Bicycling mainly started in the 1860s as competitive racing, but shortly afterwards people began riding bicycles as a recreational activity. By the late 1880s, bicycling had become extremely popular, and the craze continued throughout the 1890s and into the very early 1900s.
Bicycling as an organized sport or organized leisure activity came to Missouri at least as early as 1887, when the St. Louis Cycling Club was formed. That club is still going today and is the oldest cycling club in the United States still in existence.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, though, cycling wasn't confined just to St. Louis. For instance, efforts to organize a cycling club in Springfield were underway in July of 1903, and it's clear from a report about the effort that appeared in a Springfield newspaper that cycling had been popular in Springfield for a long time.
The newspaper said that the announcement that a cycling club was forming would be "gladly read by the numerous followers of the wheelman's art in this vicinity."
The paper went on to say that "many expert riders" resided in Springfield and that several years earlier Springfield had been considered "the bicycle racing headquarters of the west." In recent years, however, "interest had been allowed to slacken" and had "almost died out."
The purpose of the new club would be to host races, both road races and track races, and to sponsor "long rides over the country."
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