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Boston's Cycling Craze, 1880-1900: A Story of Race, Sport, and Society
From 1877 to 1896, the popularity of bicycles increased exponentially, and Boston was in on it from the start. The Boston Bicycle Club was the first in the nation, and the city's cyclists formed the nucleus of a new national organization, the League of American Wheelmen. The sport was becoming a craze, and Massachusetts had the largest per capita membership in the league in the 1890s and the largest percentage of women members. Several prominent cycling magazines were published in Boston, making cycling a topic of press coverage and a growing cultural influence as well as a form of recreation.
Lorenz J. Finison explores the remarkable rise of Boston cycling through the lives of several participants, including Kittie Knox, a biracial twenty-year-old seamstress who challenged the color line; Mary Sargent Hopkins, a self-proclaimed expert on women's cycling and publisher of The Wheelwoman ; and Abbot Bassett, a longtime secretary of the League of American Wheelman and a vocal cycling advocate for forty years. Finison shows how these riders and others interacted on the road and in their cycling clubhouses, often constrained by issues of race, class, religion, and gender. He reveals the challenges facing these riders, whether cycling for recreation or racing, in a time of segregation, increased immigration, and debates about the rights of women.
Lorenz J. Finison explores the remarkable rise of Boston cycling through the lives of several participants, including Kittie Knox, a biracial twenty-year-old seamstress who challenged the color line; Mary Sargent Hopkins, a self-proclaimed expert on women's cycling and publisher of The Wheelwoman ; and Abbot Bassett, a longtime secretary of the League of American Wheelman and a vocal cycling advocate for forty years. Finison shows how these riders and others interacted on the road and in their cycling clubhouses, often constrained by issues of race, class, religion, and gender. He reveals the challenges facing these riders, whether cycling for recreation or racing, in a time of segregation, increased immigration, and debates about the rights of women.
- GenresCyclingHistoryNonfiction
312 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 24, 2020
Learned a ton for our naming ceremony for the city's first cargo electric assist trike, named after Kittie. I loved learning that UMass Boston has so many bike-related archives, and I also really enjoyed the deeper dive into some of the local bike history. Important to understand just how vicious and cruel many of the popularly reported white riders and clubs were in the post Civil War north (not just the south). A good read for Boston area cycle nerds. 🚲💜
July 12, 2021
Thank you Lorenz Finison! You did so much unearthing of history and give such a perspective on the racism at the turn of the last century. Greatly appreciated.
The strength of this book is NOT seen in lively writing, to be warned.
The strength of this book is NOT seen in lively writing, to be warned.
July 21, 2022
The book provides interesting glimpses into the history of cycling in the Boston area. The chapters are not really chapters in a continuing narrative, but more akin to individual magazine articles.
April 17, 2016
Even though I could ride a bicycle since I was five, I never gave cycling's history much thought: how did those 19th century high wheelers even stay upright, much less evolve into my 1967 blue Schwinn? The changing social role of the growth of cycling is equally complex: social clubs, parades, organized rides, road and track races all reinforced social norms by gender, race and class while offering opportunities for an exceptional few to break into new roles. This is a history book--and an easy one to read--that connects the past to matters that still shape Boston sport and society.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews