There are rather few people in the Western world who cannot ride a bicycle and I’m one of them. Both my older brothers had second-hand bicycles and used them to get around the town and also venture further afield. As a boy, I had a hand-me-down scooter (with wooden handlebar grips and a replacement plywood deck) and I enjoyed zooming around on that to see friends and to see how fast I could go on a local hill, but I never progressed to a bike for some reason.
Perhaps that is one reason why I like watching cycle racing on road and track and I’ve twice seen a stage of the Tour of Britain go past, impressed with the speed of the riders. Television used to allow whole stages to be followed and a mountain stage of one of the major races emphasises an attribute of “climbers” – the ability to continue grinding up long, steep hills through walls of spectators (see above), aided by lightweight bicycles with a wide selection of gears. Elite riders are, of course, dependent on their equipment and the bicycles that they use are designed for either road or track, road bikes being different for time trials and for the rest of stage races, whether flat, hilly, or mountain (to use definitions in Le Tour). Then there are the bicycles used for off-road races and these are different again, with sophisticated suspensions and fat tyres.
All modern bicycles are developments of the original invention by Baron Karl Drais in 1817 (see above), designed as a means of convenient transport that was faster than walking and didn’t need horses, mules, or other animals. It should be mentioned that the invention of the bicycle has also been claimed by the prolific polymath Joseph Crabtree and in 1818 “Crabtree’s Contraption” was demonstrated in Chipping Sodbury. As Peter Armour tells us [1], the project was abandoned, as it caused too much pain to riders.
An early bicycle, called the Northumberland Eagle Mail was that of William Martin [2], a form of “dandy horse” that didn’t (apparently) create pain in the rider. Invented in the late 1820s, Martin stated: “It is the only Travelling Machine that ever was invented in the World to work from the Centre of Gravity, without Aid of Horse or Steam.”. Unfortunately, while demonstrating this early bicycle, William became “excessively hot propelling it over rough ground and was pelted with mud by the spectators.” [2]. This account is no doubt accurate, while that of Joseph Crabtree is intentionally fictitious, but the bicycle became a common means of travelling from place to place and for visits to the countryside.
The first commercially successful bicycle driven by a chain to the rear wheel was produced in 1885 by John Kemp Starley and this led to an explosion of interest in cycling, exemplified in paintings (shown above in chronological order, from the top). The works are by Burdett Frost (1896), Béraud (ca.1900), Comerre (1903), and Fischer (early 1900s) and show the types of bicycles used for local touring, either alone or in groups, making a ride a social event. The paintings by Béraud and Comerre show the ladies’ costume of blouse and bloomers or culottes (“Rational Dress”), making cycling much easier than with voluminous skirts that could potentially become trapped in the spokes of the wheels and throw the rider off. In the 1890s and early 1900s, cycling became an important way of showing one’s status, and riding in groups became all the rage. It’s no wonder that many paintings of bicycles, come from this period.
The renowned artist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, had an accident in 1897 while out cycling. At the time, he was working on Luncheon of the Boating Party (see above) and, as his right arm was broken and he was right-handed, Renoir had to switch to paint with his left hand [3]:
Having to work in the new way seems to have inspired him. Writing to a patron, he said, “[I]t’s even better than what I did with the right. I think that was a good thing that I broke my arm. It allows me to make progress”.
Later, Renoir was crippled by arthritis in both hands and he still continued to paint, so the ability to adapt, and carry on with his passion, may have been boosted by this earlier triumph aver adversity.
There is another well-known cyclist/painter. Maurice de Vlaminck used a fauvist palette for much of his career, and was influenced by Van Gogh and Cézanne, although he only became a serious painter in 1900 at the age of 24. Before that he had been a professional cyclist, making sufficient money to support his young family, but a bout of typhoid fever put paid to that [4]. His friendship with André Derain, one of the founders of Fauvism, was important in encouraging him as an artist (his painting La Route Nationale - that includes a bicycle - is shown above) and Derain also provided illustrations for two books that de Vlaminck published. His move from being a professional cyclist to being a professional artist is almost certainly unique.
Another famous cyclist during the heyday of cycling was the great English composer Edward Elgar of whom Michael Kennedy [5] writes:
“For relaxation he and Alice [his wife] had been learning to ride bicycles. He went for rides in company with Rosa Burley who remembered that ‘he was very difficult and one never knew quite what would be the mood of the afternoon … I found that he was particularly touched by birdsong and that he loved and knew all the little creatures that darted in and out of the hedges.’”
Alice was not an enthusiastic cyclist, but Elgar and Rosa
Burley rode extensively in the Malvern area of Worcestershire, especially
important to the composer. During rides, he sometimes went into periods of silence,
Rosa Burley recognising these as times when tunes were being composed in his head, the
stimulation of the lanes and the hills providing the creative impulse. In 1900
Elgar had bought a Sunbeam cycle and this was christened Mr Phoebus,
a pun on the name Sunbeam (see above, with EE – this image being from
the collection of the Elgar Birthplace). This bicycle was given to A.J.Jaeger (“Nimrod”
of the Enigma Variations) and replaced with another Sunbeam that then
inherited the name Mr Phoebus. For Elgar, cycling was not only a
pleasurable form of exercise, but a means of visiting places that provided
inspiration.
In addition to providing a source of pleasure, bicycles became almost a standard mode of travel to, and from, the workplace (see above) and, even in the age of the car, there are some that prefer to use bicycles to commute to work. And then there is the modern expansion of interest in cycling clubs, Lycra uniforms, and going for long rides, often with a competitive element.
Perhaps I made a mistake in not learning to ride a bicycle? But then, I enjoy walking and there is a much lower risk of injury with that mode of transport. However, there could still be time. After all, Tolstoy only learned to ride a bicycle when he was 67 [6], but that was in 1895, during the boom in leisure cycling, when cars were rare indeed. I think it is too late for me...
[2] Thomas Balston (1945) The Life of Jonathan Martin,
Incendiary of York Minster, with some account of William and Richard Martin.
London, Macmillan & Co.
[4] https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/vlaminck-maurice
[5] Michael Kennedy (2004) The Life of Elgar.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment