On a Bicycle Built for Two

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do

I'm half crazy all for the love of you

It won't be a stylish marriage--

I can't afford a carriage

But you'd look sweet upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two

As a little girl, I remember often singing the chorus of "Daisy Bell," the classic song played in the above video. I always loved the image of riding away from a wedding on a bicycle built for two. There's something inherently romantic in a tandem bike, the idea that no matter your destination, you are getting there together and only through combined efforts.

Now THAT'S what I call a bicycle built for two!

I am clearly not the only one enchanted by the idea of a bicycle wedding. Flip through any bridal magazine and you'll be greeted by at least a half dozen ads incorporating brides, grooms, and bikes. What is it about bicycles that so captures the romantic spirit? And when did this idea start?

A modern take by Sincerity Bridal

Slogging through the internet provided me with a few fragmented answers. For example, I was able to find a magazine cover from a French periodical depicting a bicycle wedding processional from 1909, but not many other images from the turn of the century. Turning to news periodicals was somewhat more fruitful. I found a few articles from the early 1900s and even a few from the 1890s. What becomes clear is that it was the invention of the safety bicycle in the late 1880s, which was far more accommodating for women, that facilitated the bicycle wedding trend.

Le Petit Journal, 25 April 1909; "Mariage en Bicyclette"

Of the articles I found, the earliest was from the March 22nd, 1894, issue of The New York Times, entitled "Rode to Their Wedding on Bicycles." It describes the wedding of Charles Bader, "a well-known Newark wheelman," to Violet Hervey. The couple apparently rode to the local Reverend's house, went in, got married, and went on their merry way. Clearly a fluff piece, but odd enough at the time to warrant a space in the paper!

Two other articles I liked include "Bicycle Wedding at Rahway," from the Sept. 6, 1897 issue of The New York Times, which describes an impromptu wedding where the bride and groom arrived on separate bikes and left on a tandem, and "A Bicycle Romance" from the Feb. 17, 1901 issue (exactly 110 years ago TODAY!) of The New York Times, which describes how the couple spotted each other at a cycling event and the "skill of each excited the admiration of the other, and the couple fell in love before they fairly realized the fact." Sounds pretty familiar! (Also, thanks for archiving your stuff, NYTimes!!!!!)

My favorite article by far, however, is this gem brought to you by the April 1897 edition of the Evening Post:

It goes without saying that Austin and I will be integrating bikes into our wedding, though we haven't quite decided on the extent. He's all for riding to the ceremony and reception, but the idea of getting my very beautiful (and very expensive) wedding dress dirty or torn makes me cringe, so I am heavily lobbying for the use of pedicabs. More on those developments as they arise! But for now, time for this bike bride to get her beauty sleep.

Hearts in Tandem

For those of you who know us, the reasoning behind name of this blog seems obvious enough. Austin and I are urban bikers and have been for several years. We don't own cars and manage to ride pretty much year-round. But some of you might not know that we actually met on bikes, so I thought I'd take this Valentine's Day post to explain more about the blog name, and about first meeting, which should reassure you that our relationship isn't *completely* unromantic. For as unromantic as the proposal may have been, I think we have a great how-we-met story.

Celebrating the end of yet another successful Critical Mass.

It all started with Critical Mass. To steal a quick explanation from Wikipedia:

The first ride ... took place on Friday, September 25, 1992 at 6 p.m. in San Francisco. At that time, the event was known as Commute Clot and was composed of a couple of dozen cyclists who had received flyers on Market Street.

Shortly after this, some participants in that ride went to a local bicycle shop for a screening of Ted White's documentary Return of the Scorcher, about bike culture overseas. That film noted that in China, both motorists and bicyclists had an understood method of negotiating intersections without signals. Traffic would "bunch up" at these intersections until the backlog reached a "critical mass," at which point that mass would move through the intersection. That term from the movie was applied to the ride, and the name caught on, replacing "Commute Clot" by the time of the second event.

By the time of the fourth ride, the number of cyclists had increased to around 100 and participation continued to grow dramatically, reaching about 1,000 riders, on average. It is estimated that there are Critical Mass-type rides in more than 325 cities to date.

Here in Chicago, Critical Mass meets on the last Friday of every month at Daley Plaza. The rides often have themes (May Day! Save our Schools! Halloween!) and competing maps. In the summer months the rides swell to several thousand people which can get quite unwieldy, but fun nonetheless.

An example of a Chicago Critical Mass map, from 9/2007

However, in 2007 some folks in the bike community decided to start neighborhood rides as well, on the first Friday of each month. The very first Wicker Park Critical Mass was on the first Friday of September, 2007. I decided to go because one of my friends was going. It was pouring rain until about 30 minutes before the ride, but in the end I went and hoped the skies would stay clear. Austin also came with some of his friends, who were celebrating their 6-month anniversary. As a resident of the 'hood and a Critical Mass enthusiast, it was only fitting that he join the maiden ride.  

     

Us on the day we met, on the beginning of the ride.

As it turned out, the weather was perfect, and the ride itself was very relaxed and fun. I was snapping pictures when Austin rode up beside me and struck up a conversation. The ride ended at an art exhibition, and after we looked at the art we decided to get drinks at a fancy beer bar. We drank, we talked, we kissed, and as it turned out, we both had tickets to the same exact concert the next day, where we met again, drank again, talked again, and kissed again. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. As we learned more about each other, the astonishing thing seemed not to be that we met at all, but that we didn't meet much sooner.

In the end, there really isn't such a thing as a perfect engagement, perfect marriage, perfect meeting, perfect anything. What really matters is that it's perfect for you. So far, so good.

Happy Valentine's Day