Early Bicycles and the Quest for Speed

Andrew Ritchie is the author of several books on the social and technological history of cycling and the bicycle. He lives in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction: Sport, Speed, Technology and Modernity Chapter One. The Origins of Bicycle Racing1. The Earliest Bicycle Racing2. The Beginning of Commercial Bicycle Production, 1865–693. Velocipede Developments in France and the United States, 1867–69: Their Influence on the British Sport4. Charles Spencer’s London Gymnasium5. Bicycle Competition as Athletic Novelty and Public Spectacle6. Links Between Manufacture and Sport7. Varieties of Competitive Activity8. An Elite Emerges: Match Racing and ChampionshipsChapter Two. Expansion of Bicycling in Britain1. A ­Cutting-Edge, Modern, Technological Sport2. Technological Innovation at the Birth of Cycle Sport3. Amateurism and Professionalism in the 1870s4. Cycling at Oxford and Cambridge Universities5. “Muscular Christianity”: The Cycling Career of Ion ­Keith-Falconer6. “Gentlemen, Not Players’: The Establishment of the Bicycle Union, 1877–787. John Keen (1849–1902)8. A New Athletic Liberalism9. The Bicycle Touring Club, 187810. Public Recognition of BicyclingChapter Three. The Beginnings of Bicycle Racing in the United States1. American Cycling in the Late 1870s2. The Foundations of American Cycling3. Harry Etherington: Bicycling Entrepreneur and Promoter of Endurance Spectacles4. Etherington’s 1879 “Anglo-French” Tour of America and Its Repercussions5. The Founding of the League of American WheelmenChapter Four. Expansion of the ­High-Wheel Sport1. The New Sport Expands and Matures2. Bicycle Racing Infrastructure: Road Conditions and Track Construction3. Competition in Britain: Amateurism and Professionalism in the Late 1870s and 1880s4. Two Professionals: George Waller (c.1855–1900) and H.O. Duncan (1862–1945)5. Competition in France: The Tendency towards an “Open” Sport6. British “Meets,” the Springfield Tournaments and the Growth of International Competition7. New Departures: Tricycle Racing and Recreational TricyclingChapter Five. Sport, Speed and Safety, 1885–931. Design and Technological Ferment within the Bicycle Industry and the Sport2. Alternative Designs: the “Facile” and the “Kangaroo.”3. The ­Rear-Driven “Rover Safety” and the First “Safety” Races4. The Rise of Road Racing5. Competition and the Invention of the Revolutionary Pneumatic Tire6. The Cycling Revolution, 1888–93Chapter Six. The Foundations of Modern Road Racing1. Road Competition in Britain and France2. The Foundations of Modern Professional Road Racing in France: Sport as Business and Athletic Celebration3. Opposition to Organized Road Racing in Britain4. George Lacy Hillier: Amateurism Versus the “New Professionalism”5. Road Racing in the United States6. Racing Bicycles on Public Roads: Danger or Celebration?Chapter Seven. International Competition1. Bicycle Racing as a Global Sport2. National Championships, International Competition and Early “World Championships”3. The International Cyclists’ Association, 18924. World Champion: The International Career of Arthur Zimmerman5. Amateurism, Professionalism and Licensing Schemes6. The 1896 Olympic Games7. Rival Philosophies of Cycling Competition and Sporting Excellence in the 1890sChapter Eight. Bicycle Racing and Modernity1. The Transformation of Bicycle Racing in the 1890s2. Long-Distance Races on the Road3. Stage-Riding and ­Stage-Races on the Road and the Origins of the Tour de France4. “Stayer” (Paced) Races5. Six-Day Races6. Professionalization and Commercialization7. “Gigantism” and the Pursuit of Records8. Sensationalism and “Gigantomania”9. The Emergence of a Modern, Professional Sports StructureChapter Nine. ­Non-Competitive Cycling in the 1890s Epilogue1. A Period of Intensive Technological Change and Sport Development2. Reviewing the Dynamics of Social and Technological ChangeA. Agents of change within the sport and industryB. The spectacular growth of the bicycle industry and the class penetration of cyclingC. Global expansionD. Speed and modernity3. Sport as Moral/Physical Crusade and Sport as BusinessChapter Notes Bibliography Index

“highly detailed account of the early history of bicycle racing...richly illustrated...[the illustrations] provide a fascinating view of the late 190th century”—Choice