On this day … 27 June 1891

The Preston Chronicle’s ‘Cycling Notes’ revealed the pleasures and problems of cycling in Victorian Preston. The town was home to the oldest cycling club in the county and had recently added a ladies’ cycling club, referred to in the notes as ‘lady trundlers’.

The pleasures included the recently introduced inflatable tyre that was gradually replacing the solid tyres that had provided such an uncomfortable riding experience. The problems included cycling through thousands of drunken miners on a recent Preston Cycling Club run to Southport.

The column opened with the useful guidance that about ‘9 15 pm is the time for lighting up next week, for all those who are anxious to keep out of trouble’.

The writer then turned to those new inflatable tyres, known as pneumatics, and the troublesome miners at Southport:

‘On Saturday the club run was to Southport, when 13 turned out, nine riding pneumatics. The fine weather, even with the hot sun, was much appreciated, as the season up to the present has been anything but seasonable. On Tuesday the run was to Leyland, but as the weather was rather unpleasant only the captain, sub-captain, and two members turned out. A better day might have been chosen for Southport, as it is estimated that there were 100,000 miners, &c., many of whom were not fit to ride near.’

Cyclists were urged to be careful with those new ‘pneumatics’:

‘Loud complaints have been heard against pneumatic riders “scorching ” through Fishergate and other main streets of the town. The advantage of the pneumatic is very enjoyable, especially on pavement, but the sooner the dangerous practice is discontinued the better for the popularity of the sport. In Blackburn riders are restricted to six miles an hour; this will, undoubtedly, be the case in Preston if timely warning is disregarded.’

In fact, it was thought that soon there would be no need for inflatable tyres, because:

‘The. Rev. J. H. Bumstead, of Poulton-le-Fylde, and Vicar of Hambleton, has introduced two very ingenious patents in connection with the propulsion of cycles. One is a combination of wheels for bicycles and tricycles to facilitate hill-climbing and speed-gaining. They will also considerably reduce the present expenditure of motive power required to drive the cycle. The second is a series of springs and levers which will break the present rigidity of the frame and allow the machine to pass over obstacles with little or no jolting on the rider. It will also do away with the necessity of pneumatic tyres.’

These innovations would presumably have been popular with lady cyclists who had recently joined the men on their club outings, but who, to judge by the report, could be too easily discouraged by such discomforts as inclement weather:

‘Preston has the oldest cycling club in the county, and now it boasts a ladies cycling club. The lady trundlers, it is said, intended to be at Whalley meet, but the weather, doubtless, deterred them being present.’