Women and Bicycles: Wheels of Change

"A girl who rides a wheel is lifted out of herself and her surroundings. She is made to breathe purer air, see fresher and more beautiful scenes, and get an amount of exercise she would not otherwise get. All this is highly beneficial." -Ellen B. Parkhurst

Me after my first triathlon finish

I didn't learn how to ride a bicycle until I was 12. I have memories of many cousins, aunts, uncles, and my parents trying to teach me how as I grew up. I remember a specific instance where I almost hit a mailbox and I swore off bicycles forever.

Luckily I didn't keep my promise and eventually found enough motivation to learn. As a 12-year-old, I lived in the same neighborhood as my friend. Honestly, we probably lived less than a half-mile from each other. It was an easily walkable distance but I realized that riding a bike would be so much faster. And being able to ride meant that my friend and I could ride the streets of our neighborhood reservoir for even more adventures. So I taught myself how to ride a bike.

I didn't do much biking again until I was an adult. I biked some in Arizona as a missionary for my church--even in a skirt. And I became more confident in biking mostly as a mode of transportation.

Fast forward to last year, I had found a love for exercise--specifically running. But I found out about an opportunity to try a triathlon specifically for women. I was super excited and enjoyed my first triathlon. It was a great challenge to swim, bike, and run. I felt so strong afterwards and immediately knew that I'd be doing another one.

Eva riding her Lemond in a triathlon 2009

One of my aunts, Eva, has been a very active person throughout her life and an inspiration to me. When I asked her about some of her experiences, she shared a little about never really having a bike of her own growing up and like me, learn to enjoy running. But after a couple marathons under her belt, she decided to try triathlons. She says "My first triathlon was the Dewey Beach triathlon in Delaware. It was a sprint distance triathlon. The open water swim was a half-mile in the Atlantic Ocean, then a 12-mile bike ride and a 5k run. Riding on the streets through Dewey Beach out onto a two-lane road, I fell in love with the wind rushing past my face, the speed the strength of my legs brought me as I found myself gaining on other riders on a bridge. My love of bicycling was born."

"The bicycle will inspire women with more courage, self-respect and self-reliance and make the next generation more vigorous of mind and of body." -Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Myself with Eva's Lemond bicycle

Later she moved back to her home state of Washington and lived where she could see Mt. Rainier every day. "I’d get on my bike on the weekends and there was my mountain! I cycled through easy miles, the sun on my back, the wind on my face toward that mountain, that beautiful mountain that now lives in my heart.  I can’t ride my bike anymore. I have Stage 4 Metastatic Cancer that snuck down my spine during the year I turned 49. I'm bent over like an octogenarian. I live with pain every day. But I have those memories. All those hours I spent on that bike that I loved. Those memories of the amazing, beautiful world around me. It was a special time. A wonderful time. Memories can bring sadness or joy. Sometimes they bring both. But I think of me on that bike. That incredible LeMond that took me places I’d never been before and will never go again. It brings a smile to my face, filling my chest with joy and images that will stay with me for life."

This year, Eva found out that I had been training for triathlons and lovingly gifted me her Lemond bicycle that I was able to have cleaned and fixed up and ready for more races. I've felt such a great connection with her and others who love cycling as much as we do.

You may wonder what this has to do with books--and while that was a very long introduction--I think it's very relevant to the book I read last week: Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way). I don't remember how I heard about this book but probably from social media. I had the chance to support an independent bookstore I heard about on Twitter--Old Town Books in Alexandria, VA. Like many other bookstores, they are in need of a lot of support at this time. They sent me this amazing book in quick order.

It's a short little nonfiction book written by Sue Macy. It includes newspaper clippings, old photos, quotes, advertisements, and all sorts of other historical tidbits all about the history of women and bicycles. I've included some of my favorite quotes in this blog post.

Women weren't always encouraged and supported in their endeavors to travel on wheels and many people thought that it would be the downfall of the gender as women gained their freedom and could travel further and further distances. Men and women alike would preach against them believing that a simple thing like riding a bicycle would lead them to live morally reprehensible lives. I loved hearing some of the stories of how women fought against these naysayers and accomplished greater and greater things all on their bicycles.

"The bicycle is the devil's advance agent morally and physically in thousands of instances" -Charlotte Smith

Like I mentioned previously, after my experiences with cycling this year and the connection I've developed with my aunt, Eva, over this, reading this book also helped me feel connected to the thousands of women who have accomplished great feats on their bicycle. Macy discusses in the books some of the many records that women set and the origins of cycling as a sport for women.

Now every time I see a woman on a bicycle I get excited--I want to cheer her on and I think about all the strength and stamina and endurance it takes to just want to get on that bike and maybe climb a few hills before the day is done.

While this book may not be for everyone, I think that anyone who loves history, cycling, women's rights or feminism in general, will love this book. It was a fascinating quick read that will give you an insight into some of the things women had to face just to be allowed to ride a bicycle.

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel." -Susan B. Anthony