The Thrilling Spring Bicycles Arrived In Toronto
Plus a lost creek, famous geese, and John Lennon...
It appeared one Monday morning in 1869. It was still winter in Toronto, a day in late February; the city was about to get buried by 22 centimetres of snow. But that didn’t keep a curious crowd from gathering on King Street, people captivated by the sight of a strange new contraption that was about to take the city by storm. According to The Globe, the bravest onlookers even took turns climbing aboard the “spider-like machine,” as they attempted to propel themselves forward on two wheels; though they proved to be better at producing a spectacle of “amusing gyrations” than actually getting anywhere. The most successful of them made it a whole twenty feet, using a fence to help himself along, but as soon as he ventured beyond its safety… down he went. But with that awkward ride, a new era had dawned. Toronto had just met the very first velocipede ever built in our city.
The bicycle had arrived.
By then, bikes had been around in various forms for decades — some say centuries — a mechanical alternative to the horse. But it wasn’t until the 1860s that the invention really began to take off. A simplified new French design sparked a craze that’s been compared to Beatlemania. And by the end of the decade, that craze had reached Toronto.
Our city wasn’t always quick to embrace new ideas. “The citizens of Toronto are old-fashioned, steady going people,” The Globe explained, “who do not run into new things with the first blush of a fever.” But in the wake of that initial demonstration on King Street, the city quickly found itself in the grips of velocipedemania. “With a large stock of patience and a set of india rubber bones,” the paper suggested, “we presume anybody can, in the course of time, propel a velocipede.” Just two days later, bicycles went on sale in Toronto, offered by one of the city’s leading carriage-makers. And over the next few weeks, as winter turned to spring, local newspapers were filled with reports on the progress of “velocipedestrianism.”
Skating rinks, curling clubs and horse-riding schools quickly announced they would be putting down wooden floors in order to allow for cycling. Grand’s Riding School rushed to open Grand’s Velocipede School and even brought in a “riding master” from New York City. Within a few weeks of that winter morning on King Street, ten of the new cycling students were already taking to the streets to show off their skills and drum up interest in a big exhibition to be held the following day. According to The Globe, “The parties… managed their bicircular vehicles well and scudded along the sidewalk at a rapid rate followed at a gallop by an astonished and gratified crowd.”
That publicity stunt seems to have worked. An enthusiastic audience turned up at the school the next day, where the horse-riding ring had been converted into a cycling circuit. Men were allowed to watch from the middle of the ring; women from an elevated platform at one end. “The furore has absolutely commenced in this city;” The Globe reported, “and despite the fact that the thermometer was all day yesterday below zero, the interest in the first appearance of the velocipede in our midst was up to fever heat.”
Things kicked off with a demonstration by the riding master from New York, Professor Charles May, “who displayed an aptitude in the management of the machine that astonished every one. In his hands, it was a mere toy, a plaything in the manipulation of which the enjoyment was everything, the toil nothing. The ease and grace with which the two-wheeled oddity was propelled fairly puzzled and surprised everyone.”
Then, members of the audience were allowed to try.
“[The school] became the scene of as comic a series of gyrations … as can be described [and] an amount of fun that fairly threatened side-splitting… Novices seized the machines, which in the charge of Mr. May were docile and tractable, as if they were young colts in training. Invariably operations commenced by leading the inanimate affair to the side of the building, where it was carefully bestridden and a start forward was attempted, the asineal [ass-like] peculiarities of the affair at once showed themselves, and all at once a dash backward would be made, which would land the unlucky rider on all fours, or in collision with another velocipedist equally anxious and unsuccessful with himself. The next attempt would send the front wheel forward, and then turn it at right angles with the hind one, as if determined to do every thing except go forward… The stubborn donkey of the circus ring was as nothing to the exhibition, and never furnished half the fun as the afternoon progressed.”
Even those who managed to keep themselves upright long enough to travel from one end of the ring to the other found themselves unsure of how to stop, slamming into the walls. Only three riders that day figured out how to turn.
