Old Bikes New Brighton …
Mike Toohey of New Brighton Cycles will share anecdotes from the early days of cycling in Christchurch, when the city was the largest centre of bicycle manufacturing in Australasia. It’s all there – road rage against cyclists, rivalry between cycling clubs, and the horror of women on bicycles.
The photo from ~1885 features “H. J. Parker” and Charles August Myhre with a dog on a dock at the Avon River at the end of Seaview Road, near where the Pages Road bridge is now, along with two penny-farthings and a Humber tricycle. The men belonged to the Pioneer Cycling Club, which was formed in 1879 to foster “the new and exciting sport of bicycle racing.”
Find out more at The Burger Joint, with Southpaw Beer on tap.
But this isn’t a formal presentation. Come and get to know other cyclists: the chat will probably go off-piste.
Photo: Christchurch City Libraries’ Canterbury Stories collection: CCL-Arch6-7-175