In Ireland, fewer than 1 in every 250 school girl rides a bike to school. This is despite the fact that bikes are an environmentally friendly and healthy mode of transportation. While the number of boys who cycle to school has been steadily increasing over the years, the number of girls remains relatively static. So why aren’t more girls cycling?
An Taisce is an Irish heritage charity that is working to address this issue. Their campaign is called #andshecycles aims at exploring the root cause of what makes teenage girls hesitant in commuting to their schools and colleges on bicycles. It was important to find out what was the cause, so the campaign involved interviewing many students, teachers, parents, and psychologists to get a solid grasp of what was going on.
One reason may be that teenage girls feel unsafe cycling on busy roads. They may also feel self-conscious about their appearance, especially if they don’t have the right equipment or clothing. Additionally, some girls may simply not have access to a bike.
The most common causes turn out to be peer-pressure, self-consciousness and harassment, which makes girls reluctant. Many girls said they feel ‘judged and intimidated’ by boys and men when cycling to school.
Image: Sticky Bottle
Many young girls expressed their concerns with the school uniforms which made it difficult for girls to bike. Some added on a lighter note that the helmets and high vis jackets can also scare off people from riding bicycles. It usually collides with the fashion statements. However, Caitriona Buggle from the campaign expressed that the addition of colourful helmets could make a statement that ‘Safety can be Sexy.’
Whatever the reason, it’s clear that more needs to be done to encourage Irish girls to cycle to school. The #andshecycles campaign is a step in the right direction, and with more awareness and education, hopefully more girls will soon be cycling to school safely and confidently.
An Taisce’s campaign #andshecycles was launched at Dublin’s Science Gallery. Many young girls attended the campaign and it went viral on social media.
The campaign’s panelists stressed the fact that girls needed more role models on wheels. It is necessary for an active and healthy lifestyle. Young girls were encouraged to get back on their bicycles.
Sylia Thompson from The Irish Times published an article (and video) on this issue and reported Jane Hackett, manager of the Green Schools travel programme as saying: “We have been working with schools around the country to increase cycling numbers for over ten years. Because of this work we realised that although teen girls wanted to cycle the numbers weren’t increasing at the same levels as their male counterparts. So we asked why, and #andshecycles was born.”
Let’s hope the #andshecycles campaign gets more Irish girls on bikes!
Dom is a (former) mechanic and (go)karter who lives in the UK.
Five months ago, Dom posted his first Drum & Bass on the bike video.
Dom has a DJ deck set up over the handlebars of his bike, then he turns on his speakers, streams his live set (including him talking on a mic), and cruises around his local surroundings.
He has ridden Cambridge, Uxbridge, Manchester, Marlos, Windsor, Cardiff, Brighton, and several other English cities.
And each time, he is being joined by more and more people for the party ride-along.
Events like this make me happy.
*BOILER ROOM ON BIKES* Drum & Bass On The Bike 10 – LONDON CENTRAL
In a world that is increasingly divisive and exclusionary, having free, public events that people of all ages and stages can enjoy is critical.
While I acknowledge initiatives like this are not perfect and come with issues, I also appreciate the effort and work that goes into making these rides happen.
I love the grassroots, quasi-critical mass, flash mob, bicycle-focused, positive vibe of Dom’s rides.
Kids, families, dogs, and all kinds of people going for a ride together.
Yup – big smiles.
One of my favs is his start of the London Hyde Park Special.
This is one of his earlier ones. Just Dom…. going for a cruise.
I like the gentle lead-in (see video above) where he starts out by himself. He takes his time setting up his gear, he has a chat to a passer-by and then pushes off for an ‘off-the cuff’ roll around London.
Books with bikes that help people have difficult conversations are the best.
Oli and the pink bike is a short story book for children about alcohol feotal syndrome.
Image: Coram BAAF
What is the story about?
This UK short story introduces Oli and her adoptive family, and it follows Oli through her difficulties with behaviour and schoolwork. During the story, we learn about her condition, how it affects her, and all the good things about herself.
This story is designed for children aged seven to 11 whose development and behaviour has been affected by parental substance misuse, or who knows someone else who is affected. It is part of a series designed to teach children about a range of health conditions common to many looked after children.
After the story, there is a question and answer section covering a wide range of FAS topics and questions. There is also practical information and advice provided in a straightforward and child-friendly style.
Oli and the Pink Bicycle is one of a new series of books for children exploring health conditions that are common to many looked after children. Other titles in the series focus on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, dyslexia and emotional and behavioural difficulties. The books in the series will be invaluable for social workers, foster carers, adopters, residential workers, health care practitioners and teachers to use with children who have these health issues or who know an affected child.
