Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State

by Jesse J. Gant, Nicholas J. Hoffman

On rails-to-trails bike paths, city streets, and winding country roads, the bicycle seems ubiquitous in the Badger State. Yet there’s a complex and fascinating history behind the popularity of biking in Wisconsin—one that until now has never been told. Meticulously researched through periodicals and newspapers, Wheel Fever traces the story of Wisconsin’s first “bicycling boom,” from the velocipede craze of 1869 through the “wheel fever” of the 1890s. It was during this crucial period that the sport Wisconsinites know and adore first took shape. From the start it has been defined by a rich and often impassioned debate over who should be allowed to ride, where they could ride, and even what they could wear. 
 Many early riders embraced the bicycle as a solution to the age-old problem of how to get from here to there in the quickest and easiest way possible. Yet for every supporter of the “poor man’s horse,” there were others who wanted to keep the rights and privileges of riding to an elite set. Women, the working class, and people of color were often left behind as middle- and upper-class white men benefitted from the “masculine” sport and all-male clubs and racing events began to shape the scene. Even as bikes became more affordable and accessible, a culture defined by inequality helped create bicycling in its own image, and these limitations continue to haunt the sport today.
Wheel Fever is about the origins of bicycling in Wisconsin and why those origins still matter, but it is also about our continuing fascination with all things bicycle. From “boneshakers” to high-wheels, standard models to racing bikes, tandems to tricycles, the book is lushly illustrated with never-before-seen images of early cycling, and the people who rode bloomer girls, bicycle jockeys, young urbanites, and unionized workers.
Laying the foundations for a much-beloved recreation, Wheel Fever challenges us to imagine anew the democratic possibilities that animated cycling’s early debates.

Genres: Bicycles

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2013

Reviews

[Stuart Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all the title is very misleading, 90% of the book is about cycling up to 1900 (the rest is just padding at the end) and calling Wisconsin a 'great bicycling state' is a presumptuous statement that the authors don't really answer. The book itself is extensively researched and generally well written (although repetitive in parts - perhaps because of having two authors?) with some interesting characters and stories bought to life. So if you are interested in cycling before the era of the car this is a good read. Just don't expect much more than that.

[Micah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book should have been subtitled "A History of Cycling in Wisconsin before 1900", as the current one is about how Wisconsin became a great bicycling state, which is an idea hardly mentioned. The authors spend a great deal of time on the social changes and controversies brought about by cycling, and I enjoyed the local newspaper and magazine articles from the period that were cited. I found some of their assertions shaky and built on scant evidence, and their frequent direct mentions of how an idea connected back to one of their theses was distracting.

The conclusion of the book is what I expected to see- here there are mentions of the creation of trail systems and improved laws around cycling, but they are very surface level and don't go into any of the social changes or advocacy needed to get those ideas off the ground, or a mention of why Wisconsin would be a place for those changes to take place as the title suggests. Worth reading for the local flavor and turn-of-the-century social history, but easy to skip around for the bits you're interested in.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us ride, or have ridden bicycles, but have you ever wondered how this machine evolved and became so popular? What models lead to the ones we ride today? What forces and heroes were instrumental in achieving their popularity? If you are looking for the answers to these questions, “Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State” is the place to begin.

This book takes the reader through the models of the past. The Velocipede, ridden by Velocipedestrians, made its advent shortly after the Civil War. It differed from the modern bikes primarily because it had no chain but just a pedal that turned the front wheel. Next came the High-Wheel. You know, those bikes with the huge front wheels that some exhibitionist brings to the rides and you wonder why anyone would ever chose that model and how they got on and off? At one time they were the dominant model, chosen for the high ratio between the pedals and the size of the wheel but, yes, a lot of injuries occurred when riders fell off. Something safer was needed if very many people were going to risk their lives on bicycles so next came, the Safety Model, which is the early version our modern bicycle with a chain and normal size wheels.

Wheel Fever is not just about equipment. Bicycling has played important social roles in our country in general and in Wisconsin in particular. In the late 19th Century roads were poor. They were rutted, got muddy and were filled with animal waste. Yuck! That was just fine for equestrians, but cyclists wanted something better. Cycling Clubs arose to act as social groups and to lobby for better roads and to defend the rights of cyclists. Not everyone was in favor of bicycles. They alarmed horses and ran pedestrians off the sidewalk! Cycling Clubs, most prominently LAW, the League of American Wheelmen, became significant political forces, helping to elect President William McKinley and Wisconsin Governor William Upham. LAW united its members of the West and East with Wisconsin being the largest Division of the West. We are reminded that, like the society from which they derived their members. Cycling Clubs were exclusive, often limiting themselves to white men. Bicycles became the “Poor Man’s Horse”. They gave women enhanced mobility and independence while enabling working men to get to work, politicians to meet more people and the middle classes to tour the countryside. They affected fashion and encouraged the publication of road maps. After the two main bicycle booms they became toys for children until in recent decades they have become instruments of recreation and means of transportation that can promote health and protect the environment. Wisconsin has provided an example for the nation by it conversion of rail line to trails and its enthusiastic embracement of the cycling sport.

Like any sport, bicycles were raced. Readers are introduced to the champions of both inside tracks and outside races who popularized their sport and made it one to be emulated by their fans.

I have gotten carried away with the story, but what about the book? Authors Jesse Gant and Nicholas Hoffman have done an excellent job of telling the story of Wisconsin cycling. The writing is engaging and the many pictures are reminders of a Wisconsin of the past: its people, its landscape and, of course, its bicycles. This is a book you will want to read and then keep it handy to page through again. Don’t be stingy, put it out on your coffee table for your guests to peruse while waiting or when the conversation slackens. If you like Wisconsin, cycling or just social history, “Wheel Fever” deserves a place in your library and on your table.

I did receive a free copy of this book for review.