But Toronto was hooked. Cycling exhibitions began popping up all over the place, accompanied by bands and carnivals and masquerades. The city’s first bicycle race awarded a $25 prize to the winner. For less confident riders, adult tricycles went on sale. For those on a budget, bikes were available for rent. At least one clothing company started recommending the right outfit to buy before heading out for a ride. And it all happened fast. By the end of April, cycling seems to have been everywhere. “In the space of two months,” as Charles Anthony Joyce explained in From Left Field: Sport and Class in Toronto 1845-1886, “the business of velocipeding established itself in the city's economy.”
By then, the backlash had also started. The spring wasn’t over before the complaints began rolling in. While at least one Globe reporter imagined it was just a matter of time before bikes became a major mode of transportation for commuters, another claimed, “The velocipede is, in fact, a toy… nothing more.” And as people began to actually use them outdoors, the newspaper called for a crackdown. “So long as their use was confined to the rinks, it was well enough, but now that they are making their appearances in scores on the sidewalks, they have got to be a nuisance. Complaints are heard on all sides, of the narrow escapes made daily by women and children, and when one looks at one of the unmanageable things wiggling along, in their eccentric fashion, making women and children rush frantically in all directions, the complaint is not to be wondered at.”
Just two months after that first velocipede appeared on King Street, bikes were effectively banned from all of Toronto’s main streets and sidewalks. Cyclists were threatened with a massive $50 fine or six months in jail if they dared disobey.
Toronto’s love affair with the bicycle had begun. And its war on them, too.
Toronto’s big bicycle clubs actually tended to organize themselves in military-inspired fashion, with “captains, lieutenants, buglers and sergeants at arms” as Charles Anthony Joyce points out. And the Wanderers Bicycle Club above wasn’t the only one to demand its riders wear militaristic uniforms to any club function.
I first learned about the spring bicycles arrived in Toronto thanks to Joyce’s absolutely fascinating PhD dissertation, From Left Field: Sport and Class in Toronto 1845-1886, which you can find here thanks to Library & Archives Canada.
I’ve also just started working on a big Toronto sports history project, which is a secret for now but looks like it will be happening in the fall… I’m very excited and can’t wait to share the details with you!
My New Online Course Begins This Week!
It’s not just bicycles of course! People in Toronto are no strangers to the challenges of getting around, and those frustrations have a long history in our city, stretching all the way back to its founding and beyond. In my new four-week online course, we’ll dive into some of the most fascinating Toronto transportation tales — from shipwrecks and stagecoaches to traffic jams and train derailments. We’ll learn about the warships that once sailed the waters of Lake Ontario, the thrilling spring I wrote about above when bicycles first arrived in our city, the portage trail that gave Toronto its name… and much, much more.
The course will kick off this Wednesday (May 17) at 8pm. If you have to miss any classes, don’t worry! All the lectures will be recorded so you can watch and re-watch them whenever you like. And if you’re a paid subscriber to The Toronto History Weekly, you’ll get 10% off!
If you aren’t already a paid subscriber and you’d like to make the switch, all you have to do is click the button below. Not only will you get 10% off my online courses and invites to exclusive events, you’ll also be supporting all my work while helping to ensure The Toronto History Weekly survives. This newsletter is a ton of work! Only about 5% of readers have made the switch so far, which basically means that by offering a few dollars a month you’ll be giving the gift of Toronto history to 20 other people.
QUICK LINKS
The best of everything else that’s new in Toronto’s past…
WHAT’S IN A NAME NEWS — A new episode of the VeraCity documentary examines “the debate around historical figures whose imprint on the city of Toronto is no longer unanimously hailed as worthy of commemoration.” I very sadly don’t seem to have an account I can watch it with, but if you have a TV provider like Rogers or Bell, it looks like you should be able to stream it online for free. Watch it.
LOST CREEK NEWS — Over at Torontoverse, Tahmeed Shafiq takes you on a hint for traces of the long-buried Taddle Creek through their nifty map. Read more.
JOHN LENNON WENT TO THE SCIENCE CENTRE NEWS — As Doug Ford threatens to demolished the Ontario Science Centre, Morgan Cameron Ross shares glorious photos showcasing its history with the readers of Toronto Life… including the time John & York paid a visit. Read more.
FAMOUS GEESE NEWS — Michael Snow’s Canada geese have been soaring through the air inside the Eaton Centre for nearly half a century now. And they were recently taken down and restored. Tanja-Tiziana Burdi takes an up-close look. Read more. (I also wrote about Michael Snow’s life and art in this newsletter back in January.)