It’s Oli’s seventh birthday – the first one since her new mamma and papa adopted her – and she’s really excited about the present she has been promised. A pink bicycle! But Oli’s special day doesn’t go to plan and she is so angry that she just screams and screams.
Nothing ever seems to go right for Oli. Her first mamma drank too much alcohol and took bad medicine when Oli was just a tiny bump in her tummy. Now Oli finds numbers and spelling difficult, can’t always make her arms and legs do what she wants them to and often loses her temper. Oli is sad and doesn’t know what to do, until the mysterious Aggie Witchhazel sets her a series of challenges to help her discover all the good things about herself.
Image: Coram BAAF
Thoughts on this book – a review
The following book review is by Mrs. Dale van Graan who is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education at Kingston University. I like this review as it gives a few points about how to engage with this book with youngsters – in particular the idea of having ‘a secret list of friends’ – see more below.
This is a story about a seven-year-old little girl who has Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and who has been adopted. The story builds with a great deal of anticipation about and around her seventh birthday, describing some of the behavioural and emotional difficulties a child with FAS might experience in the home, at school and socially, as well as the potential impact of her behaviour on others in those environments. The main character meets a neighbour, a helpful adult who assists her in developing a strategy to identify resources within herself and in her environments, to help her.
What is particularly helpful is the child-friendly explanation of how a child may develop FAS and how her development, behaviour and emotion regulation may be affected. However, in my view the fact that she is also an adopted child did not necessarily add value, apart from if this resource was to be used specifically with children who have been adopted or to educate children more generally about some of the additional needs children who have been adopted may have.
The book is aimed at children aged 7–11 years, who may read it themselves, or alongside an adult who may be able to enter into some discussion, explain and elaborate on some of the concepts. The ‘story’ in itself is engaging and entertaining, with effective use of humour.
However, it is a little concerning that the character is encouraged to keep a secret list of friends who could help her and the circumstances under which she meets the helpful adult are a little questionable, so I would be reluctant to encourage a child to read this without adult support to promote discussion and comprehension.
Simple illustrations and a short game at the end are likely to enhance the appeal of the book for children.
Another very useful aspect of the book is the question-and-answer section at the end, which covers a range of queries and concerns about FAS, from a child’s perspective, and practical information and advice, in a straightforward manner. Although published by BAAF, I would suggest that the book has relevance to a wide range of children and could be most effectively used in a classroom context.
Another epic cycling story! If you were impressed fifteen-year-old Jyoti Kumari’s 1, 200kms bike ride to get her disabled father home, here is another inspirational epic ride. This story is about two 90-year-old WWII friends who are undertaking a commemorative stationary cycle challenge. After seeing this story, I will never accept “I’m too old” as an excuse not to cycle again. Wow!! Most people don’t ride 167kms, left alone in their mid-90s. There is hope for us all. What a way to commemorate a significant part of your life – AND raise money to help others in need. Enjoy. NG.
Image: CGTN
Two 90-year old WWII veterans are undertaking a 167 km (104 mile) charity cycle to commemorate the 76th anniversary of D-Day.
The two friends, Len Gibbon (96) and Peter Hawkins (95) are both Normandy veterans.
The distance was chosen because it is the same distance that Len Gibbon’s took as a solider to get from his home in Portsmouth to the front in Normandy in 1944.
Using stationary bike they aimed to cover the distance from Portsmouth to Gold Beach by D-Day on June 6th.
Both men are in wheelchairs, but this has not stopped them. To do the cycle challenge, they are using stationary bikes so they can still be comfortably seated while cycling.
Len Gibbon (96) started his cycle on VE day and has been riding every day since.
Already, they have raised over US$8, 500 for the charity Just Giving.
Second War Two veteran Len Gibbon, 96 (Image:Gareth)
Mr Hawkins landed at Gold Beach a few days after Mr Gibbon in 1944 and was awarded a belated Legion d’Honneur for “recognition of military service for the liberation of France”.
Mr Gibbon said: “Although I’m 96, I still like to be active and take on new challenges. By cycling the same distance as the journey I took 76 years ago, it feels like a fitting tribute to those who were part of the Normandy landings.
The Normandy landings were like nothing else. You had to climb down this rope netting which hung down the side of the boat. Then when we got down to a certain point, someone shouted ‘Jump!’ and you had to fall backwards, someone caught you and pushed you on to the smaller landing craft to take you to shore.”
Originally from Elephant and Castle in London, Mr Gibbon joined the Royal Army Service Corps as a despatch rider when he was 20 years old.
In early June 1944, he got married and four days later he was posted to Normandy.
