“Any Woman Can Make a Skirt” – Fashion Tips for Women Cyclists
Supply adjusts to meet demand, and as Judic Chollet in the Evening Bulletin (Maysville, KY) pointed out, “No sooner was a bicycle for women invented than a necessity arose for a … Continue reading
Russia invented the bicycle (?)
While the invention of the velocipede in the form of Karl Drais’ laufmaschine is accepted as the first two-wheeled human propelled vehicle, the original invention of the pedal-driven bicycle is a … Continue reading
Cycling Patents of Yesteryear: No. 9 – Rastetter and Siebold’s Child Seat Attachment for Bicyles, 1891
For many of us, our first experience of cycling, likely long forgotten, was not as a rider, but as a passenger, firmly ensconced in a child seat with an unimpeded … Continue reading
The LAW Comes To Green Bay
” Farmers Are Busy”, ran the headline in The Green Bay Gazette of August 9, 1898, perhaps not surprising at harvest time in a state in which agriculture played so large … Continue reading
Military Cycling: The British Army Chooses a Bicycle
Following the successful manoeuvres of 1887, and the less successful manoeuvres of 1888, the British Army continued to examine the utility of the bicycle for military purposes, and in June … Continue reading
Forty Years of Australian Club Racing: The Dandenong Cycle Club, 1908-1948
Wednesday July 8, 1908, outside Garnar’s on the Cranbourne Road, Melbourne, at 3:23 p.m., and Mr R. West sets off on his bicycle as the limit man in the day’s race. … Continue reading
Cycling Patents of Yesteryear: No. 8 – Ulysses F. Henderson’s Bicycle-Handle, 1897
Handlebars, like saddles and pedals, are important components of the bicycle because they are the contact points between the rider and the machine. Poor adjustment or a design that doesn’t … Continue reading
Mrs F. M. Cossitt: The First Woman to Ride a Bicycle in New York?
A quick web search for Mrs F. M. Cossitt brings up a number of webpages that carry the above photo together with the caption, “Mrs F. M. Cossitt, first woman to ride a … Continue reading
The Hidden Dangers of Cycling: Is it Healthy? (Clue: yes it is)
The illustrators who worked on Punch are responsible for many a humorous cartoon that captured the concerns and interests of the day. The growing popularity of cycling in the late nineteenth century … Continue reading
Cycling Shorts: Descending the Eiffel Tower
Pierre Labric’s descent by bicycle from the first level of the Eiffel Tower took place in 1923. Despite statements to the contrary Monsieur Labric is not the same Pierre Labric … Continue reading
Cycling History 