil endeavors imaginable with a basic single-speed track bicycle. Whether Murphy was simply crazy or extremely brave or both is hard to say.

Wikipedia has a detailed description of his attempt to cover a mile in 60 seconds or less in this way. He didn't quite make it on June 21 1899 when he made the attempt documented in the above article and photograph. According to the article, he had plans to try again and expected to do a mile in 50 seconds, but there is no record that in fact he did try again - this one attempt was apparently close enough.


Murphy in later years a the first policeman to chase criminals in an airplane

According to Wikipedia, Murphy later was a motorcycle police officer; unfortunately he had several accidents and the last one led to his retirement. Nevertheless he lived 80 years despite his early propensity for rather risky activities.

Interestingly Wikipedia uses the public domain photo of Murphy in his police airplane shown above; apparently there is no good quality public domain version of a photograph of Murphy as shown in the newspaper available.