Pleasure Cycling

There is a particular joy in learning to ride a bicycle - that lurching, glorious moment when balance finally clicks and the world opens up. Henry Clyde knew this intimately, and in 1895 he sat down to capture that feeling for a new generation of wheelmen. This book is both a practical guide and a love letter to cycling's golden age. Written for the amateur rider who has just discovered the thrill of the open road, Clyde shares hard-won wisdom on equipment, technique, and the etiquette of the wheel. But beyond the practical advice lies something rarer: an idyllic portrait of an era when bicycles promised innocent enjoyment and healthy living, before automobiles reshaped everything. The roads belonged to cyclists then, and Clyde writes with genuine reverence for the freedom two wheels afforded. Whether you ride today or simply wonder what it was like to live in a world without cars, this book offers a window into a sweeter, slower time.