By Tom Ewing
May 15, 2025
The increased commitment to addressing bicycle safety in the 1970s included recommendations to designate bike lanes in urban areas. In Washington DC, the so-called “mystery cyclist” contributed to these efforts by taking the initiative to mark bicycle routes along a major route for commuters. The “mystery cyclist” was first identified in a June 13, 1974 Washington Post article that began with the statement: “under cover of night, a bicycle enthusiast, armed with a bag of cement and a can of white paint, constructed his personal bikepath along Massachusetts Avenue in the District of Columbia. The mystery cyclist built tiny ramps at the curbs and painted arrows to their location, thereby creating one of the area’s first urban bikeways.”
The identity of the “mystery bicyclist” was soon disclosed, as a letter from David Tillotson, with the added signature, “The mystery cyclist,” was published on June 20, 1974. In this letter, Tillotson stated the case for durable improvements to make cycling safer along this congested route, including providing safety lanes, maintaining ramps, and providing curb lanes. The final paragraph sought to shift responsibility either to the city or to other cyclists: “It is clearly time for the city to take from me the responsibility of maintaining, improving, and extending the Massachusetts Avenue bicycle commuter route which has become a heavily traveled public thoroughfare. If the city is unwilling to assume this responsibility, however, the other cyclists who use the route, as well as cyclists in other parts of the city, should use their imagination and initiative to maintain and improve upon the work which the mystery cyclist has begun.”
One year later, the “mystery cyclist” was featured in an essay by Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy, who offered these words of appreciation: “No commuting bikers–and there are many–can use this unofficial bike lane along Mass. Ave. without offering silent thanks to Mr. Tillotson.” McCarthy urged the city to take more responsibility for creating safe spaces for cyclists along Washington’s congested streets.
The June 13, 1974 article mentioning the “mystery cyclist” also drew attention to the work of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) which led the so-called “bike lobby” in making the case for improvements to regional and federal government offices. According to WABA vice-chair Dr. Harvey Eisen, “Biking is a loner activity. But we have found the only way to get anything done is to organize.” Efforts by individuals like Tillotson and organizations such as WABA in the 1970s prepared the way for the remarkable transformation of urban cycling in the nation’s capital, which now includes many hundreds of miles of bike lanes across the city and surrounding suburbs. To learn more about how the history of suburban growth in the twentieth century shaped bicycling, listen to the Troutville episode of the Bike 76 podcast, which includes personal observations about cycling in the DC suburbs in the era of the Bikecentennial.
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