Download or read book The Two Wheeled World of George B Thayer written by Kevin J. Hayes and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2015-11-01 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Cyclotourism has recently risen to prominence with growing national media coverage and thousands of participants taking to America's roadways on two wheels and under their own pedal power. But the concept is not new. More than a century ago, George B. Thayer took his own first 'century, ' or one-hundred-mile bicycle ride. [This book] brings to life the experience of late nineteenth-century cycling through the heartfelt story of this important cycling pioneer. In 1886, just two years after his first century, Thayer rode his high wheeler across the United States, traveling from his home in Connecticut to California and back. Thayer took an indirect route without any intent to set speed records, but his trip was full of adventure nonetheless ... With aplomb and humor, he dealt with the countless other hazards he encountered, including dogs, mule teams, and wild hogs ... After his epic tour across the United States, Thayer had the urge to cycle abroad and eventually toured England, Germany, Belgium, and Canada on his bike ... In addition to telling Thayer's cycling story, Kevin J. Hayes brings to life the culture of cycling and its rise at the end of the nineteenth century, when bikes became more affordable and the nation's riding craze took off"--Publisher's description.
Download or read book The Two Wheeled World of George B Thayer written by Kevin J. Hayes and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2015-11 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cyclotourism has recently risen to prominence with growing national media coverage and thousands of participants taking to America’s roadways on two wheels and under their own pedal power. But the concept is not new. More than a century ago, George B. Thayer took his own first “century,” or one-hundred-mile bicycle ride. The Two-Wheeled World of George B. Thayer brings to life the experience of late nineteenth-century cycling through the heartfelt story of this important cycling pioneer. In 1886, just two years after his first century, Thayer rode his high wheeler across the United States, traveling from his home in Connecticut to California and back. Thayer took an indirect route without any intent to set speed records, but his trip was full of adventure nonetheless. Thayer loved going downhill, his legs over the handlebars, risking life and limb atop the large wheel on often rough and muddy roads. With aplomb and humor, he dealt with the countless other hazards he encountered, including dogs, mule teams, and wild hogs. Even bad weather and poor sleeping conditions could not keep Thayer down. After his epic tour across the United States, Thayer had the urge to cycle abroad and eventually toured England, Germany, Belgium, and Canada on his bike. His later travels were in part aided by his hometown of Hartford, Connecticut, which was the epicenter of American bicycle manufacturing in the late 1890s. In addition to telling Thayer’s cycling story, Kevin J. Hayes brings to life the culture of cycling and its rise at the end of the nineteenth century, when bikes became more affordable and the nation’s riding craze took off.
Download or read book Trekking Across America written by Lyell D Jr Henry and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2024 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For several decades following the end of the Civil War, the most popular sport in the United States was walking. Professional pedestrians often covered 500 miles or more for up to six grueling days and nights in pursuit of large money prizes in competitions held in big-city arenas. Walking was also a favorite amateur sport; newspapers often noted a "pedestrian mania" or "walking fever" that only began to give way in the mid-1880s to fast-rising crazes for baseball, bicycling, and roller-skating. As competitive walking faded, however, another kind of walking that had also begun in the late 1860s came to full flower. Between 1890 and 1930, hundreds of men, women, even children and entire families were on the nation's roads and railroad tracks trekking between widely separated points-frequently New York and San Francisco-and sometimes moving in unusual ways, such as on roller-skates or by walking barefooted, backwards, on stilts, or while rolling a hoop. To finance their attention-seeking journeys, many sold souvenir postcards. Although they claimed various reasons for making these treks, for most the treks clearly were a means of personal expression. The public usually found these performers entertaining, but public officials and newspaper editors often denounced them as nuisances or frauds. Tapping vintage postcards and old newspaper articles, this is the first book to bring back to view this once-familiar feature of American life. Following a prologue providing background and context, five chapters address different aspects of this trekking phenomenon. In 106 illustrations and seventy-six vignettes-some poignant, many amusing, all engaging-the book provides a fair representation of the many trekkers who moved across the country during those years. An epilogue offers some final musings about those trekking performers and their place in the annals of American popular culture"--
Download or read book Nebraska History written by Addison Erwin Sheldon and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Wheel and Cycling Trade Review written by and published by . This book was released on 1888 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Motorcycle Illustrated written by and published by . This book was released on 1921 with total page 792 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Mining World written by and published by . This book was released on 1909 with total page 1256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mining and Engineering World written by and published by . This book was released on 1909 with total page 1292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The American Tyler keystone written by and published by . This book was released on 1911 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Wheelmen written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Columbia Alumni News written by and published by . This book was released on 1917 with total page 1400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book R L Polk Co s Wisconsin State Gazetteer and Business Directory written by and published by . This book was released on 1907 with total page 1940 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book House documents written by and published by . This book was released on 1892 with total page 1152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book American Monthly Review of Reviews written by Albert Shaw and published by . This book was released on 1894 with total page 766 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Women on the Move written by Roger Gilles and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2018-10 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1890s was the peak of the American bicycle craze, and consumers, including women, were buying bicycles in large numbers. Despite critics who tried to discourage women from trying this new sport, women took to the bike in huge numbers, and mastery of the bicycle became a metaphor for women's mastery over their lives. Spurred by the emergence of the "safety" bicycle and the ensuing cultural craze, women's professional bicycle racing thrived in the United States from 1895 to 1902. For seven years, female racers drew large and enthusiastic crowds across the country, including Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and New Orleans--and many smaller cities in between. Unlike the trudging, round-the-clock marathons the men (and their spectators) endured, women's six-day races were tightly scheduled, fast-paced, and highly competitive. The best female racers of the era--Tillie Anderson, Lizzie Glaw, and Dottie Farnsworth--became household names and were America's first great women athletes. Despite concerted efforts by the League of American Wheelmen to marginalize the sport and by reporters and other critics to belittle and objectify the women, these athletes forced turn-of-the-century America to rethink strongly held convictions about female frailty and competitive spirit. By 1900 many cities began to ban the men's six-day races, and it became more difficult to ensure competitive women's races and attract large enough crowds. In 1902 two racers died, and the sport's seven-year run was finished--and it has been almost entirely ignored in sports history, women's history, and even bicycling history. Women on the Move tells the full story of America's most popular arena sport during the 1890s, giving these pioneering athletes the place they deserve in history.
