This is the eleventh and final post in a series, “History En Vélo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. By Peter Cox I used to ride. I used to ride, a lot. I rode as a kid, cherishing the possibility of exploring on my own. I rode for fun, just because I could. I rode as a teenager to escape… Read more »
This is the tenth in a series, “History En Vélo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. By Jacqueline Scott It was one of the most important stagecoach routes in the early 1800s. Then, travelling the Toronto-Kingston-Montreal route took about a week. We had a weekend to cycle roughly 300 kilometres, covering the Toronto to Kingston portion of the trail. Biking… Read more »
By Michael Egan This is the ninth in a series, “History En Vélo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. Hang the anachronism: I liked the alliteration. The sentiment remains, however. I would prefer not to superimpose Herman Melville’s scrivener’s rejection of the world he inhabits while inhabiting that world as metaphor for the bicycle’s place in twenty-first-century petrocultured environments. I… Read more »
This is the eighth in a series, “History En Vélo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. By Josh MacFadyen I’m not sure I belong in this series on cycling and its connections to academic thinking. I am nothing more than a stubborn bike commuter. I’m not a racer, club member, gearhead, or aficionado of any kind. I don’t care if… Read more »
This is the seventh in a series, “History En Vélo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. By James Longhurst The bike I’m riding at any given moment determines what type of historian I am. As a historian, I’ve been a bit driftless. If I have to identify my research areas, I sometimes call myself an urban environmental historian, or (more… Read more »
By Jeffers Lennox This is the sixth in a series, “History En Vélo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. We do it every year, if we can. It’s only an 80 minute train ride on the Metro North from New Haven to Harlem, and Father’s Day seems like a perfect excuse to explore the city and spend the afternoon watching… Read more »
By Steven Schwinghamer This is the fifth in a series, “History En Vêlo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. Biking happens at the right combination of speed, effort, and scope for me to do some interesting thinking about places. Being raised in a Canadian historiographical canon, I suppose it’s a cousin to Harold Innis’ “dirt research,” although as Josh Howe… Read more »
By Margot Higgins This is the fourth in a series, “History En Vêlo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. In an empty parking lot with patches of silty snow and grey ice, Kaisy wobbled, skidded a bit, and struggled to maintain her balance. She had barely bicycled previously and hailed from Brownsville, Texas, and yet she had signed up for… Read more »
Josh Howe This is the third in a series, “History En Vêlo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. In the west hills outside of Portland, there is a climb popular with road cyclists called Old Germantown Road. It’s the sort of climb cyclists often describe as “punchy” — that is, it is not particularly long, but peppered with the whimsical… Read more »
By Jim Clifford This is the second in a series, “History En Vêlo,” about cycling and thinking historically, shared with NiCHE. I am always looking for an excuse to ride a bike and work at the same time. During the extreme challenge of balancing work, parenting and exercise during COVID 19, I’ve done most of my “reading” while biking. Did… Read more »
