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Sports

History: Bicycling Big in San Rafael's Past and Present

The Twilight Criterium brings world-class bicycle racing to San Rafael each year in dazzling streaks of brilliantly colored lycra. In the 1890s, racers also sped down San Rafael's Fourth Street, but in swirls of dust on a road built for horse and buggy.

In the 1890s, the bicycle craze swept Marin as it did throughout the country. Popular tunes featured the joys of cycling. Bicycle shops opened in downtown San Rafael to serve the new sport: E. Magnes, the "Bicycle Man," opened shop in the McNear Exchange Building on B Street; the San Rafael Cyclery opened at Fourth Street and Petaluma Road; W. G. Obernauer started a school and bike shop called the Columbia Cyclery.

Race to the Courthouse

On September 18, 1896, the San Rafael Wheelmen, headed by professional cyclist Frank M. Byrne, put on two races that, according to the Sausalito News of September 12, 1896, were “expected to be by far the most exciting which have ever taken place on this side of the bay.

“Over 100 entries have been received for the two events on the programme. Some of the fastest amateurs in the State will participate.”

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The route was held “over the Ross Valley course, from Tamalpais to San Rafael,” ending at the courthouse on Fourth Street.

The Marin Journal suggested that “not less than five hundred wheelmen will throng the streets of San Rafael on that date…If our enterprising restaurateurs have not done so already, they should set about to place themselves in a position to provide good cheer that day for a delegation of hungry cyclers.”

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The San Rafael Wheelmen

The San Rafael Wheelmen, also called the San Rafael Cyclers, was just one of the many bicycle clubs active at the time. These groups organized pleasure outings and fiercely competitive races.

Club touring groups crossed the bay by ferry then headed off on Marin’s hilly back roads to favored destinations such as Camp Taylor. Cyclists often followed the train routes as the paths of least resistance through Marin’s countryside. The League of American Wheelmen produced road maps and appointed representatives throughout the state to furnish local information on roads and accommodations.

Steep-banked oval tracks called velodromes became popular and attracted cyclists and fans to races in San Francisco and San Jose. The Marin Journal of July 2, 1896 reported that “Subscriptions for the new bicycle track are coming in very encouragingly, and it will be a matter of a short time when the whole $6000 is subscribed.” Apparently the track was not built, as the newspaper carries no further news of a velodrome in San Rafael.

Cyclists pushed for better roads and state taxation for highways, as evidenced in the “Good Roads Rally” of July 25, 1896. More than 5,000 cyclists, including a contingent from San Rafael, wheeled down San Francisco’s Market Street in a parade watched by more than 100,000 spectators. 

Women on Wheels

Although males dominated the cycling clubs, women took to cycling with fervor. With bicycles they discovered new worlds of freedom and mobility.

Suffragette Susan B. Anthony spoke in 1896 about the impact of cycling on the lives of women: "Let me tell you what I think about bicycling. It has done more to emancipate women than anything else in this world. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammeled womanhood. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman on a wheel…”

This newfound freedom did not come without difficulty. An October 10, 1895 Marin Journal article reads, “A boy always has more endurance and can tire out a girl in four miles. He should, therefore, ride only in company of his own sex, or he should, when riding with a girl, keep to her standard rather than try to bring her up to his. This is hard work for the boy, and needs his constant attention during the ride, so much so, indeed, that he will do better not to ride with girls at all.”

Just as today’s cyclists sport the latest in spandex, the cyclists of the 1890s put great importance on proper attire. The San Francisco Call of August 29, 1896 reported that the women riders of the East are wearing “a fetching shirtwaist in pleasant colors with very wide sleeves. The effect is pretty. As they skim by with these Xray sleeves fluttering in the wind they look not unlike gigantic butterflies.”

Brakes and Scorchers

By the 1890s bicycle design had evolved from iron tires and highwheelers to the safety, a model that provided greater stability and allowed women to take up the sport with ease. Still improvements were wanted. The San Francisco Call of August 29, 1896 quoted an expert rider, "If brakes were in universal use the number of accidents would be decreased nearly 50 percent. Even the dreaded and universally condemned scorcher would not be so terrifying if he had a brake on his wheel.”

Scorchers, reckless speeders, caused conflict on the roads, and bicycle accidents were common. The Marin Journal of April 21, 1898 reported that “J.C. Dickson had a narrow escape from a serious accident on Sunday. He was driving along the road near San Geronimo when several bicycle riders suddenly appeared around a sharp curve going at breakneck speed down the grade. His horses were badly frightened by the sudden appearance of the riders and wheeling around suddenly would have precipitated the vehicle down an embankment, but one of the animals stumbled and fell to the ground, thus preventing a serious if not a fatal accident.

Mr. Dickson informs the Journal that this point on the highway is a favorite place for wheelmen to blow along at a speed of from 30 to 40 miles an hour at the risk of their own lives and the lives and property of travelers who are going in the opposite direction.”

The Marin Journal of September 2, 1897 reported an accident involving the 19-year-old son of lumber baron Robert Dollar: “Tuesday evening at Fourth and F Streets, Mr. Ben Bray on a tandem wheel and Melville Dollar on a safety came together. Neither wheel displayed a light or sounded a bell. The wheels seem to have struck fairly front to front, and Mr. Bray says he and Dollar met in the air their heads coming together with great force. Both were insensible for a time, Melville remaining so for some hours.”

 “Marshall Healy is on the lookout for wheelmen who make a practice of riding on the sidewalks and those who ride at night without a lantern,” reported the Marin Journal of May 13, 1897.

A Spoof?

A year earlier, a report by the Marin Journal on April 23, 1896 of the arrest of a San Rafael butcher using sheep lights (a term for sheep lungs) seems to have been a spoof.

M. Herzog, the well known butcher, was arrested last night by Marshall Healy for riding his bicycle without a light. Mr. Herzog asked the Marshall what he was arrested for, and upon being informed that it was for violating the town ordinance in riding a bicycle at night without a light, “Lights, lights!” exclaimed the infuriated butcher. “What’s the matter with you, can’t you see that I’ve got lights on my bicycle?”

The Marshall then noticed a bunch of “sheep’s lights” tied on the wheel and as the law does not designate the kind of lights to be used, was compelled to let the butcher go. The Town Trustees will hold a special meeting and endeavor to make the law in reference to bicycle lights more specific.”

The bicycle craze in Marin waned with the advent of the automobile, then rose again with a fury in the 1970s with Joe Breeze and the mountain bike. Cycling has a long history in Marin, so it’s fitting that San Rafael’s Fourth Street once again hosts cycle races with the Twilight Criterium.

One of these photographs was provided by the Marin History Museum. If you are interested in purchasing this photograph or others from their collection, please call 415-382.0770x3 or email photoservices@marinhistory.org.

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