“ The introduction of pacing by multicycles and motors next took from cycle racing what interest was left. A motor race, in which the machines are run at top speed, is more exciting than the spectacle of a motor being driven at a rate which the cyclist can follow with the protection of a wind-shield. In America this system of proving what cyclists can do with racing machines was carried so far that in 1899 a board track was laid down on the Long Island railway for about 2 m. ”

“ The safety bicycle, with pneumatic tires, rendered cycling universally popular, not merely as a pastime but as a convenient means of locomotion for everyday use. Made with a drop-frame, it also enabled women to cycle without being confined to a heavy tricycle or compelled to assume “rational dress.” In consequence there was an enormous expansion in the cycle industry. In England the demand for machines had become so great by 1895 that the makers were unable to cope with it. ”

“ The National Cyclists’ Union, originally the Bicycle Union, which was the parent body of all, formed in February 1878, was the first to put up danger-boards, and also was early instrumental, alone and with the C.T.C., in framing or suggesting laws for the proper government and regulation of cycle traffic, notably in establishing its position as a vehicle in securing universal rights, in endeavouring, again in conjunction with the C.T.C., to increase facilities for the carriage of cycles on the railways, in securing the opening of parks, and in promoting many other equally praiseworthy objects. ”

“ In Belgium the cycle has worked a veritable revolution in the national life. The surface of the greater part of the country being loose and sandy, the roads have been paved, and this paving is so bad as to be impossible for light traffic. The cycle tax has consequently been devoted, first, to the construction of paths on which cyclists have equal rights with pedestrians, and secondly to the replacing of the paving by macadam. ”

“ Cycling has produced a literature of its own, both of the pastime and of the trade. Owing to the enormous profits which, for several years, were obtained by cycle makers, a trade press appeared which simply lived by, and out of, its advertisers ”

“ The beginning of the 20th century saw the introduction of two innovations: one was the “free-wheel,” a device which allows the driving wheel to rotate independently of the chain and pedals, so that the rider, controlling his speed with powerful brakes, can “coast” down a hill using the stationary pedals as foot-rests; and the other was the motor-cycle, in which a petrol-engine relieves him, except at starting, from all personal exertion, though at the cost of considerable vibration. ”

“ The aim of these national associations, which have formed an international touring league, is the promotion of cycle touring. To this end they publish roadbooks, maps and journals; they recommend hotels, with fixed tariffs, in their own and other countries; they appoint representatives to aid their members when touring; and they have succeeded in inducing most governments to allow their members to travel freely across frontiers without paying duty on their machines. In all countries they have erected warning-boards at dangerous places ”

“ France has done more for the cyclist than any other country, owing to the fact that she possesses the best roads, kept up to a certain extent by the cycle tax, whereby the cyclist acquires a certain official position and right ”

“ The makers’ amateurs at least rode to win and to make the best time possible. But the scandal was so great that a system of licensing riders was adopted by the N.C.U., and if this did not effectively kill the sport, the introduction of waiting races did. There probably is considerable skill in riding two-thirds of a race as slowly as possible, and only hurrying the last part of the last lap, but it does not amuse the public, who want to see a fast race as well as a close finish. ”

“ The organization of these clubs is chiefly of Touring clubs. a social character, and a few possess well-appointed club-houses. To a great extent they have been superseded by the large touring organizations. The Cyclists’ Touring Club, organized in 1878 as the Bicycle Touring Club, has members scattered through Europe, America and even the East. Many other countries possess national clubs, as for instance the League of American Wheelmen, founded in 1880, and the Touring Club de France, founded in 1895, of whose objects cycling is only one, though the chief. ”

“ Other cyclists have devoted themselves, at the instigation of makers, to the riding of 100 m. a day every day for a year. It would be difficult to say what advantage there is in these trials and contests. ”

“ Suggestions of vehicles having two or more wheels and propelled by the muscular effort of the rider or riders are to be found in very early times, even on the bas-reliefs of Egypt and Babylon and the frescoes of Pompeii ”

“ Then the demand fell off, the British market became over-stocked, and as the British makers declined to consider the wants of foreign customers, their store-rooms remained crowded with machines that could not be sold. ”

“ In England the draisine achieved a great, though temporary, vogue under various names, such as velocipede, patent accelerator, bivector, bicipedes, pedestrian curricle (patented by Dennis Johnson in 1818) , dandy horse, hobby horse, &c., and for a time it was popular in America also. ”