Tricycle Days 1881-1888

Book excerpt: Three-wheelers kickstarted the cycling fad for women in the 1880s. Two-wheelers at the time were the old-time high-wheel “ordinaries” or “penny-farthings,” which were difficult for most women to mount and impossible to pedal in long dresses. This volume of the Sports She Wrote series features 90 articles (148,000 words) from 1881 to 1888, when tricycles were the most popular mode of transportation for women (and many men) seeking independent mobility on wheels. Three-wheel designs varied greatly, from single operator to dual rider models, called “sociables” in which the riders sat side-by-side, and “tandems” with riders seated front and back. Wheel sizes and alignments also differed as manufacturers sought the most efficient mechanisms for pedaling, steering and braking. Early tricycles were heavy and cumbersome, weighing up to 100 pounds. The weight gradually decreased as manufacturing and metallurgical methods improved. The first 49 articles in this volume, span the heyday of tricycling, covering the lively debate over women's embrace of the wheel, proper riding attire, and adventures on the road. Contributors include the popular cycling writers Mary Sargent Hopkins and Minna Caroline Smith. Five diary-style entries follow, written by Amy Hurlston of England. The volume closes with an obscure column, “Woman on a Tricycle,” published in The Sunday Leader newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The anonymous author is a spirited iconoclast who challenged societal norms with unapologetic rebellion. She offers unfiltered regional observations on broader cultural issues as well as keen details about cycling. Sports She Wrote is a 31-volume time-capsule of primary documents written by more than 500 women in the 19th century, including nine volumes on cycling.