“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
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
Laughable Adventure of Lady Cyclists
Modern day Cricklewood is part of the suburban sprawl of London but back in 1897 it was still very much a satellite village set in the countryside, though being rapidly … Continue reading
Women in Cycling Advertising: Part 2 – It’s all about the bike / jersey / shorts …
In part 1 I looked at how women have been used as advertising tools through representations that played on their sexuality to sell products to men, or that were wide of the mark if the … Continue reading
Cycling Patents of Yesteryear: No. 5 – Ida M. Rew’s Athletic Suit For Ladies, 1895
The proper mode of dress for women who enjoyed cycling was a question that vexed society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. While the more radical woman embraced the … Continue reading
Women in Cycling Advertising: Part 1- Sex Sells
In February 2015 the organizers of the E3 Harelbeke race in Belgium courted controversy when they released an online advertisement for their upcoming event. In a reference to Peter Sagan … Continue reading
The Strade Bianche: Racing Tuscany’s White Roads
The hilly region of Tuscany in Italy is famed worldwide for its rich history, its tradition of artistic excellence, its cutting edge fashion, its beautiful towns and countryside, and its wonderful … Continue reading
Great Rides: “Billie” Samuel, Melbourne-Sydney, Sydney-Melbourne, 1934
In March of 1934 the Australian press began to report on the plans of a Melbourne resident to ride from the Victorian state capital to Sydney with the intention of creating … Continue reading
Women on the Move: Cycling and the Rational Dress Movement
On the evening of October 9, 1893, at a prayer-meeting of the High Street Methodist Church in Binghamton, New York, Samuel Stanley rose to address the congregation. The reason? The … Continue reading
Thrashed by a Lady Cyclist
If you ride regularly you’ve probably been on the receiving end of a pedestrian’s or a motor vehicle driver’s verbal athletics. Sometimes it’s witty, but more often than not it’s … Continue reading
Cycling History 