As a lifelong cyclist who has never owned a car i was so looking forward to reading this and i wasn’t disappointed.
Overall, simply an excellently researched book on the birth of cycling in the UK, especially focusing on the boom years of the 1890’s.
And as much as this should be in every cyclist’s book collection, it should also be in every feminist’s book collection. The history of the bicycle would not be complete without it being placed, centre stage, in those early years of women’s freedom and suffrage.
All hail the humble bicycle: a true vehicle of freedom and the most efficient form of transport ever invented. Nothing will propel you for so little watts per mile as a well manufactured and maintained bicycle can. It has well and truly stood the test of time.
As H.G. Wells once remarked: Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
Long live the bicycle.
William’s Page