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Cycling in the 19th century

The category cycling in the 19th century moved to a special project called CYCLING REVOLUTION. It’s part of the PelotonTales blogfamily, focusing rather on the impact of the bicycle on the modern life.

Josef Fischer (1865-1953) the winner of the first Paris-Roubaix (1896)

Faces from the peloton: Josef Fischer (1865-1953)

Josef Fischer, the winner of the first Paris-Roubaix (1896) was born on the 20th January, 1865 in Atzlern (near München, Germany).  Fischer participated in several of the earliest long-distance bicycle races, like the 582,5 km long Vienna-Berlin race in 1893, where he triumphed. The route took him 31 hours. Next year, among others, he attended the 587 km long Milano-München, which he completed in 29 and half hours. During the 1890s bicycle was still a new vehicle, there were several crazy events to promote the product, like Fischer’s duels against horses. On the 19th April 1896, the first Paris-Roubaix was held. The distance was 280 km long, the race started at 5:30 am. Although more… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Josef Fischer (1865-1953)

19th century female cyclists hor record holders netween 1893 and 1897

Female hour record holders in the 19th century

Not only men, but also women liked to compete against the hour since the beginning of the history of cycling.  Here are the women who set records during the last years of the 19th century. Mlle de Saint-Saveur 7 July 1893 Vélodrome Buffalo, Paris, France 26,012 km Renée Debatz 4 August 1893 Vélodrome Buffalo, Paris, France 28,019km Hélène Dutrieu 7 Octobre 1893 Vélodrome Lillois, Lille, France 28,78 km Louise Roger 26 Octobre 1893 Vélodrome Buffalo, Paris, France 34,684 km

The famous scientist couple, Marie and Pierre Curie with their bicycles on their honeymoon in 1895

Marie and Pierre Curie on their honeymoon (Vintage cycling image of the day)

THE 19TH CENTURY CYCLING CONTENT MOVED TO.  THE CYCLING REVOLUTION BLOG, THE NEWEST MEMBER OF PELOTONTALES BLOG FAMILY.   Marie (1867-1934) and Pierre Curie (1857-1906) were married on 26 July 1895. It was a wedding without religious service and Marie wore a simple blue dress she used to wear later as a laboratory outfit for years. The newlyweds shared a hobby, they liked to make long bicycle trips. No wonder, that they enjoyed this outdoor activity during their honymoon.        

Iconic vintage cycling images: Paris-Roubaix 1897 Maurice Garin

Maurice Garin after winning Paris-Roubaix 1897

The second edition of Paris-Roubaix was  held on the 18th April 1897. 32 professional and 28 amateur cyclists departed in the rainy Paris, but the 280 km long racerun mostly under sunny conditions. The Italian-born French Maurice Garin, who is best known for winning the first Tour de France in 1903, and the Duch Mathieu Cordang arrived in the velodrome of Roubaix first. Unfortunatelly, Cordang crashed and, although he managed to get 2 m close to his rival again, Garin won the race. [su_box title=”Read more on cycling races before 1903″][su_posts tax_term=”453″ order=”desc” orderby=”rand”] [/su_box]

Cycling related quotes from classic literature , quote of the day daily on PelotonTales

“the pleasure of riding”

“It was up Kingston Hill that he first noticed a peculiar feeling, a slight tightness at his knees; but he noticed, too, at the top that he rode straighter than he did before. The pleasure of riding straight blotted out these first intimations of fatigue.” (H. G. Wells: The Wheels of Chance: a Bicycle Idyll)

How good was Henri Desgrange as a rider himself?

Henri Desgrange, the cyclist

The founding father of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange (1865-1940)  was a cyclist in his younger days. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 km (1893) Apparently, Desgrange saw a bicycle race for a very first time while visiting the finish of Bordeaux-Paris in 1891. First he raced on the track, but it turned out very soon, the endurace races suited him more. His performance on 11 May 1893 was the first “recognised hour record in the history of cycling races. He also established records at 50 and 100 km and 100 miles. He won even the tricycle championship in that successful year of 1893. [su_box title=”Read more… Read More »Henri Desgrange, the cyclist

cycling appears quite frequently in classic novels and short stories too

Get a bicycle!

“Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.” (Mark Twain: Taming the Bicycle)  

Cycling record of a sixteen-year-old girl

In September 1893, a young sixteen-year-old girl rode on bicycle from  Brighton to London and back. The road between the two cities was 190 km (120 mi) long and it took her 8 hours and 30 minutes to return to Brighton from the capitol, wich was considered a new record.   Tessie Reynolds was the daughter of Robert James Reynolds, a gymnastic instructor and cycling agent, who promoted active sport among his children. Also her mother was involved in the new craziness of cycling, she run a boarding house catering for cyclists especially. Thus, basically, Tessie grew up in a family, where riding a bicycle and challenging herself physically was normal even for a young woman.… Read More »Cycling record of a sixteen-year-old girl