At Care for Veterans where he lives, physiotherapists have been working with Mr Gibbon on his balance and endurance.
His leg strength and overall fitness have improved with physiotherapy and he can now walk around safely with a mobility frame and supervision.
Taking part in this challenge would not have been possible without the physiotherapy.
Gibbons added: “Raising money for Care for Veterans means we can continue to help others who need support in later life.
I’m a keen dancer and am still able to have a dance with the other residents which keeps me young. I love to do the Cha Cha.”
Mr Gibbon was in Normandy through to the end of the invasion, then went to the Netherlands via Brussels, and was part of Operation Market Garden in September of 1944.
From there, he was posted in Germany, which is where he was when the war ended.
He recalled: “I was on my way to Hamburg, riding my motorbike along the autobahn by myself.
Suddenly a Spitfire was flying above me, came right down as if it was going to land on the road, then flew back up and did a loop. The pilot shouted down to me with thumbs up, shouting ‘victory!’
Then I knew it was over. I stood up on my bike, arms in the air, cheering.”
Len Gibbons during his cycle challenge. Image: The Daily Mail
*Some content and images sourced from News Chain, Belfast Telegraph, CGTN and The Daily Mail.
As often happens when looking in the past, while I was researching that post, it quickly became apparent that women have been overlooked, omitted or erased from such accounts, in particular those who are non-Western/American.
It was disturbing how much I had to shift my online search to try and find a personality that fit my criteria (see below) – to the point that I had to constantly reframe my search and my criteria to finally come up with very short (and still not fully satisfying) final list of five.
I thought this was going to be a quick, easy and enjoyable post to do.
The aim of this post was ‘bikespiration’, but the more time and effort it took to find what I was looking for online, the increasingly disillusioned I become.
Even so, while I was preparing, posting and still now, after it has been uploaded, I am not happy with it. This is by no means a reflection on the amazing five women included in the post – my irritation was twofold: 1) that the list is not longer (i.e. more women) and 2) that most (4 out of 5) were American (one Irish/Brit) = no ethnicity or race diversity.
I couldn’t even find any historical Australian or New Zealand woman to quote. I searched for a historical woman of colour, South American or any one that was not a white European woman – still nothing!
I realise this is because of the spectre of colonial history, but it is very frustrating that more women of diversity (i.e. not American or British) are not represented on this list.
So, to honour this frustration, below are some of the ‘moments of rupture’ I encountered when trying to move outside the deluge of dominant traditional dead, white, European, male voices.
Each rupture moment indicates a representational concern/shift required just to find 5 quotes that fit my (newly disrupted) criteria – and this list I am not happy with as they are still US/Western-centric.
Here are some of the lists online where you can see what I was up against:
Start point: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost.
Outcome: too many memes, redesigns/repost of ‘general’ quotes about biking.
Solution: go to ‘human’ source – has to be attributed to an actual person
Non(re)presentational layers: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost + has to be attributed to an actual person
Rupture Moment 2
Start point: go to human source – has to be attributed to an actual person
Outcome: to be ‘quoted’ and attributed, meant that it was said by a famous person – many of these are famous male cyclists
Solution: find quotes by famous people who are women
Non(re)presentational layers: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost + has to be attributed to an actual person + famous women
Rupture Moment 3
Start point: famous women
Outcome: to be ‘quoted’ about bicycles and famous, but not male, left female cyclists or women known for being associated with cycling
Solution: find quotes by famous women who are NOT cyclists (or not known for being directly associated within the biking industry)
Non(re)presentational layers: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost + has to be attributed to an actual person + famous people + not a cyclist + not a female cyclist
Rupture Moment 3
Start point: famous women and who are NOT cyclists (or not known for bike riding)
Outcome: the vast majority of quotes left by now were by men still alive
Solution: look for quotes by women who had died (almost like restart)
Non(re)presentational layers: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost + has to be attributed to an actual person + quotes by famous people who are NOT cyclists (or not known for bike riding) + look for quotes by women who had died
Rupture Moment 4
Start point: famous women and who are NOT cyclists and who have died.
