Reviews
"Bicycling by young women has helped more than any other medium to swell the ranks of reckless girls, who finally drift into the army of outcast women of the United States." -- Women's Rescue League, 1891 "I think the most vicious thing I ever saw in all my life is a woman on a bicycle-and Washington is full of them. I had thought that cigarette smoking was the worst thing a woman could do, but I have changed my mind." -- The Sunday Herald, 1891 "Over-exertion, the upright position on the wheel, and the unconscious effort to maintain one's balance tend to produce a wearied and exhausted 'bicycle face.'" -- The Literary Digest, 1895 "Have you ever seen anything more off-putting, uglier, meaner than a wench on a bike, wheezing, her face red like a turkey, her eyes reddened by the dust? What a horror!" -- Youth, 1897 "Don't cultivate a bicycle face." --New York World, 1895 "Female bicycling must be sharply looked after and care exercised in its indulgence... bicycling is a leading factor in disturbances of nutrition, in neurasthenia, hysteria, chlorosis, dyspepsia, chronic constipation, anemic amenorrhoea, and nervous dysmenorrhoea." --The Medical Age, November, 1897 " It is a fact that so called bicycle schools do tend to foster immorality to individual members of the sex. " --The Medical Age, January, 1897
Synopsis
Bicycling for Ladies is the trailblazing book that introduced women to bicycling and shocked a Victorian culture on its release in 1896. Today it remains comprehensive and useful, but also celebrates women's advancement in the sport and offers an inspiring, and amusing, look back. Maria E. Ward let the social norms and gendered expectations of the nineteenth century eat her dust when she wrote the groundbreaking guide to bicycling for women. In chapters such as Women and Tools, Dress, and How to Make Progress, Ward explains the function of wheels, gears, and spokes, gives instruction on how to safely and efficiently ride, and discusses optimal attire (layers and a stretchy corset, of course). Ward's detailed mechanical and physical instruction, paired with helpful images and charts, makes daunting ordeals like hill climbing, navigating traffic, and bike maintenance a breeze. In modern times, when so much is outsourced, automated, and unreliable, Ward's approach to transportation is refreshing. But while bicycling is rich with health and environmental benefits, male bicyclists still outnumber female riders, most competitive cyclists are male, and women are more likely to report feeling unsafe on a bike. Ward's text gives women the tools they need to claim their stake of the road. For seasoned cyclists or those just starting out, it is a timeless and relevant directive--ideal for today's woman who's ready to take the world by the handlebars. The photos and instructional images throughout Bicycling for Ladies are the result of a collaboration between Ward and Alice Austin, one of America's earliest and most prolific professional female photographers. The volume has an elegant new design and is small enough to ride with., Bicycling for Ladies is the trailblazing book that introduced women to bicycling and shocked a Victorian culture on its release in 1896. Today it remains comprehensive and useful, but also celebrates women's advancement in the sport and offers an inspiring, and amusing, look back. Maria E. Ward let the social norms and gendered expectations of the nineteenth century eat her dust when she wrote the groundbreaking guide to bicycling for women. In chapters such as Women and Tools, Dress, and How to Make Progress, Ward explains the function of wheels, gears, and spokes, gives instruction on how to safely and efficiently ride, and discusses optimal attire (layers and a stretchy corset, of course). Ward's detailed mechanical and physical instruction, paired with helpful images and charts, makes daunting ordeals like hill climbing, navigating traffic, and bike maintenance a breeze. In modern times, when so much is outsourced, automated, and unreliable, Ward's approach to transportation is refreshing. But while bicycling is rich with health and environmental benefits, male bicyclists still outnumber female riders, most competitive cyclists are male, and women are more likely to report feeling unsafe on a bike. Ward's text gives women the tools they need to claim their stake of the road. For seasoned cyclists or those just starting out, it is a timeless and relevant directive--ideal for today's woman who's ready to take the world by the handlebars. The photos and instructional images throughout Bicycling for Ladies are the result of a collaboration between Ward and Alice Austen, one of America's earliest and most prolific professional female photographers. The volume has an elegant new design and is small enough to ride with., Originally published in 1896, Bicycling for Ladies shocked a Victorian culture that would have rather seen a woman fixing dinner at home than fixing a tire. Today it is a celebration of the the sport and women's advancement, an amusing manifesto, and a practical guide with timeless, eternally useful advice. A member of the Staten Island Bicycle Club and master of mechanics, Maria E. Ward let the social norms and gendered expectations of the nineteenth century eat her dust when she wrote her groundbreaking guide to bicycling for women. Bent on inspiring other women to embrace the freedom of the open road, Ward pushed past the Victorian trappings of femininity to learn and share everything she could about the novel mode of transportation. In chapters such as Women and Tools, Dress, and How to Make Progress, she carefully explains the function of wheels, gears, and spokes, gives instruction on how to safely and efficiently ride, and discusses optimal attire (layers and a stretchy corset, of course). Over 45 million women rode on a bicycle in 2018 and never before has a mode of transportation offered so much in terms of health benefits, environmental benefits, and autonomy, and women's advancement deserves to be celebrated. But the urgency of Ward's message lives on: male bicyclists still outnumber female riders, and most competitive cyclists are male. Decades ago, Ward knew that bicycling was "within the reach of nearly all," regardless of class or gender and that it would offer social and economic mobility for women riders. Today, Ward's text is essential reading for the fearless woman looking to finally claim her stake of the road. Complete with antique photographs from one of America's earliest and most prolific professional female photographers, Alice Austen, and illustrations from the original nineteenth century edition, Bicycling for Ladies has an elegant new design and is small enough to take on the go. For seasoned cyclists or those just starting out, Bicycling for Ladies serves as a timeless and relevant directive; it is for today's woman who's ready to take the world by the handlebars., Bicycling for Ladies is the trailblazing book that introduced women to bicycling and shocked a Victorian culture on its release in 1896. Today it remains comprehensive and useful, but also celebrates women's advancement in the sport and offers an inspiring, and amusing, look back. Maria E. Ward let the social norms and gender
