(By Stephen Kelley from the Peoples Defender, 1983)
The 1880’s ushered in a relatively short lived age of bicycles in the United States. Seemingly overnight, Americans became caught up in a bicycle craze that carried over into the Twentieth Century, from coast to coast, bicycle clubs were formed by the hundreds and cycling for pleasure as well as health became the order of the day. Bicycling came into its own during this same time period. These races were well publicized and were a cinch to draw large crowds. Those participating in the competition referred to their bikes as “wheels” and to themselves as “wheel racers.”
Many of the races conducted in Adams County extended for several miles, stretching from one village to another. To give you an idea of the excitement generated by these matches, the following excerpt is taking from a circa 1895 Adams County newspaper now in the possession of county recorder, Robert O. Blanton. This article is entitled, “Great Sport and a Gala Day at West Union and reads as follows: “The bicycle contest… brought a large crowd to West Union last Saturday. The hotels were full and had all the guests they could conveniently accommodate. The crowd present was estimated at from 2500 to 3000. “The excitement over the bicycle races ran high and considerable money changed hands over the result. The starting point in front of the Courthouse was closely packed and it required force to keep the enthusiastic crowd from obstructing the roadway. “At 9 a.m. promptly the boys race was called. Four boys under the age of fifteen were given numbers and entered the contest. Normen Bell and Otto Stewart of Peebles, Cecil Wikoff of West Union and Harry Miller of Youngsville, all expert riders for their ages, started amid the cheers of the crowd. Harry Miller punctured his tire after a few rods run on the pan handle and was forced to retire from the race. The three remaining contestants kept almost a breast until at the foot of Kratz’s hill was reached.
At that point Bell took a spurt and led, closely followed by Stewart. Stewart is an athletic young fellow and he gained on his contestants and made the turn at the junction of the panhandle far in advance. On the return Bell continued in the lead almost out of sight of his contestants and pulled up over the line apparently fresh, after being out 29 minutes. Stewart came in five minutes later. Wikoff took his time after seeing his contestants ahead, came in having covered the 8 miles in 38 minutes. The speed made by the young men was remarkable.
“The Men’s road race was the most exciting feature. Thomas L. Moore of Hamersville, Gilbert Dalton and George Stewart of West Union, three of the most expert riders in the two counties, were the contestants. The start was made at 3 o’clock all sharing equally. Going down the Kratz hill, Moore led but was closely followed by Dalton and Stewart. For miles they were in talking distance. Stewart discovered that one of his tires leaked and he labored under great disadvantage. At the turning point at North Liberty (Cherry Fork) Dalton was a few yards in advance of Moore, and Stewart was twenty yards in the rear. At the junction of the panhandle, Stewart, owning to the condition of his tire, gave up the race. Moore and Dalton kept close together until the Kratz hill was reached when Moore led and came in over the mark in 59 minutes and 10 seconds. Dalton came in 1 minute and 10 seconds later. The distance traveled was 18 miles. The races were very exciting. Messrs, Holmes, and Thurman who had the management deserve great credit.”
Unfortunately, we do not have any surviving photos of those great bicycle matches of over eighty years ago. We do, however, have a view of a bicycle tour group as it traveled in Adams County during the summer of 1887. The all-male association, known as the Peerless Bicycle Club, was based in Portsmouth, Ohio. The members had shipped their bikes on the CP & V Railway (now N & W) to Peebles. From there, they had cycled to Locust Grove where they stopped and ate lunch at David Eylar’s Grove House hotel. It was here they were photographed for posterity by Peebles photographer, David Gardner. From Eylar’s Hotel the group then traveled on to the Serpent Mound. Notice that Eylar had towel bars installed on his front porch. Hotel guests were apparently expected to “freshen up” in the great outdoors. Eylar can be seen in the photo behind the first cyclist standing on the left.
