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Okay. And we're back with Our American Stories and with author Margaret Goroff. telling the story of the bicycle and America. When we left off, She just told us about the bicycle boom in the 1890s. When a technological innovation, the lowering of the bicycle thanks to the chain, allowed more people, including women, to access writing and increase mobility.
Back to Margaret. with the rest of the story.
So in Europe there had been a move towards more scientific understanding of medicine and health. In this country people thought of doctors as kind of in charge of the whole person, not just their physical well-being but sort of their moral well-being and how that could play into their health. There was a thought that each person had their own individual chemistry. Like, just because something was good for one person, didn't mean it would be good for everybody. Each person had to be individually analyzed by their doctor who knew them well.
And one of the things that American doctors were saying about the bicycle was that you shouldn't ride it or you shouldn't override it because you only had so much energy in your life. Like a battery that you can't recharge, and you had to conserve that, and you couldn't be going out exercising willy-nilly because you would just wear yourself out and then you'd die. And there were certain things about American life. that supported this like The clothes that women wore, middle class women at the time were expected to wear these very restrictive corsets. that they needed in part because the weight of their clothes and the weight of their skirts was so much that they needed this infrastructure underneath that would distribute the weight so it wasn't all just sitting on their hips.
But you could be wearing 25 pounds worth of clothing. You'd be wearing very narrow, pointy shoes. And so these women were in these very tight things that kept them from breathing well. and they weren't exercising, so they had no muscle strength. And so they were very frail, a lot of them.
They couldn't, you know, you couldn't catch your breath or you would faint. And the doctors were saying, well, of course, a person like this should never exercise because that would be the end of them. But what happened with the bicycle and I were talking about in the 1890s, the safety bicycle, is that they were so enticing and they seemed like so much fun. that people were willing to Try them. You know, even though the doctors were saying, please don't do this, you'll die.
And these women could not wear these corsets. They had to. figure out a different way to Dress themselves because it just didn't work on a bicycle.
So they started wearing, just for bicycling, not in the rest of their lives, but for bicycling, they would wear a looser. undergarment, they would wear shorter skirts. They would go riding around, they would get a little exercise, they would get a little sun. and they would feel better. And people started feeling stronger.
People started feeling healthier. And That was part of a larger move that in combined with what was going on in Europe. and the fact that there were You know, the communications between America and Europe were tighter. We were seeing a lot of people immigrating from Europe, including people who had medical knowledge.
So they were discovering all these new things about. Health and discovering the germ theory of disease. There was a lot going on, but part of what was going on was that. people who were riding these bicycles. and feeling better, we're realizing, you know, my doctor doesn't know everything.
And You can test something out and see whether it works. And if you know, exercise works, exercise makes you feel better. And this also showed that there were, in fact, some things that were. Like, good for everybody. That you didn't need this individual person studying you and telling you how your moral life would be improved or changed or whatever.
You could say, well, maybe everybody should. eat more roughage or everybody should do this, you know?
So it was part of and played into a larger change in how people thought about health and medicine at the time. The beginning of the 1890s. The production of bicycles ramped up like crazy. producers were making new innovations in how Bikes were Built They were adapting technology from making plows and making tractors. And so the bicycles became by 1897, 1898, just, the market was just flooded with them.
And some of them were not good, which a lot of people say is another reason for the boom to end, was that there were just a lot of bikes on the market that were dangerous, falling apart, or that didn't give you that exhilarating experience that got people hooked. In the 1890s bike boom, it seemed like everybody was riding a bike. It got more and more popular. They got cheaper and cheaper to buy. There were more and more used ones.
So it seemed like everybody was doing it. And then right around the turn of the century, boom. stopped. People stopped using it. The most part.
I mean, there were still people who rode them and used them for work, but they weren't a fad anymore. The myth has long held that. The car was invented and everyone just moved directly from bicycles to cars and that that's what killed the bike boom. But in fact the car was invented at the end of the 19th century and Invented by people who had been bicycle mechanics first. Henry Ford, yes, he was a A bicycle mechanic, and he adapted a lot of bicycle technology, wheels and stuff like that, gears and everything to what he was doing.
But they were very expensive, so it wasn't until You know, Henry Ford in the second decade of the 20th century started mass-producing cars that. ordinary people could start to afford them.
So there was this 10-year Gab. when people really had stopped riding bicycles, but before a lot of people could start being able to afford a car. But the thing that made it much more difficult for people to ride bicycles at the beginning of the 20th century was things like streetcars. which were cutting up the roads in cities and went fast and, you know, there were beginning to be cars on the roads.
So it just became less practical for people to use a bike for entertainment. What happened in the 1970s was that again a new technology for us, lightweight European 10-speed bicycles came over and then we started building American 10-speeds and that got really a lot of young people on bikes in the mid-1970s. And some of those young people had the same kind of organizational aspiration as the The earlier bikers who had fought for just roads. And so, with this new group, you see people. advocating for old railway right-of-ways that weren't being used for anything to be turned into rail trails.
That starts happening in the 70s. And also the first dedicated bike lanes. In cities like New York, they are happening in the 1970s. You also had bike messengers at that point. I mean, there's a whole bunch of stuff going on.
The thing about the bike is that it comes and goes. Right now, I think a lot of people are finding really practical uses for it, especially in cities where distances are shorter. There have been times recently in our recent history where Nobody rode a bike, and there are still places in the country where you can't really. But the times when bicycles are popular. coincide with times when they are perceived as fun and safe.
And what's happening right now is that A lot of cities have been investing in bike lanes. and also in bike share companies, bike share programs. That gives people a way to use a bike without really taking their lives into their hands. And now we're seeing another new technology that is really starting to catch on, which is electric bicycles. which make it super easy to go up a hill.
They're getting cheaper, they're getting lighter weight. And that coinciding with a huge Older demographic baby boomers who came of age maybe in the 1970s bike boom, after a period when nobody rode a bike really, and they want to keep riding their bikes, but they maybe don't want to deal with those hills anymore.
So, this electric addition, it's something else that is fun and practical. And I think that's a lot, a large part of why right now we're seeing a lot of people. on bikes.
So before the bicycle, really the only way to travel a long distance in this country other than on the waterways was with a horse, whether it was riding a horse or a horse and carriage. And the creation of the bicycle really affected the way we live now. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Madison Derricott. And a special thanks to Margaret Goroff. The Mechanical Horse, How the Bicycle Reshaped American Life is her book, and it's available wherever you buy your books.
And it was just a blast to just walk through American life and the bicycle and where the two intersected and how the bicycle changed in some ways and in many ways American life. And my goodness, when we hear about where the science was as it related to, let's say, exercise. and how we had a finite amount.
So we should be careful how we use it up. Be careful anytime anyone says this science is settled. That's a humbling. Humbling anecdote about where the consensus was on science in the 1890s. The story of the bicycle, the mechanical horse.
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Shop now at washablesofas.com. Add a little to your life. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom.
Hit the town with the ultra-durable LGX Boom Portable Speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LGX Boom. And for a limited time, save 25% at lg.com with code FALL25. Bring the boom!
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Human trafficking doesn't always look like what you expect. Everyday moments can become opportunities for someone with bad intentions, whether you're a parent, teacher, coach, or neighbor. Check in. Ask questions. Stay connected.
Blue Campaign is a national awareness initiative that provides resources to help recognize suspected instances of human trafficking. Learn the signs and how to report at dhs.gov/slash blue campaign.
This is an iHeart podcast.
