Women on Wheels The Scandalous Untold History of Women in Bicycling

A feminist history of bicycling for sport and adventure spans a century of women who changed the world from two wheels. This vivacious tale, peppered with fascinating details from primary sources, shows how women were sometimes the stars of bicycle races and exhibitions, and other times had to overcome sexism, exclusion, and economic inequalities in order to ride. From the almost burlesque show races and creative performances of the 19th century to the evolution of cycling as a modern sport and form of transportation, April Streeter brings her exuberant eye for character, fashion, and story to convey the evolving emotional resonance of bicycling for women and their communities. Interweaving pedal-powered history with profiles of bicyclists who made their mark, like Katharine Hepburn, Annie Londonderry, Kittie Knox, Dorothy Lawrence, Louise Armaindo, and more.

For years, I scoured the Net for a certain type of bicycle book. I was eager to find others who biked the way I biked, to dig in to stories about people who used their bicycles for getting around. I had keyword terms for my somewhat obsessive searches: city biking, city cyclist, cycle chic, women on wheels...

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