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Cycling History
The colourful history of cycling, from its earliest origins to its place in recent culture.
The Cycle and the Telegraph
The history of cycling and telecommunications goes a long way back, with a Royal Engineer using pedal power to communicate...
When the army was overcome by bicycles
The Vienna-Berlin race of 1893 was a turning point in the popularity of the bicycle, especially for the military. RÜDIGER RABENSTEIN explains.
Nerves of steel
Roll up! Roll up! See a cyclist traverse the skies suspended on a wire! Gasp at the lack of a safety net! Gulp at the sheer bravado! Gawp at the clear and present danger…
Early Designers of off-road Bikes in the UK
Much of the impetus for the mountain bike boom came from America, with design reflecting American needs. However, British designers have been producing strikingly original mounts for as long as the Americans.
Gears gone by
Some 'novel' ideas have turned up before in cycling history. RALPH HURNE reminds us that we should be aware of past solutions so we can invent new ones.
Pedal Stories
History is not just confined to the pages of dusty tomes; it is also alive within people's memories, and can be handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. Here we find recollections and accounts of cycling history from those who experienced it...
Monarchy on bikes
The bicycle is certainly not limited to just the common folk, as these photographs reveal...
Stroller-Skating
An excellent idea sadly consigned to the dustbin of history that JIM MCGURN argues should be revived.
Les besoins physiologiques du cycliste (or How to take a Leak)
What happens when you just HAVE to take the pressure off midway through a race? Precious seconds were at stake for taking the coveted number one spot – which drove some men to desperate measures… by JIM MCGURN
Good Times in Bad
The diary is a unique and personal method of keeping track of the present as it becomes the past. JIM MCGURN introduces some excerpts from a diary that relate to cycling days gone by.
By the Seat of Their Pants
It was no coincidence that the first aeroplane was built by bicycle mechanics. The two kinds of transport are joined at the hip, as JOHN STUART CLARK discovered as he studied the Wright Flyer.
Cycle Evolution
An interesting overview of the bicycle's progression through time.
Don't Forget the Whisky!
Has cycling changed that much since the early days awheel? LES WOODLAND takes a humorous look.
*Von Drais’ Laufmaschine
“Without doubt, the first bicycle ever made was by von Drais in Germany, in 1817.” That's the certain belief of cycle historian JOHN PINKERTON.
The Velo-Cannibals
Of the many things that have changed of the years with regards to cycling, perhaps the most fortuitous was the end of widespread assaults on riders. JIM McGURN suggests why this aggression may have come to be in the first place.
Death on the Tracks
JIM McGURN writes about the many dangers associated with early motorcycle racing, and the measures devised to overcome the high death toll (some of which have been passed over to generations of modern cyclists!).
When All the Princes Pedalled
JIM McGURN writes about the cycling boom as the cusp of the 20th century.
Take a brake
To stop is as important as to start - be it for the safety of the rider or the destination having been reached. JIM McGURN details some exotic braking systems that have since fallen by the wayside.
The fabulous Mr Schopp
"The Rights of Man"? How about "The Rights of Velocipes"? JIM McGURN writes about (probably) the first ever campaigner for this most noble of causes...
Extreme cycling in 1887
Innovations in cycling persist to the present day, but, of course, we would be nowhere without the valiant attempts of early inventors. JIM McGURN writes about some of the prototypes that never managed to cement themselves in history.
The Boneshaker
Cycle historian JOHN PINKERTON describes the Boneshaker to Simon Levermore.
Natty gent with curious bicycle
JIM McGURN takes a look at how bicycles were used as fashion statements in the Victorian era.
An ordinary machine?
John Pinkerton's journey through the evolution of the bicycle reaches a peak, so to speak, with the era of the High Bicycle. He tells SIMON LEVERMORE about these magnificent machines and their ingenious inventors
Going for gold: cycling extravagance in the USA
by CHARLES MEINERT with contributions from JIM McGURN.
Alfred Jarry: a Cyclist on the Wild Side
JIM McGURN expatiates on the eccentric and colourful author and cyclist Alfred Jarry
When Britain rode bicycles: the idyll before the onslaught
The role of Raleigh in the depiction of utopian cyclists in the mid 1900s is described by EDGAR NEWTON.
Back to Ooty
EILEEN PALMER hired a 'Hero' for a nostalgic cycle ride to her favourite Indian hill station
Animal crackers
Insights into some of the dog-related dangers posed to early cyclists are irreverentially described by JIM McGURN.