Outcome: this cut the list down significantly – the same quotes kept popping up and they were to do with the suffragette movement
Solution: look for quotes by women who are not suffragettes
Non(re)presentational layers: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost + has to be attributed to an actual person + famous people who are NOT cyclists (or not known for bike riding) + quotes by women + not part of the suffragette movement
Rupture Moment 5
Start point: famous women not part of the suffragette movement
Outcome: Most of the women’s right’s information comes from the American suffragette movement
Solution: look for quotes by non-American suffragettes
Non(re)presentational layers: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost + has to be attributed to an actual person + quotes by famous people who are NOT cyclists (or not known for bike riding) + look for quotes by women + not part of the suffragette movement + non-American
Rupture Moment 6
Start point: non-American suffragette female
Outcome: This left very few quotes- most of them British
Solution: look for quotes other than non-white US, UK or white European/Western
Non(re)presentational layers: look up positive quotes about bike riding for a mid-week boost + has to be attributed to an actual person + quotes by famous people who are NOT cyclists (or not known for bike riding) + look for quotes by women + not part of the suffragette movement + non-American + non Western
Nothing.
By this stage I was very frustrated.
As a final ditch effort, I specifically looked for ANY Indigenous Australian, South American, African American, Asian, Indian or any other non-Western quote by a female – still nothing.
Not surprisingly, this whole exercised proved to me that not only women, but especially women of diversity, have been (and continue to be) unacknowledged and effectively written out of history.
Keeping in mind that written history is a product of the culture it grew from, meaning that in those times women were not recognised in society and that bicycling is a very specific sub-set of that context.
But even so, this small activity drove home for me just how elite, privilege and Western-centric our framing of history and the world is.
I would love to see history revised to better include diverse perspectives so there is a more balanced, accurate and fuller count of the past.
I hope that in moving forward, we pay more attention to documenting and sharing greater herstory representations so that next time someone tries to research a post like the one I did, there is a much wider and richer databank of voices, perspectives and lives to draw on.
It has been a busy week and I needed a bit of a boost. As a bike rider and two-wheeled enthusiast, it’s easy for me to love bikes and share that love with others. But not everyone loves bikes as much as bike enthusiasts do. But, there are many well-known people who are not famous for their ‘bike love’, yet still appreciate the capacity and opportunities bicycles enable. So today, I wanted to do a bikespiration post that shows the significant impact bikes have for people who aren’t usually known or associated with riding bikes.
Helen Keller. Image: jamesray.com
1. Helen Keller – American Author & Activist
“Next to a leisurely walk I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing.”
The top of this list for me is Helen Keller (1880-1968) because she is a person very few would associate with bike riding – hence the above comments being all the more impactful! Helen Keller was a prolific author, political activist, and speaker/lecturer. She was born deaf and blind and with the support of her teacher Anne Sullivan, Helen learnt to not only communicate but was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Keller went on to (literally) be a world-famous voice for women’s rights, labour rights, people with diff-abilities. She was a staunch socialist and actively supported the anti-war movement. Keller’s somments are a great reminder of the embodied joys of riding a (tandem) bike with a friend!
Iris Murdoch. Source: Flinders Uni
2. Iris Murdoch – Irish Novelist & Philosopher
“The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.”
Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) is a famous ‘realist’ novelist and Booker prize winner. Many of her books have been adapted for the screen and stage. Her writing exposed our moral and ethical secret lives full of ‘love, sadness, fear, lust, power … Murdoch’s strange, radical novels seethe with emotion’. She wrote 26 novels in 40 years, the last written while she was suffering from Alzheimer’s. Murdoch was also a university lecturer, Socialist and philosopher. Murdoch lived in the era when automobiles became increasingly popular and cities were being oriented to accommodate them.
Francis Willard. Image: US Library of Congress
3. Francis Willard – American Author & Suffragette
“Tens of thousands who could never afford to own, feed and stable a horse, had by this bright invention enjoyed the swiftness of motion which is perhaps the most fascinating feature of material life.”
“I began to feel that myself plus the bicycle equaled myself plus the world, upon whose spinning wheel we must all learn to ride, or fall into the sluiceways of oblivion and despair. That which made me succeed with the bicycle was precisely what had gained me a measure of success in life — it was the hardihood of spirit that led me to begin, the persistence of will that held me to my task, and the patience that was willing to begin again when the last stroke had failed. And so I found high moral uses in the bicycle and can commend it as a teacher without pulpit or creed. She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life.”
Frances Willard (1839–1898), author of “A Wheel Within a Wheel: How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle,” (1865) was a contemporary and friend to Susan B. Anthony (two below). She learned to ride a bicycle late in life and noted how dress reform was needed to do it well. Bloomers were a controversial new fashion that were better adapted for cycling than full skirts. During this momentous time, bicycles gave women freedom of movement, enabling them to leave the confides of the home.
Anne Strong Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
4. Ann Strong – American Journalist & Activist
“The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community.”
