Early Bicycles and the Quest for Speed: A History, 1868-1903

388 Pages·2018·27.829 MB·English

by  Andrew Ritchie

Early Bicycles and
the Quest for Speed

Early Bicycles and
the Quest for Speed
A History, 1868–1903
Second Edition
A r
ndrew itcHie
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina
An earlier version of this book was published by
the author in 2011 as Quest for Speed: A History
of Early Bicycle Racing 1868–1903
Frontispiece: High- wheel racing in Winona, Minnesota, probably in the late
1880s. The photo (lightly cropped) is by Chas. A. Tenney, of Winona. Winona
is located about 100 miles southeast of Minneapolis, on the Mississippi River
across from Wisconsin, just north of La Crosse, and must have been an outpost
of bicycle racing when the photo was taken. The photograph shows a relatively
primitive stage of the sport, with a flat, dirt track, and a grain elevator in the
background. Nevertheless, all the elements of the early sport are there, with
a small grandstand and officials lined up by the side of the track.
LibRARyofCoNgRessCATALoguiNg-iN-PubLiCATioNDATA
Names: Ritchie, Andrew, 1943– author.
Title: early bicycles and the quest for speed : a history, 1868–1903 /
Andrew Ritchie.
Description: second edition. | Jefferson, North Carolina : Mcfarland & Company, inc.,
Publishers, 2018 | includes bibliographical references and index.
identifiers: LCCN 2017049310 | isbN 9781476671079
(softcover : acid free paper)
♾
subjects: LCsH: bicycle racing—History—19th century. |
bicycle racing—History—20th century. | bicycles—History.
Classification: LCC gV1049 .R48 2018 | DDC 796.6/2—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017049310
bRiTisHLibRARyCATALoguiNgDATAAReAVAiLAbLe
ISBN (print) 978-1-4766-7107-9
ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-3046-5
© 2018 Andrew Richie. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
front cover: Track officials can be seen gathered beside
competitors in this undated photograph, probably at the start of
an N.C.u. championship event from 1885 or 1886. g.L. Hillier in white,
probably H.o. Duncan at center (author’s collection).
Printed in the united states of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandbooks.com
Acknowledgments
icouldnothavebroughtthefirstedition(2011)topresswithoutthe
help of rob van der Plas, John weiss, christian wignall, Lorne shields
and teresa fagan
for this edition, once again, thanks and appreciation to all the people
in the bicycle history world from whom i have benefitted with a constant
exchange of photocopies, photographs and email discussion. especially
helpful has been the ongoing exchange of information with members of
the international cycling History conference and the Veteran cycling
club, whose combined knowledge and research expertise now constitutes
a body of informed opinion which someone who tackles any aspect of the
history of the bicycle neglects at their peril.
v
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table of contents
Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
Introduction: Sport, Speed, Technology and Modernity 5
Chapter One. The Origins of Bicycle Racing
1. the earliest bicycle racing 15
2. the beginning of commercial bicycle Production, 1865–69 19
3. Velocipede developments in france and the united states, 1867–69:
their influence on the british sport 20
4. charles spencer’s London gymnasium 27
5. bicycle competition as Athletic novelty and Public spectacle 30
6. Links between Manufacture and sport 34
7. Varieties of competitive Activity 38
8. An elite emerges: Match racing and championships 45
Chapter Two. Expansion of Bicycling in Britain
1. A cutting- edge, Modern, technological sport 50
2. technological innovation at the birth of cycle sport 54
3. Amateurism and Professionalism in the 1870s 59
4. cycling at oxford and cambridge universities 62
5. “Muscular christianity”: the cycling career of ion Keith- falconer 65
6. “gentlemen, not Players’: the establishment of the bicycle union, 1877–78 69
7. John Keen (1849–1902) 77
8. A new Athletic Liberalism 78
9. the bicycle touring club, 1878 80
10. Public recognition of bicycling 83
Chapter Three. The Beginnings of Bicycle Racing in the United States
1. American cycling in the Late 1870s 88
2. the foundations of American cycling 91
3. Harry etherington: bicycling entrepreneur and Promoter of endurance
spectacles 101
4. etherington’s 1879 “Anglo-french” tour of America and its repercussions 105
5. the founding of the League of American wheelmen 113
Chapter Four. Expansion of the High- Wheel Sport
1. the new sport expands and Matures 121
2. bicycle racing infrastructure: road conditions and track construction 125
vii
viii TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. competition in britain: Amateurism and Professionalism in the Late 1870s
and 1880s 133
4. two Professionals: george waller (c.1855–1900) and H.o. duncan
(1862–1945) 138
5. competition in france: the tendency towards an “open” sport 141
6. british “Meets,” the springfield tournaments and the growth of international
competition 143
7. new departures: tricycle racing and recreational tricycling 155
Chapter Five. Sport, Speed and Safety, 1885–93
1. design and technological ferment within the bicycle industry
and the sport 163
2. Alternative designs: the “facile” and the “Kangaroo.” 165
3. the rear- driven “rover safety” and the first “safety” races 169
4. the rise of road racing 176
5. competition and the invention of the revolutionary Pneumatic tire 181
6. the cycling revolution, 1888–93 188
Chapter Six. The Foundations of Modern Road Racing
1. road competition in britain and france 193
2. the foundations of Modern Professional road racing in france: sport
as business and Athletic celebration 195
3. opposition to organized road racing in britain 205
4. george Lacy Hillier: Amateurism Versus the “new Professionalism” 209
5. road racing in the united states 216
6. racing bicycles on Public roads: danger or celebration? 222
Chapter Seven. International Competition
1. bicycle racing as a global sport 228
2. national championships, international competition and early “world
championships” 229
3. the international cyclists’ Association, 1892 238
4. world champion: the international career of Arthur Zimmerman 245
5. Amateurism, Professionalism and Licensing schemes 254
6. the 1896 olympic games 257
7. rival Philosophies of cycling competition and sporting excellence
in the 1890s 260
Chapter Eight. Bicycle Racing and Modernity
1. the transformation of bicycle racing in the 1890s 263
2. Long-distance races on the road 267
3. stage-riding and stage- races on the road and the origins
of the tour de france 269
4. “stayer” (Paced) races 272
5. six-day races 277
6. Professionalization and commercialization 280
7. “gigantism” and the Pursuit of records 284
Table of Contents ix
8. sensationalism and “gigantomania” 286
9. the emergence of a Modern, Professional sports structure 287
Chapter Nine. Non- Competitive Cycling in the 1890s 291
Epilogue
1. A Period of intensive technological change and sport development 309
2. reviewing the dynamics of social and technological change 314
A. Agents of change within the sport and industry 314
b. the spectacular growth of the bicycle industry and the class penetration
of cycling 315
c. global expansion 316
d. speed and modernity 318
3. sport as Moral/Physical crusade and sport as business 321
Chapter Notes 323
Bibliography 364
Index 373