December 31, 2025
by Tom Ewing
The Portland Bicycle Club was formed in 1880, when the city had “quite a number of enthusiastic riders of the silent steel steed,” according to a May 22, 1880 article in the Portland Press Herald. In the years that followed, the renamed Portland Wheel Club organized a holiday ball for cyclists. The 1885 ball, covered extensively in the Portland Daily Press on December 5, included a concert followed by a ceremonial entree by club members, “all attired in their brown-grey uniform.” Eight rode large wheels, two rode small wheels, and one rode a tricycle: “Then followed a series of movements that held the eye captive, and were executed with such precision, grace, and noiselessness, that a spectacle was presented of a most fascinating character. Figures of eight, grand right and left, ladies’ grand chain, a magnificent wheel executed by full squad front, drilling by platoons and by twos, marching and countermarching, involved intense attention at rehearsal, and exhibited a quickness of eye, and brain, all in unison, that was marvelous.”
A detailed history of the Portland Wheel Club published in the Sunday Telegram on September 3, 1899 provides a list of activities over twenty years of existence, including organized rides, races, hill climbing competitions, social events at the club’s building, and efforts to improve cycling options in Portland, as summarized in this statement: “The effort to secure good roads from curb to curb will never be relaxed on the part of the wheelmen, but they are not unreasonable in their demands and, until the city is in a condition financially, where such roads can be built, they will devote their energies toward securing the next best thing, viz. Sidepaths.” Photographs from the Maine Historical Society show a group of men resting and three women, identified as the “Thomas Girls” and Marie Emma Skilling, who were listed members of the club.
These examples of cycling as recreational and social activities, as a form of exercise, and as a means to promote safe routes connects the 1880s through the Bikecentennial to the present, as explored in the Bike 76 VA podcast episodes, blog, and publications.
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