Pedal power: The bicycle craze of 1890-1900

The return of warmer weather after a long winter likewise heralds the start of cycling season. Bicycles of every description that have spent a quiet hibernation in garages across the region will be taken down from their hooks and out for a spin – but not before receiving a tune-up at the Bike Garage or Down To Earth, to name two local businesses catering to the needs of cyclists. And while dedicated bike lines remain few and far between throughout Kawartha Lakes, the quiet country concessions and well-maintained network of trails more than compensate, allowing those of us on two wheels to make our way hither and yon, sans the fumes of an internal combustion engine.

Of course, history has a way of repeating itself. Local advocates promote the physical and environmental benefits of active transportation; their forebears were saying much the same thing in the 1890s, when the so-called “bicycle craze” swept across North America. John Kemp Starley, an English inventor, is credited with developing the safety bicycle and putting it on the market in 1885. His design would eventually supplant the infamous high wheelers (also known as “penny farthings”) that imperilled anyone trying to mount, ride, or race them. Within less than a decade, variants of Starley’s safety bicycle were becoming hot properties and everyone wanted to cash in on the trend.

Here in Lindsay, one of the most enthusiastic promoters of the bicycle was Joseph R. Riggs. Born in 1847, Riggs came to this area in his early twenties and was a man of many interests. He cut hair, sold cigars, and by 1892 was dealing in Humber, Rover, and Psycho safety bicycles. Customers looking for secondhand bikes could also find them at Riggs’ store. Two years later, Riggs bragged about how he was “booming the town” with his sales of Brantford, Columbian, Whitworth, and other makes of bicycle. By 1897, he was carrying a full line of supplies to meet cyclists’ every need: bicycle lanterns, Dunlop tires, and wire toe clips were but a few of the items Riggs stocked.

Not to be outdone was one W. Webster, a toolmaker, machinist, and locksmith who opened a bicycle repair shop at 23 William Street North in the early summer of 1895. Among his customers might have been the Rev. J.W. MacMillan, who that same year was inducted as the minister of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, located across the street. An avid cyclist, MacMillan once rode across very muddy roads to attend a meeting in the village of Sonya, some 30 km to the southwest.

Messrs. Riggs and Webster were soon joined by other merchants wishing to take advantage of the bicycle trend. J.G. Edwards sold Cleveland bikes in his hardware store downtown, while W.A. Goodwin touted the finer points of Clipper bicycles at his paint and wallpaper shop. Goodwin, always on the lookout for a new product, may well have been inspired by a pair of nephews who, the year before, had constructed an unusual three-wheeled bicycle in London, Ontario. (Not a tricycle in the traditional sense, this machine apparently resembled two bicycle frames fitted together lengthwise.)

The proliferation of bikes on the streets of Lindsay and other communities in the Kawarthas naturally led to the formation of a bicycle club, which would advocate for the needs and interests of local cyclists. As reported in The Watchman, one Mr. Steers, a local barrister, went before Town Council on May 17, 1897 to comment on “the horrible state of Kent street, especially the stone crossings, which were a menace to bicyclists.” Steers’ deputation followed on the heels of an editorial comment in the same paper a week before, which bluntly noted: “If every member of the council rode a bicycle it is safe to say there would be fewer stones on the streets about town. These stones are a constant source of annoyance, danger, and at times profanity to the riders of the steed.”

These hiccups aside, local cyclists had reason to be thrilled as the 1890s drew to a close. “There will be a large addition to the bicycle club this season if we may judge by the way wheels are selling in town at present,” noted The Watchman in the early spring of 1897. “Every agent reports liberal sales, with hundreds of inquiries.” For those who wanted to take a “wheel” out for a ride without investing in one, J.G. Edwards and Joseph Riggs teamed up to open a bicycle livery that rented out bikes. Another livery opened in Omemee, and in 1898 reported that it had difficulty keeping up with the demand.

Cycling enthusiasts would leave town in groups for rides around the countryside that were 20 or more km in distance. Others enjoyed racing events organized by the bicycle club at the fairgrounds, with the first such event in 1896 attracting well over 700 people. Prior to his death in a cycling accident in 1902, Hartley’s own Archie McEachern was a familiar face at these races and was described as “one of the fastest men on a bicycle in North America.”

Market saturation saw the chain come off North America’s bicycle craze around 1900. Yet everything old is new again, and cycling remains as popular as ever in Kawartha Lakes.