Cycling was very important socially and culturally to women as well as politically. Bicycles were a way to connect with each other independently. Women were no longer forced to be driven wherever their husbands wanted to go. They no longer needed permission. They had a choice. From this, ideas about what a woman’s club would look like circulated in New York City. In an 1896 New York Times article, a building was discussed that would end up being a club for women. In this editorial, it was imperative they included that, “Women’s interests in athletics, too, has not been in the least overlooked, as is evidenced by the enumeration of a splendid gymnasium, tennis court, and bicycle room.”[1] At this point in time, women were already on the verge of being taken seriously in an athleticism sense. Change was happening!

Women found more than just clubs with one another; they found their own sense of competitive nature. Cycling races were very real events that would happen. The best of the best would travel to race each other to win money and earn a spot on the podium. These sporting events were gambled on by some very wealthy men who would stand in the bleachers shocked at the speed of the participants. On a slanted, wooden track the size of baseball diamond, these women would complete a lap in under nine seconds. They could complete 332 laps (19.5 miles) in sixty minutes.[2] Seeing women exert themselves physically as a form of sport entertainment was groundbreaking at the time. 

[1] 1. “A Building For Women’s Clubs: Plan to House All These Organizations Under One Splendid Roof. ,” The New York Times, May 3, 1896.

[2] 2. Roger Gilles, “2 Watch the Woman Cyclists,” essay, in Women on the Move: The Forgotten Era of Women’s Bicycle Racing (Nebraska, 2018).