in the 1890s, when cycling became more affordable and available to the less affluent, the office clerks and laborers, the bike disrupted the social strata by mixing the wealthy and the poor in one hobby, much like access to public parks and libraries did

“Professional men would bike to get out of the city, into the fresh air and particularly beyond all the hordes of immigrants who were flooding the area. And then, lo and behold, they found these same folks were following them out on bicycles.”

“The bicycle is indeed the great leveler,” reported The Century magazine in 1894. “It puts the poor man on a level with the rich, enabling him to ‘sing the song of the open road’ as freely as the millionaire.”

read a whole article about it: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/05/the-great-leveler/527355/
photo by David W Cerny https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/pragues-high-wheel-cycling-race/ss-AAjWYXr#image=13

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