As bicycles became more comfortable and affordable, cycling became the preferred mode of transport for many British Columbians during this decade.

For women, the bicycle was a game-changer

Before the bicycle came along, women were expected to travel on foot, in carriages, or on horseback – always while supervised. 19th century women of the upper classes were meant to stay indoors or venture outside with chaperones.  

The invention of the “safety bicycle” changed everything. This bicycle had inflated tires that were the same size, and was deemed safe for children – and, some women decided, for them as well. An editorial from the 1896 book Wheels of Change noted, “To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of devices they knew in their work and play.

To women, it was a steed on which they rode into a new world." The bicycle enabled women to venture beyond the confines of their homes and the duties of motherhood to explore new horizons such as women’s suffrage and other social causes.

It's hard to imagine how women were able to mount their bicycles and travel through the parks and muddy streets in long skirts and constricting corsets.  In a Daily Colonist article, a female cyclist notes “there are difficulty for women bicyclers that men do not have to encounter … Woman’s dress is terribly in her way. I have delayed several lessons in learning to mount because my heels would persist in catching in the long skirt. It was so exasperating that I have taken a vow to wear the newly bloomer bicycle costume.” Bicycle bloomers or “bicycling costume” as it was known at the time was the solution. They still went to the ankles, and were voluminous, but they allowed for more freedom of movement. 

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British Columbia Cyclists: 1891-1902