As a history buff, I can’t go past this fantastic list of don’ts for female cyclists published in a newspaper called New York World in 1895. My personal favourite is ‘Don’t cultivate a bicycle face’.
I’m not sure what a ‘bicycle face’ might have been, but a found a few other descriptions:
“Over-exertion, the upright position on the wheel, and the unconscious effort to maintain one’s balance tend to produce a wearied and exhausted ‘bicycle face,’” noted the Literary Digest in 1895. It went on to describe the condition as “usually flushed, but sometimes pale, often with lips more or less drawn, and the beginning of dark shadows under the eyes, and always with an expression of weariness.”
Others said the condition was “characterised by a hard, clenched jaw and bulging eyes.”
The full list is also quite amusing:
- Don’t be a fright
- Don’t faint on the road
- Don’t wear a man’s cap
- Don’t wear tight garters
- Don’t forget your toolbag
- Don’t attempt a “century”
- Don’t coast. It is dangerous
- Don’t boast of your long rides
- Don’t criticise people’s “legs”
- Don’t wear loud-hued leggings
- Don’t cultivate a “bicycle face”
- Don’t refuse assistance up a hill
- Don’t…