CORNERSTONE NEWS — There are secrets hidden inside some of Toronto’s oldest building, and on Twitter Hogtown 101 lets us in on some of them
FANCY HAT NEWS — Jamie Bradburn recently shared the story of how Toronto celebrated the coronation of Queen Victoria on his Tales of Toronto site. Read more.
FREE HEALTHCARE — And for TVO, he wrote about the days when the federal government first proposed a national medicare program and how much opposition there was in Ontario — including a premier who called it “the greatest Machiavellian fraud ever perpetrated on the people of Canada.” Read more.
99 YEAR LEASE NEWS — And he’s not done there! Jamie also turned the clock back half a century to take a look at another Conservative Ontario government’s wildly controversial decision to offer a public asset to a private company on a 99 year lease: Highway 407. Read more.
TORONTO HISTORY EVENTS
GOOD AND EVIL: THE TRUE STORY OF CANADA’S FIRST HANGMAN
May 15 — 7pm — Riverdale Library
“Author Julie Burtinshaw will present her biography of John Radclive, Hangman: The True Story of Canada's First Official Executioner. She will discuss the research and writing process, Radclive's personal and professional life and the questions the story raises about Canadian attitudes towards capital punishment.”
Free!
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HANGMAN: THE TRUE STORY OF CANADA’S OFFICIAL EXECUTIONER
May 16 — 7pm — Queen/Salter Library
“Author Julie Burtinshaw will present her biography of John Radclive, Hangman: The True Story of Canada's First Official Executioner. She will discuss the research and writing process, Radclive's personal and professional life and the questions the story raises about Canadian attitudes towards capital punishment.”
Free!
DOORS OPEN TORONTO
May 27 & 28 — All day — Various sites
“Explore some of Toronto’s most architectural, cultural and socially significant sites for free during Doors Open weekend. Examine how music and sound have helped shape the city with a program of exciting performances, engaging tours and insightful talks.”
Free!
ANDREW MCCONNELL PRESENTS “AAZHGEMOG-CROSSROADS”
June 1 – Time TBA — West Toronto Junction Historical Society
“The land of the Junction was a crossroads long before the railroads were built. Many Anishinaabe have passed through this land, whether it was defending their allies, moving between early settlements, or passing from one lake to another. This presentation will look at some of the more famous people from the time of early English settlement through the beginning of Anishinaabe resistance to encroachment on their lands and unfair treatment by government agents. It will look at how this place is also a crossroads between the past and the present Anishinaabe settlements north and west of Toronto, a testament to the continuous presence of Indigenous people on these lands.
“WTJHS is delighted to have this incredibly knowledgeable and experienced speaker to help us honour and commemorate Indigenous History Month. Andrew McConnell is Coordinator – First Indigenous Education at the York Region District School Board.”
LIKKLE HERITAGE TREASURE HUNT
June 3 — 11am to 4pm — Little Jamaica — Heritage Toronto
“Join Heritage Toronto in Little Jamaica for a heritage treasure hunt like never before. Uncover the vibrant history of this Caribbean community through food, music and the stories of the people who have lived and worked in the neighborhood. Take a delicious taste test of Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine (limited quantity), listen for clues in the groove of the reggae tunes, try your hand at black hair care and answer some trivia questions.”
Free with registration!
THE MISSISSAUGA AND THE LEGACY OF THE TORONTO PURCHASE
June 15 — 7:30pm — Online — Etobicoke Historical Society
“Why are the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation not in Mississauga? Historian and consultant Karen Travers will discuss diplomatic and economic relationships between the Mississauga, and British officials and settlers that led to the negotiation of Treaty 13 in 1805, as well the impact of settlement, policy and law that forced them to relocate to Hagersville, Ontario in the mid-19th century.
“Karen is an EHS board member and Communications manager for our media releases. As a historian and consultant with research experience on issues related to Indigenous land and resource rights, she has published articles and reports on Indigenous policy and Ontario history. In addition to academic teaching and presenting, she has worked as a research/program manager and analyst for non-profit organizations devoted to furthering Indigenous business development and engagement.”
Free for members; memberships available here.