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Like Riding a Bike
EHS alumnus travels 700 miles by bike in 1898.
Although the bicycle dates back to the early 1800s, it was the development of the safety bicycle, as an alternative to the high-wheel bicycle, and technological developments, including the pneumatic tire and the chain drive, that accelerated the popularity of cycling on both sides of the Atlantic.
The 1890s bicycle craze that swept Europe and the United States found an enthusiastic follower among the Episcopal High School community. In June of 1898, alumni Wythe Leigh Kinsolving, Class of 1897, set out by bicycle with an ambitious itinerary that would take him and a friend across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Their seven-hundred-mile itinerary over twelve days, covering some of the hilliest terrain of the region, was ambitious even by today’s standards. It would have been especially so given the road conditions and bike technology at the time, as they were likely biking on dirt roads on a single gear. Because their itinerary included the commencement ceremonies for Episcopal High School and the University of Virginia, the two cyclists sent valises ahead to ensure their attire for the final celebrations would be waiting for them, but carried everything else they would need for their journey by bike.
Kinsolving and his friend launched their journey with an ambitious sixty-mile ride north to Lynchburg from Houston, Va. They allowed themselves 2 days to bike the seventy miles to Charlottesville where they devoted four days to celebrating UVA’s commencement, leaving the pair well rested for the challenges ahead. The seventy-five miles they would travel between Manassas and Bull Run on their way to Episcopal High School would prove to be especially challenging.
“… we found some difficulties that added zest to the ride … we encountered first a bad piece of road, then Bull Run and last the deepest dust of the whole tour. We waded the historic stream, over our knees in water, and then waded the dust which soon wedded to the water in our stockings, giving us the appearance of veritable tramps,” Kinsolving wrote.
The challenges of this segment were rewarded with a week at The High School, from which they rode approximately sixty miles to Brunswick, Md., spending the night before peddling to Harper’s Ferry taking in the dramatic scenery where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. From there, the cyclists headed south to Winchester, Va., and onto Luray Caverns for sightseeing. After crossing Massanutten Mountain, the pair headed to Staunton for four days of rest before cycling to Lexington for more sightseeing.
From Lexington, they rode approximately twenty miles to Buchanan getting just enough rest overnight to cross the Blue Ridge to the Peaks of Otter before continuing onto Forest Station to spend the night before returning to Lynchburg. Due to inclement weather, the pair was forced to abandon cycling and return home by train for the first time on their seven-hundred-mile trek.
Their trek was such a novelty at the time that Kinsolving wrote about their experience for The Chronicle, the EHS student newspaper. Reflecting on the experience, Kinsolving wrote: “We proved that bicycle touring even in Virginia is feasible, if the weather is clear and the will is strong. Greatly benefitted physically by the trip, we have resolved to take another in the near future, unless the automobile carriage usurp the place in our affections held now by the bicycle.”
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The 1890s bicycle craze that swept Europe and the United States found an enthusiastic follower among the Episcopal High School community. In June of 1898, alumni Wythe Leigh Kinsolving, Class of 1897, set out by bicycle with an ambitious itinerary that would take him and a friend across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Their seven-hundred-mile itinerary over twelve days, covering some of the hilliest terrain of the region, was ambitious even by today’s standards. It would have been especially so given the road conditions and bike technology at the time, as they were likely biking on dirt roads on a single gear. Because their itinerary included the commencement ceremonies for Episcopal High School and the University of Virginia, the two cyclists sent valises ahead to ensure their attire for the final celebrations would be waiting for them, but carried everything else they would need for their journey by bike.
Kinsolving and his friend launched their journey with an ambitious sixty-mile ride north to Lynchburg from Houston, Va. They allowed themselves 2 days to bike the seventy miles to Charlottesville where they devoted four days to celebrating UVA’s commencement, leaving the pair well rested for the challenges ahead. The seventy-five miles they would travel between Manassas and Bull Run on their way to Episcopal High School would prove to be especially challenging.
“… we found some difficulties that added zest to the ride … we encountered first a bad piece of road, then Bull Run and last the deepest dust of the whole tour. We waded the historic stream, over our knees in water, and then waded the dust which soon wedded to the water in our stockings, giving us the appearance of veritable tramps,” Kinsolving wrote.
The challenges of this segment were rewarded with a week at The High School, from which they rode approximately sixty miles to Brunswick, Md., spending the night before peddling to Harper’s Ferry taking in the dramatic scenery where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. From there, the cyclists headed south to Winchester, Va., and onto Luray Caverns for sightseeing. After crossing Massanutten Mountain, the pair headed to Staunton for four days of rest before cycling to Lexington for more sightseeing.
From Lexington, they rode approximately twenty miles to Buchanan getting just enough rest overnight to cross the Blue Ridge to the Peaks of Otter before continuing onto Forest Station to spend the night before returning to Lynchburg. Due to inclement weather, the pair was forced to abandon cycling and return home by train for the first time on their seven-hundred-mile trek.
Their trek was such a novelty at the time that Kinsolving wrote about their experience for The Chronicle, the EHS student newspaper. Reflecting on the experience, Kinsolving wrote: “We proved that bicycle touring even in Virginia is feasible, if the weather is clear and the will is strong. Greatly benefitted physically by the trip, we have resolved to take another in the near future, unless the automobile carriage usurp the place in our affections held now by the bicycle.”