The Inventor of the Bicycle
Was Kirkpatrick MacMillan the creator of that most ubiquitous of two-wheeled machines? ALISTAIR DODDS has done the research…
Over unknown Iceland on a Raleigh Roadster
In 1933 Horace Edward Stafford Dall and his Raleigh three-speed roadster (complete with fully enclosed chain case), made the first crossing of Iceland's Sprengisandur wilderness by wheeled vehicle - preceding the first motorised vehicle by a month. BEN SEARLE narrates the incredible story.
The Vélocio method
Paul de Vivie, alias 'Vélocio', was the 'father' of French cycle touring. TONY HADLAND describes his philosophy and technical insights.
The bicycle’s role in the rise of Individualism
ALBERT HERRESTAL writes about the liberating effect of the bicycle on all classes of society - and the cost of its dominance on other trades. Translation from the German by JIM McGURN.
A life on fast wheels
Dick Swann, ex-racing cyclist, Christian priest, American race organiser, and luminary of the Cycle Engineer's Institute in Britain talked to PATRICK FIELD.
Mobility on wood
HANS-ERHARD LESSING, former curator of the Landesmuseum for Technology and Labour in Mannheim, challenges misconceptions about Baron von Drais' 'running machine'.
Two wheels and some sticks.
JIM McGURN looks back down the highway of cycle technology, and finds that ideas and inventions of the past are still with us today.
Repack, and the Birth of the Mountain Bike
RICHARD BALLANTINE writes about the origins of the mountain bike, and the now-famous course that led to its inception.
‘No one had ever heard of a road race’
The story of Percy Stallard, the rebel behind the revival of the road race in England
Three wheels classy
Triple the wheels, triple the fun? JIM MCGURN investigates the place the tricycle has held in people's perceptions over the centuries.
Across the Channel in a Cycle-Boat
This story was published first in 1884, in The Boy’s Own Paper, a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys. We reproduce it here for the enjoyment of boys and girls, young and old alike!
The Leonardo Legacy
The truth behind the myth: Leonardo da Vinci's 'bicycle'. By Jim McGurn
Who owns the roads?
Historian ROBERT POOLE describes how common rights to the highways were abandoned decades ago.
Great British Innovations Number 873
The British are famous for their brilliant engineering, and for their national dish!
Sounding Off
Essential but easy to overlook, cyclists have always needed ways of sonorously alerting others to their presence. JIM McGURN looks at some of the thrills and spills encountered by those using their bells... and other, noisier devices!
The amazing ocean-going world of Yvon Le Caer
Le Caer was a world-class competition cyclist before he embarked on his ocean-going exploits. His speed records for human powered water craft still stand more than twenty years later.
An Intimate Portrait of the Tour de France
A review of Philippe Brunei's book by SIMON LEVERMORE
1904 The Tour de France which was to be the Last
ARTHUR CLUNE reviews a book by Jacques Seray, which gives a fascinating insight into the history and intrigue of cycling’s greatest race.
Women off the leash
MARTINA SCHWAGER reviews Dörte Blechmann’s book‚ Wehe wenn sie losgelassen (Once you let them off the leash…), which charts the early days of women’s cycling in Germany.
Ever the Spectator: The cycling passions of Toulouse-Lautrec
In a not-so-recently published book on the life of Toulouse-Lautrec, JULIA FREY relates how, although his physical disabilities barred him from riding a bike they were unable diminish his passion for cyclesport.
Major Taylor: the Extraordinary Career of a Champion
A review of a book by ANDREW RITCHIE.
All aboard!
JIM McGURN describes the development of cycles with more than just the traditional two wheels...
What the Papers said
In the 19th century the bicycle became one of the technological marvels of its age. It amassed column inches in books, newspapers and magazines around the globe. With this selection of period clippings we present the bicycles of the past as they appeared to the people of the time.
A high wheel through Afghanistan
In 1884, the Englishman Thomas Stevens set out on what was probably the first cycle tour around the world, which included a passage through Afghanistan.
Mountain Biking Before Mountain Bikes
By Chairman of the Rough Stuff Fellowship: STEVE GRIFFITH
Randonneurs do it at 15kph
An introduction to the nocturnal world of the long distance cyclist. Written By GREG MELIA.
Profile: Maurice Burton
It’s Leicester’s Saffron Lane velodrome, August 1974. The newly crowned British 20 kilometre champion, Maurice Burton waves his bouquet. Sections of the crowd are booing. Is it because the champion rode a tactical race – or perhaps because his skin is a different color? By EDMOND HOOD
Profile: Joe Waugh
The man behind M Steel Cycles in Newcastle was formerly a road racer for Britain - and a good one at that...
French military cycling using penny farthings
(Click to enlarge)
Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live
Mark Twain
Cartoons
From Phil Somerville
(Click to enlarge)