Back in 1889, about a million cyclists relied on bikes for social entertainment as well as a quick way to get out of town, according to author Robert A. Smith in “A Social History of the Bicycle” (1972). Organized by the League of American Wheelmen, cyclists lobbied congress for road improvement and paved the way for automobiles (and highway taxes). Women riders shed their corsets and long skirts for bloomers. Many women cyclists were considered amoral because bikes lured them from the front porch and away from chaperones.

Cycles first appeared in the United States around 1870 with the “velocipede,” a hand-forged contraption weighing about 150 pounds with wooden wheels and solid tires. English-made bicycles made their first appearance in 1876 and were known as the “ordinary,” a cycle with a front wheel four or five feet in diameter and a stabilizing trailer wheel. Although the ordinary’s large front wheel gave increased speed, its rider’s high and far-forward center of gravity often resulted in the rider falling and landing on his/her face. By the mid-1800s the “safety” bicycle, utilizing same-size front and rear wheels came on the market. Around 1890 inflatable pneumatic tires were added. Now bicycling could be considered safe and comfortable. The only thing that kept many people from becoming part of the new bicycle craze was the cost. In 1895 bikes cost as much as $100, which was equivalent to several weeks’ or even several months’ salary.

In the Oct. 23, 1931, issue of a Marshall newspaper, there is a photo of Frank Case of Marshall who used to ride one of these bicycles in parades. To quote the photo caption, “Time and again during the parade, he (Frank) brought the bike to a complete standstill, as shown in the picture, then ‘speeded’ ahead again.”

Cyclists in the late 1800s lobbied Congress for road improvements and were instrumental in affecting social change and attitudes toward women.

The popularity of cycling contributed to social controversy about the “new woman” because women now had a practical reason for wearing bloomers, baggy trousers or pantaloons. According to Carol Hymowitz and Michaele Weissman in “A History of Women in America,” 1978, “in 1852 most ladies would not admit they had legs, much less display them.” But by 1890, when the bicycle craze was far-flung, women found they were unable to ride bikes without revealing that they had legs.”

Cycling was also difficult while wearing tight whalebone-and-canvas corsets that restricted breathing. When female cyclists defiantly took off their petticoats and corsets and mounted their bicycles critical and horrified reactions followed.

Describing the bloomer girl as a person who “stood on her rights,” the Grand Forks (N.C.) Herald, (1895) pointed out that, “the more shapely they are the more attention they attract.” The East Grand Forks Courier (1895) commented that bloomers were “permissible” but “not fashionable.” The Courier, thankfully, continued that many young women did not “take kindly” to bloomers and suggested that if they did, the council would disapprove. Not surprisingly, bloomer-wearing cyclists next began to wear the bloomers without the bicycle, forecasting the influence of athletic clothing on sportswear today.

As mentioned, these early bicycle enthusiasts are credited with having started the movement toward decent roads. The League of American Wheelmen Distributed 60,000 copies of its pamphlet, “The Gospel of Good Roads,” in 1895, and then followed with 3 million copies of Good Roads Magazine, which helped win the support of agricultural interests.

When farmers saw that better roads would bring higher property values, improved mail delivery, and easier transportation of farm products, they readily endorsed the movement. The Grand Forks Herald claimed the bicyclists did more “to advance the good roads idea than all other efforts combined.”

Some skeptics viewed cycling as unhealthy, predicting enlarged hearts, jarred internal organs, and other maladies. Some were concerned about the bent-over posture that might drive them to “death.” But most citizens considered biking a healthful form of recreation.

Others believed that bikers riding on sidewalks, or speeding, caused traffic accidents, spooked horses and aggravated dogs. Extremists waged war by sowing routes with carpet tacks. Pressure was brought to bear upon city councils to prohibit riding on the sidewalk while bikers protested these restrictive ordinances, paralleling today’s issue about skateboarders.

As the 20th century enthusiasm turned from the bicycling boom to that of the automobile it left behind new styles of dress, new attitudes toward women, new roads, new legislation and new technology.

Source: A Social History of the Bicycle, Robert A. Smith, 1972.News-Messenger, Oct. 23, 1931; A History of Women in America, Carol Hymowitz and Michaele Weissman, 1978.