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Most of us ride, or have ridden bicycles, but have you ever wondered how this machine evolved and became so popular? What models lead to the ones we ride today? What forces and heroes were instrumental in achieving their popularity? If you are looking for the answers to these questions, "Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State" is the place to begin.
But Wheel Fever is not just about equipment. Bicycling has played important social roles in the USA in general and in Wisconsin in particular. In the late 19th Century roads were poor. They were rutted, got muddy and were filled with animal waste. Yuck! That was just fine for equestrians, but cyclists wanted something better. Cycling Clubs arose to act as social groups and to lobby for better roads and to defend the rights of cyclists. Not everyone was in favor of bicycles. They alarmed horses and ran pedestrians off the sidewalk! Cycling Clubs, most prominently LAW, the League of American Wheelmen, became significant political forces, helping to elect President William McKinley and Wisconsin Governor William Upham. LAW united its members of the West and East with Wisconsin being the largest Division of the West.
Like any sport, bicycles were raced. Readers are introduced to the champions of both inside tracks and outside races who popularized their sport and made it one to be emulated by their fans.
I have gotten carried away with the story, but what about the book? Authors Jesse Gant and Nicholas Hoffman have done an excellent job of telling the story of Wisconsin cycling. The writing is engaging and the many pictures are reminders of a Wisconsin of the past: its people, its landscape and, of course, its bicycles. This is a book you will want to read and then keep it handy to page through again. Don't be stingy, put it out on your coffee table for your guests to peruse while waiting or when the conversation slackens. If you like Wisconsin, cycling or just cycling history, "Wheel Fever" deserves a place in your library and on your table.
23 x 20 cms, softback, 256 pages.
2013
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