From the Archives: In Praise of Bicycling

Here's an 1879 letter published in Washington's Evening Star entitled "In Praise of Bicycling." Much of it sounds like it could be written today.

I do not know anything that compares with bicycle riding as a healthful, invigorating, and fascinating exercise; healthful because it brings into energetic, but not excessive, action so very many muscles; invigorating on account of the fresh air, the rapid motion and the constant change of scene which are it's accompaniments; fascinating, because - how shall I express it or how can I convey to anyone not a bicyclists any accurate idea of the ever increasing delight to the rider of "the silent steed." ...The bicycle is a steed that always can be depended on; one does not need to learn it's gaits, it's tricks, every time a new steed is tried nor incur annual expenses of $200 to $500 for board and shoeing.

The whole thing is at the top of the far right column. 

Comments

[Jack]

"The bicycle is a steed that always can be depended on; one does not need to learn it's gaits, it's tricks, every time a new steed is tried nor incur annual expenses of $200 to $500 for board and shoeing."

Clearly this person never rode in 2016 when any semi-addicted cyclist's annual expenses for gear are at least $500 a year, including $200 just on bike shoes, and every new bike is a steed to be mastered (and paid for) all over again. Bikes are more dependable than horses except for the tires, derailleurs and brakes, but instead of shooting them when they break you can just keep them in your garage to fix up later, often much later (I know from experience that 10 will fit in a garage easily).

[SJE]

Plus my bike doesn't leave presents on the trial.

[Kolo Jezdec]

Well, 2 inflation calculators that I found indicate that $500 in 1879 is equal to about $12,000 today. Quite a bit of money, more than my annual mortgage payment...

On the other hand, $500 today would equal about $21 in 1879.

from the Columbia Manufacturing Inc. website: "1878 - The first American manufacturer of cycles begun with the Columbia Bicycle at the Weed Sewing Machine Company factory in Hartford, Ct. The first regular trade catalogue was twenty pages long. The first bicycles were the 60" Hi Wheelers and sold for $125.00 when sewing machines sold for $13.00"

[SJE]

Sounds like the Victoria era was just as Fred-ly