Ann Strong was a journalist and suffragette activist. There is not much history to be found on her except this quote which first published in the Minneapolis Tribune in 1895. This was during an era when bicycling first became widely popular and gave women increased freedom. The suffrage movement was steering a new course for women, away from traditional marriage, and the bicycle was one tool in creating this freedom. This quote has been (re) used by Frances E. Willard and many others since given its historical suffragette cheekiness.
5. Susan B. Anthony – American Abolitionist and Suffragette
“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled.”
Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) was a leader of the American women’s suffrage movement. Bicycles became wildly popular in the 1890s and ushered in a new era where women were not tied to the home. During Susan’s era, the ‘New Woman’ started wearing ‘new clothes’ (like custom made skirt/pants for riding bikes instead of heavily layered skirts), going to college, engaging in sports, and entering the workforce.
The personalities and some content here are sourced from a longer list by David Fiedler.
This post is a great story of how a renovated double-decker bus is getting more Londoners on bicycles. This story comes courtesy of Inhabitat where it first appeared as a story on Architecture and was published under the title: The Bicycle Library Invites Londoners to “Borrow” Bikes Inside a Converted Double Decker Bus. What I find really exciting about this project is the array of thoughtful and useful services the London Bike Library offers. Read more about these services and more in the accompanying interview by Yuka Yoneda who interviews Karta Healy, the man who made it all happen. Such an inspirational story! Enjoy! NG.
London’s Bicycle Library
Most of us are no strangers to libraries where you can borrow books but what about libraries where you can borrow bikes? Well, that’s exactly what The Bicycle Library is (yeah, they didn’t get too creative with the name). Not only does this London-based business promote green transportation, it’s also situated in a converted double-decker bus.
Talk about giving re”cycling” a whole new meaning!
Inside the adapted bus, there is a “library“/gallery on the top floor with a showroom on the first level.
Londoners who need expert advice on which bike they should rent or buy can speak to an in-house “librarian” specializing in all things two-wheeled.
There’s even an array of actual books pertaining to – what else? – bicycles, on hand for reference. The first floor also boasts a shop with clothing and biking accessories.
Just as you would in a regular library, you can browse thorough different bikes, take them out and even test them out on the track outside.
There are seven types of bicycles to choose from: folding, MiniVelo, FGSS (Fix Gear Single Speed), Ladies Coaster, Mens Coaster, cargo and electric, so you’re sure to find one that’s right for you.
And if you find, after renting it for a while, that you’ve met your perfect bike match, the Bike Library even has a borrow to buy program so that you can make it your own.
Karta Healy Interview
Last week, we showcased the Bicycle Library, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, and it was so unusual that we had to get in touch with its founder and pick his brain. We needed to know what makes a person wake up one morning and want to start a library where people take out bikes instead of books – and in a revamped double-decker bus, no less?! So we caught up with Karta Healy, the driving (or should we say cycling?) force behind this mobile resource, and found out the answers to those questions and more – read on to see what he said..
How did the Bicycle Library get its start?
Karta: It all started last September, when I did a cycle fashion show extravaganza during London Fashion Week. We rented two buses to showcase all my TWOnFRO designs and my friends’ brands such as Rapha, swrve, Cyclechic, Dashing Tweed, 4TN and Brooks.
The buses were a key part of our layout of a London city street within the hallowed halls of Smithfield Market. I set up a test Bicycle Library for our guests and everyone loved it as much as me. That got me thinking…
People love the fact that the Bicycle Library makes its home inside a converted double decker bus – can you tell us about where it came from and why you decided to revamp an old vehicle instead of opening up a more traditional storefront?
Karta: I fell in love with the size and space inside these buses – they carry a certain nostalgia for all of us. From there I searched for our bus -a Leyland Olympian. I found it after 3 months in Milton Keynes. Maggie she is called, because all of her identifying marks start with M, and also because we have a great poster of Margaret Thatcher on a bicycle!
Can you tell us a little about your in-house “librarians” and your borrow to buy program?
Karta: Librarians are there to assist you with any questions, which are answered via their expertise, as well as the books and magazines in the reference library, which is a complete selection of all the best books on bicycle design, culture and history.
There is also a set of iPads to browse all of our bookmarked cycling websites, which are organized according to the 7 sub categories of bikes we advocate for the city.
The Borrow to Buy program is a rent-to-own system with an emphasis on trying many types of bikes in a week, or every week. The total days of bike borrowing is subtracted from the price of the final decision – hopefully a bike for life!
What is your most popular bike right now? What is your own personal favorite bike to ride?
Karta: Our most popular bike category is the electric bike by far, and we have some very special models that really give a snap of the neck with a twist of the wrist. Also, the cargo bikes are very popular, especially the Bernds model with its super-sized wicker basket. My personal favorite is my bamboo bike I built for myself – it flexes enough to soak up the shite London streets’ surfaces, and is unique enough not to be stolen… yet.
