The Probert Encyclopaedia of Recreation

CYCLING

Cycling is a sport and also leisure pursuit whereby a cycle, formerly also known as a velocipede, which is a light vehicle, is impelled by the person or persons whom it carries, and in its most common form is a bicycle ,being two-wheeled.

The forerunner of the bicycle; dating from about 1817, had two wheels of nearly equal size, one before the other, and connected by a beam on which the driver sat, and was propelled by the thrust of the rider's feet on the ground. The 'dandy horse' was a name given to this kind of cycle, which never came into very common use.

About 1861 a superior vehicle was introduced, having treadles operating cranks on the axle of the front wheel, and soon many forms of the machine became popular; but for a time the bicycle was a clumsy article requiring much labour to get any speed out of it, and the derisive name of ' boneshaker' was not undeserved. It formed the basis, nevertheless, for the various kinds of cycle now so common, which, were originally constructed almost entirely of steel (or, in some cases, of aluminium), with the greatest economy of material, and furnished with improvements that gradually came into use.

The bicycle is kept in an upright position by the action of the rider's body and legs, by the steering power, and also by its own momentum. The tricycle followed the bicycle, and "sociables', tandems, and other forms of cycle have also been introduced.

At first the wheels of the bicycle were of the same size later the front or driving wheel was made very much larger than the hinder wheel, by 1905 the front or steering wheel and the hinder or driving wheel were generally made nearly or quite the same size. One great improvement in early cycles was in the use of india-rubber tyres to the wheels, which greatly reduced the jolting, and a further improvement was the introduction of 'pneumatic' or hollow tyres of india-rubber, which have to be pumped quite full of air and kept so when the vehicle is in use.

The usual diameter of the wheels of early cycles was 28 inches, but in some early machines the steering-wheel was made about two inches larger. Ball-bearings are used in the hubs, the pedals, and other parts of the machine where it is desirable to diminish as much as possible the friction of rotation; brakes of more than one kind have been in use, but the most common for many years comprised the brake power being gained by a block of india-rubber made to press against one or both wheels (both in the case of the 'free-wheel' cycle common since about 1900); and the general appearance and structure of the ordinary bicycle is familiar to all.

Multi-cycles of various kinds, ranging from tandems, through triplets and quadruplets to quintuplets, and even higher forms, were also fairly common at the start of the 20th century.

Motorcycles, in which the main driving power is a small petrol motor, were first constructed about 1900, and by 1905 were becoming quite common. In the early motorcyles the rider could take a companion along with him in a 'trailer' or in a 'fore-car', or 'side-car', by the later half of the 20th century such passengers were almost solely carried pillion on a double saddle.

Since 1900 the speed attained by an expert rider has been very great with the cycles then in use, by 1905 a speed of 40 mph having been recorded for a one mile sprint and 10 miles at an average of 52 mph; 50 miles in a similar average speed also. Coming to longer distances, it was record
ded that 100 miles have been covered in about 2 hours 26 minutes; and 634 miles 774 yards in 24 hours recorded in 1899; while the 874 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats had been accomplished in 3 days 5 minutes 49 seconds before 1905. A remarkable cycling feat was the journey of 12,000 miles by Thomas Stevens across the continents of America, Europe, and Asia on a bicycle, commencing in April, 1884, at San Francisco. Many longer rides of a similar kind have since been done, an early one being that carried out by by Foster Fraser and two companions in 1896 to 1898, covering 19,237 miles in 774 days.

The tricycle offers a safer seat to its occupant, but owing to the friction and weight of the vehicle the same rate of speed has not been got out of it. Cycling had become exceedingly common by the start of the 20th century, almost wherever there are roads that allowed it. The manufacture of cycles had also become important industry, the chief seats of it in England traditionally being Coventry, Birmingham, London, Nottingham, and Wolverhampton.

Since its invention, the cycle has been recognised not only as affording a healthy exercise and enabling the cyclist to enjoy natural scenery and to travel from place to place with cheapness and facility, but was very commonly used for business purposes, as by tradesmen in distributing goods, workmen going to and from their work, post-office employees, and others, while it was also adopted for various military purposes.

Cycling clubs quickly became very numerous in Britian. The early Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC) and the National Cyclists' Union (NCU) were the more comprehensive early organizations, the former indeed having an international character. Both were of great service to the early cycling public in various ways. In the United Kingdom, bicycles, tricycles, and similar machines are by law declared to be carriages within the meaning of the acts relating to roads and highways, and special enactments have been in force. Early laws governing cycling in the Uk included:

'During the period between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise, every person riding or being upon such a carriage shall carry attached to the carriage a lamp, which shall be so constructed and placed as to exhibit a light in the direction in which he is proceeding, and so lighted and kept lighted as to afford adequate means of signalling the approach or position of the carriage.'

'Upon overtaking any foot-passenger or cart or carriage, or any horse, mule, or other beast of burden, the rider must, by sounding a bell or otherwise, give audible and sufficient warning of the approach of the carriage. Any person summarily convicted of offending against these regulations is liable to a fine of not more than forty shillings.'.

By the late 20th century cycling had become a diverse sport with such distinct disciplines as BMX, Cycle Speedway, Road Racing, Time Trialling, Cytclo-Cross, Mountain Biking, Cross-Country Cycling, Downhill Racing, Track Racing and of course leisure cycling and commuting.
Research Cycling