Bicycle Trailblazers

Bicycle Trailblazers

On any Sunday morning, cyclists of all stripes—from sleek racers to recreational riders to the occasional tandem team—can be found massing somewhere in southeastern New England for a ride with Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Wheelmen (NBW), the country’s oldest cycling club.

Once an exclusively male club in 1880, the Rhode Island-based Wheelmen have evolved over the years into an all-inclusive organization and a powerful advocate for cycling issues. In the club’s infancy in the late 19th century, cyclists sported jaunty caps and carried bugles in what was essentially a display of wealth and strength. The difficulty of pedaling the expensive 50-pound behemoths that first appeared in 1878 precluded their use by women. But by the century’s turn, the “high-wheeler” tricycle was replaced by a bicycle with two equal-sized wheels, opening the sport to anyone. The jaunty clothing and expensive equipment, however, are still in evidence today.

“Early Wheelmen, more than going out for a ride, were showing off their derring-do,” says Howard Stone, author of several cycling books and planner of the Wheelmen’s riding routes. “It was comparable to a person riding a fiery stallion. A lot of pageantry was involved.”

Cycling’s popularity waned with the advent of the automobile in the early 20th century. The NBW essentially lay dormant until the resurgence of bicycles in the early 1970s, prompted by emerging back-to-nature and exercise movements, the invention of the derailleur for shifting gears, and the oil embargo. The sport continues to grow yearly. A 1999 federal Transportation Review Board report showed the number of cycling trips in the five years from 1990-95 climbed by nearly 90 percent. Today, the Wheelmen have 1,000 members, male and female, from southern New England.

“We have riders of all abilities, ages, sizes, and shapes,” says NBW President Dave Andrews. “You can always find someone who’s riding at your pace and who’s willing to give you a hand if you need help.”

Andrews took up cycling as a recreational outlet while caring for his ailing father. He now rides year-round. The Newport resident joined the cycling club in the mid-1980s and for the last eight years has presided over an organization that now advocates safe, interconnected cycling routes throughout the state.

Cranston resident Ray Alexander, the NBW’s advocacy chair for the last 10 years, cycles seven miles from his home to his job as a special education teacher. He began arguing for safe cycling routes in the early 1990s. “It started as a selfish thing,” he says. “I didn’t want to put the bike on the car every time I went for a ride.”

Local sentiment against construction of an off-road bicycle path actually worked to the NBW’s advantage in promoting safer street cycling. By 1993, after Alexander paved the way by obtaining maps and plotting routes, plans were approved for a network connecting Cranston with neighboring Warwick and Providence.

The group’s advocacy didn’t stop there. The Wheelmen successfully lobbied the Rhode Island Public Transportation Agency to install bicycle racks on the front of their buses and convinced state officials to place bicycles on an equal footing with cars on the roads. That also means, Andrews points out, that cyclists as well as motorists must obey the rules of the road—something not all cyclists understand and something that the NBW is lobbying police to enforce.

Andrews is on the state’s Greenway Council, a national organization that supports the creation of a multi-use trail from Canada to the Caribbean, and Alexander is a member of Rhode Island’s Transportation Advisory Committee, so it would appear that a state connected by signed and striped bike lanes will be a reality someday.

Steven Church, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (DOT), says the Wheelmen have been instrumental in helping the state plan for bicyclists. The DOT’s Guide to Cycling in the Ocean State relies heavily on the Wheelmen’s recommendations for designated routes.

“They’ve had a cooperative relationship with us on various cycling issues,” Church says. “I’d have to say that cyclists, whether they are avid or recreational, have really benefited because of the Wheelmen’s input and advocacy.”

Gayle Goddard-Taylor is a regular contributor to American Profile.

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