What do you think is the biggest obstacle keeping people from riding bikes and how do you think we can change that?
Karta: Each city has a different set of challenges, and London, my city, is a battlefield. Cars are keeping cyclists from multiplying, and the HGV’s are subtracting us even. Best we ban smoking tailpipes in cities, just as we have rid bars of their cigarette fumes already. There are many reasons, safety being the obvious one, due to said motorists.
Another one is image – whether tribal, lycra, or hipster, none say: “I have a real job”. The stigma of sweaty dishevelled students with a hangover on creaking bicycles, although we were all happy with that at one time, has to be outgrown. The sense of aspiration and achievement are typically forsaken for the bicycle in image only. Nowadays there are so many premium, stylish options, even e-bikes that keep you from sweating.
The other obstacle is bike theft, which must be supervised by NATO or somebody with the balls to tackle it. Studies show that when someone has their expensive shiny bike stolen, they will go out and buy one half the price, when that gets stolen, they will find the cheapest possible bike which they will hardly use, and if that gets stolen, they are back on the underground, or even worse, behind the wheel of a car. Cities need to introduce valet parking for bicycles, supervised parking areas, and even automated underground systems like the ones in place across Japan.
We couldn’t agree more! Karta makes it sound easy but we’re sure it was tough work setting up this impressive roving cycle library so congratulations to him and his crew.
Kind of makes you want to set up your own Bicycle Library in your own city, doesn’t it?
This blog post comes from an email I recently received from fellow PhDer Janis. Janis’s research investigates the heritage of Queensland’s Woollen Textile Manufacturing industry, so she has a particularly keen eye for stories about fabrics and textiles. So when she saw this fabric-and-bike-related content, she sent it over to me. This content about the ingenious cyclewear Victorian women invented to navigate social mores, comes from a 2018 Guardian article by sociologist Dr Kat Jungnickel. Thanks so much for sending this through Janis!
Image: Kat Jungnickel
Kat Jungnickel was researching modern-day cycling and in her interviews, people (especially women) kept mentioning the role that clothing had on cycling identity, participation and enjoyment. So she started to investigate a very particular period of UK clothing design innovation for women’s cyclewear from 1895 to 1899.
Dr Kat Jungnickel is a senior lecturer in sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London. More about her research, including re-creations of convertible costumes and free sewing patterns inspired by the patents, is available at her website and in Bikes & Bloomers: Victorian Women Inventors and their Extraordinary Cycle Wear, out now through Goldsmiths Press.
In her article below, Kat explains how patents by female inventors from the 1890s reveal the creative ways women made their body mobile through clothing.
Ingenious Victorian cyclewear for women
Much has been written
about the bicycle’s role as a vehicle of women’s liberation. But far less is
known about another critical technology women used to forge new mobile and
public lives – cyclewear. I have been studying what Victorian women wore when
they started cycling. Researching how early cyclists made their bodies mobile
through clothing reveals much about the social and physical barriers they were
navigating and brings to light fascinating tales of ingenious inventions.
Cycling
was incredibly popular for middle- and upper-class women and men in the late
19th century, and women had to deal with distinct social and sartorial
challenges. Cycling exaggerated the irrationality of women’s conventional
fashions more than any other physical activity. Heavy, layered petticoats and
long skirts caught in spokes and around pedals. Newspapers regularly published
gruesome accounts of women dying or becoming disfigured in cycling crashes due
to their clothing.
Fortunately,
little was going to stop women riding and they rose to these challenges in a
plethora of ways. Some took to wearing “rational” dress, such as replacing
skirts with bloomers. While this was safer and more comfortable for cycling,
dress reform was controversial. It was not unusual for onlookers who felt
threatened by the sight of progressive “New Women” to hurl insults, sticks and
stones. Other women adopted site-specific strategies to minimise harassment,
such as cycling in conventional fashions in town and changing into more radical
garments for “proper riding”.
Some
pioneering women came up with even more inventive strategies. Remarkably, some
Victorians not only imagined, designed, made and wore radical new forms of
cyclewear but also patented their inventions. The mid-1890s marked a boom in
cycling and also in patenting, and not only for men. Cycling’s “dress problem”
was so mobilising for women that cyclewear inventions became a primary vehicle
for women’s entry into the world of patenting.
The
patents for convertible cyclewear are particularly striking. These garments
aimed ambitiously for respectability and practicality. Inventors concealed
converting technologies inside skirts, including pulley-systems, gathering
cords, button and loop mechanisms and more, that enabled wearers to switch
between modal identities when required.
