This old photo taken in a photographer’s studio shows some unidentified members of the San Francisco cycling club known as the Bay City Wheelmen. The club was very influential in popularizing the sport. Later it also played a part in developing the sport of motorcycling.
The popularity of cycling coincided with the rise of the automobile and for a time bicycles were the preferred mode of unhorsed transportation within major cities due to automobiles still being unreliable and too expensive. In a short time, however, improvements in production techniques including assembly lines made automobiles more easily within reach of the American population and recreational driving became more common.
