Yesterday the CBC’s Karen Gordon interviewed one of our writers, Simon Wallace, about biking in nineteenth century Toronto for Here and Now. The city maybe bike crazy now, but its cycling fervor pales in comparison to the biking culture of the 1890s. Everyone biked everywhere; the cycling associations were serious political forces to be reckoned with; bike manufacturing was an important Canadian industry; newspaper letter writers complained about bikers who had a complete disregard for the rules of the road and bike races were some of the most important sporting events. These were the salad days of Toronto cycling.
You can listen to the interview or check the original Toronto Standard piece.