fordsnake
I live for the CABE
Often times I think of myself as an anomaly in this hobby. A lone black pebble perched on an endless stretch of snow! I’m not complaining it’s just an observation.
Every time I click on the CABE’s landing page I’m greeted with a delightful vintage photograph; very often an image of a white person posing with their two wheel prize. I can’t recall ever seeing a photograph of an African American on a bike?
That got me thinking about bicycling and blacks?
In general ‘cycling’ has never had a strong foothold with the African American populace. Mostly due to the cost of a bicycle and the ugly Jim Crow laws that once governed many US cities and towns. However, I’ve stumbled across a few articles and images with blacks and bikes and I thought it appropriate to share a side of cycling history that has been long forgotten and swept under the rug.
Many of us are familiar with Marshall "Major" Taylor, the cycling phenomena at the turn of the century and the many aversions he encountered when racing.
Taylor opened doors for other young blacks to follow in his wake.
Akin to Taylor, another pioneer milestone was occurring with African Americans at the turn of the century.
The black riders were:
• Sgt. Mingo Sanders
• Corp. William J. Haynes
• Corp. Abram Martin
• Musician Elias Johnson
• Pvt. Travis Bridges
• Pvt. Francis Button
• Pvt. John Cook
• Pvt. Hiram L.B. Dingman
• Pvt. John Findley - mechanic
• Pvt. Elwood Forman
• Pvt. Frank L. Johnson
• Pvt. Sam Johnson
• Pvt. Eugene Jones
• Pvt. William Proctor
• Pvt. Samuel Reid
• Pvt. George Scott
• Pvt. Richard Rout
• Pvt. Sam Williamson
• Pvt. William Williamson
• Pvt. John Wilson
Each soldier carried roughly 60 lbs of supplies on his Spaulding bicycle; they strapped one half of a tent to the handlebars; inside that they rolled one blanket, one undershirt, a change of drawers, sox and a toothbrush. All 23 men shared two combs. Ltd Moss designed leather cases, which fit into the diamond frame of the bicycles. Inside these the men packed two days rations, eating utensils and a liberal supply of spare bicycle parts. Despite the weight of the bike, each man also carried a 10lb Krag - Jorgensen rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition.
Cabe member, tommydale1950 has recently acquired a Spaulding survivor. http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...-find-1890s-Spalding-mens&highlight=Spaulding
Every time I click on the CABE’s landing page I’m greeted with a delightful vintage photograph; very often an image of a white person posing with their two wheel prize. I can’t recall ever seeing a photograph of an African American on a bike?
That got me thinking about bicycling and blacks?
In general ‘cycling’ has never had a strong foothold with the African American populace. Mostly due to the cost of a bicycle and the ugly Jim Crow laws that once governed many US cities and towns. However, I’ve stumbled across a few articles and images with blacks and bikes and I thought it appropriate to share a side of cycling history that has been long forgotten and swept under the rug.
Many of us are familiar with Marshall "Major" Taylor, the cycling phenomena at the turn of the century and the many aversions he encountered when racing.
Taylor opened doors for other young blacks to follow in his wake.
Akin to Taylor, another pioneer milestone was occurring with African Americans at the turn of the century.
The black riders were:
• Sgt. Mingo Sanders
• Corp. William J. Haynes
• Corp. Abram Martin
• Musician Elias Johnson
• Pvt. Travis Bridges
• Pvt. Francis Button
• Pvt. John Cook
• Pvt. Hiram L.B. Dingman
• Pvt. John Findley - mechanic
• Pvt. Elwood Forman
• Pvt. Frank L. Johnson
• Pvt. Sam Johnson
• Pvt. Eugene Jones
• Pvt. William Proctor
• Pvt. Samuel Reid
• Pvt. George Scott
• Pvt. Richard Rout
• Pvt. Sam Williamson
• Pvt. William Williamson
• Pvt. John Wilson
Each soldier carried roughly 60 lbs of supplies on his Spaulding bicycle; they strapped one half of a tent to the handlebars; inside that they rolled one blanket, one undershirt, a change of drawers, sox and a toothbrush. All 23 men shared two combs. Ltd Moss designed leather cases, which fit into the diamond frame of the bicycles. Inside these the men packed two days rations, eating utensils and a liberal supply of spare bicycle parts. Despite the weight of the bike, each man also carried a 10lb Krag - Jorgensen rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition.
Cabe member, tommydale1950 has recently acquired a Spaulding survivor. http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...-find-1890s-Spalding-mens&highlight=Spaulding
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