by Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, September 13, 2024.
“Velocipedes are the rage among the Parisian bucks just now, and Prince Murat, Count Savern, and other eminent scions of the aristocracy, may be seen propelling the Bois de Boulogne near the cascade. Some have become so skillful as to go fifteen miles an hour.” This announcement, which ran in the Exeter News-Letter on October 14th, 1867, is one of the first times we find the velocipede, an early form of bicycle, mentioned in Exeter. A Dr. Warren, author of a popular book called “Family Physician” was bullish on the invention for overall health. He felt the velocipede would, “enable invalids to travel in an inexpensive and independent style, and (in) keeping their minds occupied with the constant change of scenery and surroundings, divert their attention from their symptoms, and hasten their restoration.” Before any invalids might benefit from the ‘constant change of scenery and surroundings,’ however, they would first have to master riding the dang thing.
A velocipede is similar to a bicycle in that it has two wheels. The pedals, however, are located on the front wheel and there is no chain mechanism to propel the bike. Pedaling was very hard. Most velocipedes had no braking system either. Staying upright while riding was quite a challenge. Exeter author, Henry Shute, in his humorous book, “Plupy and old J.Albert” had his younger self character, Plupy, mock his neighbor, J.Albert Clark’s attempts to learn. The comical misspellings are part of the charm: “I never saw a feller fall so meny times and so meny different ways or get so meny splinters into him as old J. Albert did, or tare his britches so bad.”
Riding one of the contraptions was seen as a crazy fad to many. But there were plenty of people interested – primarily men and boys. In February of 1869, Mr. John Smith held a riding school in the Exeter Town Hall. The News-Letter noted that “there is a constant rush to the hall to see him ride and to get a ride. Many have already learned to ride passably well and some excel in this equestrian feet.” A performance of riding was held the following Friday by a Mr. Wales and both the training school and the show spurred on sales of what the editor called, “these wheelbarrow-like, donkeyish, hermaphroditical, centaurical carriages.”
Within just a few weeks, it was announced that there would be a velocipede race at the hall. Try to imagine a bicycle race held at the Exeter Town Hall. Most of the race would be spent navigating hairpin turns similar to short-track speed skating. Now imagine the riders are on heavy bikes made by a blacksmith with no brakes and wooden wheels. It must have been quite an evening. “The riding was generally very steady, though several unfortunate wights, whose ambition exceeded their prudence, came to grief, and the floor at the same time, much to the amusement of the audience, which was composed largely of ladies.” Most of the participants were boys from Phillips Exeter Academy.
The race was one-quarter mile, which required the riders to circumnavigate the Town Hall floor nine times. First place went to Henry Stone, who managed to do it in one minute, twenty-six seconds. The thirteen other participants all finished within 20 seconds of each other. Stone took home an “elegantly engraved, gold-lined silver cup” as his prize.
Stone didn’t participate in a second velocipede race that was held the following month. In this race, which was a championship between Exeter and Haverhill, the first heat was a tie between Walter Cutler of Phillips Exeter and a rider named Mr. Buckley of Haverhill. Both managed all nine laps in one minute, twenty-six seconds – the same time Stone had met in February. A run-off between the two riders was held and Cutler made it around in a stunning one minute, twenty-three seconds giving him the win. Once again, the prize was a silver cup.
After these two events, velocipede races moved outdoors. It seemed safer for all involved, including the wooden floor of the Town Hall. The craze was felt in other parts of the country as well. A dispatch to the News-Letter from Boston reported: “Velocepedomania prevails here to an alarming extent; the bycicular type predominating. We have countless rinks, schools, academies, colleges, and all sorts of institutions for the teaching and practice of the art of navigating the infernal machines; and occasionally a ‘wary wobbler’ is seen on the street.” People didn’t quite know what to make of them.
The same month the final velocipede race was held at the Town Hall ran the following note in the News-Letter: “Mr. William Burlingame is not only manufacturing a large number of velocipedes but he occasionally tests them. He rode one from Hampton Depot a few days since in about an hour, Mr. J. Albert Clark keeping him company on another bicycle.” Seems ‘old J.Albert’ managed to master the machine after all.
Image: Boys at Phillips Exeter Academy were early adopters of bicycle riding. Here, in an undated photo from the Phillps Exeter Academy archives, a group of boys pose with their “infernal machines.”
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org