Alice
Bygrave, a dressmaker from Brixton, lodged a UK patent in 1895 for
“Improvements in Ladies’ Cycling Skirts”. She aimed to “provide a skirt proper
for wear when either on or off the machine”. Her parents owned a watch- and
clock-making shop in Chelsea and her brother and sister-in-law were
professional cyclists. Her invention brings all of these influences together in
an ingenious skirt with a dual pulley system sewn in the front and rear seams
that adjusts height according to the needs of the wearer. Bygrave also patented
her invention in Canada, Switzerland and America, and it was manufactured and
distributed by Jaeger. It was a hit and was sold throughout the UK and America.
It even made its way to Australia.
Image: The Guardian. Patent illustrations accessed in the European Patent Office Espacenet Database.
Julia Gill, a court dressmaker from north London, registered her convertible cycling skirt in 1895. Her aim was to “provide a suitable combination costume for lady cyclists, so that they have a safe riding garment combined with an ordinary walking costume”. This deceptively ordinary A-line skirt gathers up to the waist via a series of concealed rings and cord into what Gill called a “semi-skirt”. The lower flounce, when made from similar material to the jacket, creates a stylish double peplum. The inventor also recommended combining the skirt with some rather splendid “fluted or vertical frilled trowsers”.
Image: The Guardian. Patent illustrations accessed in the European Patent Office Espacenet Database.
Mary and Sarah Pease, sisters from Yorkshire, submitted their patent for an “Improved Skirt, available also as a Cape for Lady Cyclists” in 1896. As the name suggests, this is two garments in one – a full cycling skirt and a cape. The wide waistband doubles as a fashionable high ruché collar. This garment is one of the more radical designs of the period because the skirt completely comes away from the body. Cyclists wanting to ride in bloomers could wear it as a cape or use the gathering ribbon to secure it to handlebars, safe in the knowledge they could swiftly replace the skirt should the need arise.
Image: The Guardian. Patent illustrations accessed in the European Patent Office Espacenet Database.
Henrietta Müller, a women’s right’s activist from Maidenhead, registered her convertible cycling patent in 1896. Unusually, the inventor addressed an entire three-piece suit – a tailored jacket, an A-line skirt that can be raised in height via loops sewn into the hem that catch at buttons at the waistband, and an all-in-one undergarment combining a blouse and bloomer. Müller was committed to the idea of progress for women, and not content with trying to fix one element when she could see problems with the entire system. She was acutely aware of the politics and practicalities of pockets for newly independent mobile women. As a result, this cycling suit features five pockets, and Müller encouraged users to add more.
Image: The Guardian. Patent illustrations accessed in the European Patent Office Espacenet Database.
These
inventions are just some of the fascinating ways early female cyclists
responded to challenges to their freedom of movement. Through new radical
garments and their differently clad bodies they pushed against established
forms of gendered citizenship and the stigma of urban harassment. Claiming
their designs through patenting was not only a practical way of sharing and
distributing ideas; it was also a political act.
These
stories add much-needed layers and textures to cycling histories because they
depict women as critically engaged creative citizens actively driving social
and technical change. Importantly, they remind us that not all inventions are
told through loud or heroic narratives. These inventors put in an awful lot of
work to not be seen. They were successful in many ways, yet the nature of their
deliberately concealed designs combined with gender norms of the time means
they have been hidden in history – we have yet to find any examples in museums.
As such, they raise questions: what else don’t we know about? How can we look for other inventions hidden in plain sight? And if we learn more about a wider range of contributors to cycling’s past, might it change how we think about and inhabit the present?
I remember reading this story ages ago – and it really stuck with me. As a bike rider and dog owner, there is nothing more appealing than hitting endless trails on bikes with a furry mate. For our honeymoon, husband and I took the bikes and Zoe and spent three weeks driving up the east coast of Australia riding all the best MTB trails along the way. We had an amazing time. So when my work gets more than the usual crazy (mostly around marking time) and I’m feeling like there’s a lot going on, I think back to our time on the trails with Zoe and I reread this story…..and it makes everything okay. Just to know that this is an option and there are riders out there living the dream makes me happy. In our house, there continues to be talks of future cycling puppy inclusive cycling travels. Hazah!! Ride on #bikes_CISTA teams! NG.
Joshua Sivarajah sold all his possessions and set out to bike around the UK with just his dog Nero for company – a year later, he has found no reason to stop.
For the first 34 years of my life, I led a fairly conformist existence – university, a succession of jobs, my own sales business – but I never felt fulfilled.
When my mum suggested I move to Indonesia with her, I thought, “Why not?” and started making preparations. But as the departure date got closer, I realised how much I was going to miss the UK.
I decided I’d spend some time touring the country on my bike with Nero, my five-year-old collie.
Giving it all up to cycle the world with your dog
I sold my car, gave away my furniture, quit my flat, bought panniers for my bike and dragged my tent and sleeping bag out from under the stairs.
By the end of the week, I was on my way, Nero trotting beside me.
My plan was to cycle round the UK in about seven weeks. But a fortnight in, I realised there was no need for me to go fast – I just needed to appreciate what was around me.
It was tough going sometimes, but I learned how keen people are to help.
Most nights we camped on farmland or in parks (even in a castle once) but we also met people who were happy to put us up for the night.
Travelling with a dog, you make friends wherever you go.
Very early on, Nero burned his paws on hot tarmac and took to riding on top of my bags; an ironmonger in Whitby welded a special shelf on to my bike for him to sit on.
I’ve seen and done much more than I expected. The west coast of Scotland was particularly thrilling – I learned to sail and fish, I caught wild mackerel for breakfast and saw sea eagles with two-metre wingspans.
It was around that time that I phoned my mum and said, “I don’t think I can come to Jakarta, Ma. This is what I was born to do.”
My only outgoings are food for me and Nero, about £300 a month.
I carry my tent, my sleeping bag, hammock, and my laptop – other than the bare minimum of clothes and a few cooking utensils, that’s all I have.
I feel lighter, both physically and mentally.
We’re now cycling across Europe – we’ve visited France, Spain and Portugal so far. I never want to stop.
We’re slightly limited by Nero’s pet passport, so we can’t go to Africa or Asia, but I hope to cycle in the US next year.
Cycling Projects is a national-wide UK charity whose focus is to provide community engagement projects so that all community members have access to cycle on a regular basis, including older people or those with restricted mobility, but especially for people with disabilities.
Wheels for All is their flagship service. It is a great initiative designed to increase the cycling accessibility and level for people with disabilities. This is achieved out of the 50 Wheels For All centres that are dotted throughout England and Wales delivering a select range of programmes and services.
Most inspiringly, these centre provide programs by being fitting out with a fleet of purpose built and adapted cycles that cater for a range of physical, mental and mobility issues. Some bike are modified two, three or four wheelers, some are for individual riders, others cater for pair, trios or four riders as well as bikes that accommodate wheelchair integration , recumbents, hand-powered, pedal-powered and tandem for the visually impaired, to name a few.
These bikes are also unique in that the design is comfortable (and enjoyable) both for the participant and their assisting partner and there is a range of bicycles that can be used depending on the needs of the participant. I was impressed with the range and versatility of the adapted bike that were on offer.
(Ohh, is that Sir Chris Hoy the UK track star in the bottom photo on the left?! I think so!!). At first glance of these bikes involved in these programs, I am immediately impressed that as much as can be given the physical control of the participant, the bicycles are designed so that the participants are physically engaged as much as is possible in the actual propulsion of the bicycle. For me, this is a critical element for projects such as this, otherwise the claim of increasing the opportunity for cycling is not justified if the only person cycling is the participants’ attendee.
I think it is equally important to have a social space in which to ride, (which these programs appear to provide), as well as having an authentic track or place to ride on. This last element for me is very important as cycling is a medium whereby people traverse through space-time geographies, and that is part of the thrill of accomplishment of going for a ride. Additionally, being in an outdoor environment where cyclist can feel the natural elements like the wind, the cold, the rush of an increase in speed or the inertia of a sudden stop are as valuable to the experience as the biological feedback experienced from riding; the heat in generated by the exertion of riding, a little sweat on your brow, the suggestion of tired legs, the way hips might wiggle as your legs go up and down –all come from being on bikes.
In the same vein, those who are unable to physical contribute to the riding, are just as much an asset and receptive to these dynamics. Other similar projects that cater to a different segment of the population, such as Cycling without Age attest to the insurmountable benefits derived by participants from the excitement of being outdoors, the wind rushing over faces, chasing the person, watching the landscape rolling along beside the bike and just being out and about and part of a normal healthy, positive and social daily activity.
I also think it is brilliant that in May this year, they held their own Wheels for All Conference. I am a big fan of conferences as I think it is a wonderful opportunity for like-minded people to get together, and more so than a festival, to have dedicated and focused time set aside to discuss pressing issues, new developments, extend networks, identify trends and to increase awareness and exchange ideas. It was ingenious to hold this conference in conjunction with the bigger Cycle City Active City Conference that was going on at the same time as well.
Below is a simple 2 min video detailing the main ideas of the project.
