Page 13 - DLNjun2014-983

1889 – How it was Then My mind wandered – it often does these days – and I started to hone in on what was happening in the cycling world in 1889 – the year our club was founded. Despite the fact that many cycling clubs existed a further 127 clubs were formed in 1889 one of which was ours. Most are clearly identifiable to a town/city but others were linked to churches, various Temperance or Abstainers organisations and in some cases army regiments. However two unusual allegiances caught my eye they were Dublin Grocers Assistants CC – this conjured up visions of Granville type lads (Open all Hours fame) on grocers bikes with their deliveries in baskets on the front tearing along the local 10 course. The second odd one was the Royal Princess’s Theatre CC, I can only think that they popped out during the interval for a bike ride just to get some fresh air. Needless to say many of the clubs listed are no longer in existence. The variety of bikes in 1889 appeared to be far greater than those around today, probably because it was a time of great change and innovation generally. Traditional penny farthings (Old Ordinaries) were abundant however an alternative machine was produced using a smaller front wheel to avoid the fall from great heights. Slowly 13