52 Photos Week 34: Bikes

+7 votes
1.4k views

52 Photos and 52 Ancestors sharing bacgesThis week's 52 Photos theme:

BIKES

(Bicycles? Motorcycles? Tricycles? Hot Wheels?)

To participate, simply:

  1. reply below, and
  2. add a photo that fits the theme to this week's free-space gallery.

If you use a social network (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) please share the photo there as well, using #52photos and #wikitree. This can be a great way to involve more family members. If you use a blog, include a link to your blog post in your answer below so we can all read it.

You don't need to participate every week to share a photo. But members who do participate every week can earn challenge badges. Click here for more info. If this is your first time participating and you don't have the participation badge, or if you pass a milestone (13 in 13, 26 in 26, 52 in 52) please post here.

For help with how to add photos, see here.

WikiTree profile: Space:52_Photos_Week_34_Bikes
in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)

I have only found an old photo of one of my great aunts or uncles as a toddler standing in front of a (play) wagon. Will that work? laugh Thank you! 

EDIT: After looking at everyone’s photos, I decided to use the photo.

25 Answers

+9 votes

This is a 1955 photo of my cousin Jeff Marvin. This is the start of his love of bikes. Jeff was a Vietnam veteran, and he received a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster for being wounded twice. Jeff's favorite thing was in his later life was a good ride on his Harley.

by Alexis Nelson G2G6 Pilot (843k points)
Alexis gorgeous photo of your cousin Jeff he certainly look happy.

Thank you for sharing
Thank you Susan. He was fun to be with. His mother was a good cook, and he would say “Good night mother; what are we having for breakfast?”

laugh that is so sweet Alexia 

He look so happy 

+14 votes

James H. Powers ("Uncle Jim" to my wife's grandmother, Mabel Adam) was a competitive cyclist.

Born in 1873, he never married, but lived with his sister Ida and her family (mother, husband and daughter) in Trenton (Ontario), Toronto, and Niagara Falls, NY, where he died at the age of only 34 in 1907.

by Richard Hill G2G6 Mach 9 (92.6k points)
Thank you Rick for sharing such a wonderful photo of handsome and athletic Jim. Sad that he died so young.
Look at those shoes and clips! Don't see that on bikes today. And apparently a single speed, either a coaster brake or no brake, he probably rode on indoor tracks, not uncommon at the time.
Great photo. Track racing (direct drive bikes, no coasting), mostly on board tracks, was the biggest spectator sport in the U.S. from the 1890's through the 1920's. It was the sport of the Jazz Age. The highest paid athletes were racing cyclists until late 1920's when Babe Ruth surpassed the famous track rider Frank Kramer. Uncle Jim's shoes were most likely bolted onto the pedals. No brakes. Too dangerous with 20 guys zooming along at 40+ mph.
Thank you for sharing this fascinating information, C. Montgomery -- I had no idea!
+8 votes

Myself and my favorite bike, and a very calm cat that we found as a stray (we called her Vagabond). The bike was maybe late 70's banana seat, I did hours of popping wheelies on this bike. The cat would ride on my shoulders, but that meant I couldn't do wheelies then.

by Rob Neff G2G6 Pilot (133k points)
Definitely a calm cat! What a great picture!
+6 votes

This was a challenge. I have pictures with no stories, and stories with no pictures. I prefer stories. . .

Here's Tom Hunt again. Two weeks ago, he was in the "Boys" photos in his bare feet. Today he is all grown up. Every Saturday Tom rode his bicycle from Stephentown to Pittsfield, where he worked for Mrs. Mason, a distance of 16 miles and included a mountain. He brought along his good clothes, and after he finished work he would change in her bathroom, and then take Bertha to the movies. (And after that, he rode back home again.) The courtship paid off and he and Bertha were married.

by Joyce Vander Bogart G2G6 Pilot (198k points)
Thank you Joyce for sharing the story and photo of Tom and Bertha. I like stories too.
+10 votes

My distant relative Gustaf Fjæstad born in 1868 was an artist and an athlete. He competed in cycling and in skating.

by Maria Lundholm G2G6 Pilot (224k points)
+8 votes

Unfortunately, I can't find my picture of my dad on his motorcycle.  Maybe next year.  Here is my mom's dad on his bike in the 1940s.

by K. Anonymous G2G6 Pilot (145k points)
Great photo K. of your mom’s handsome dad. I also looked for uncle on with his motorcycle, so we both can wait for next year.
+8 votes

It's a bit blurry... guess they couldn't check the screen and just retake it...   This is my dad in April 1950 and me in 2019.  He was still cycling shortly before he passed away from lung disease.  I will be riding 100 miles in September (again), in his honor , raising money for the American Lung Association.  It's my bike that keeps his memory alive.  Miss you, Dad.

by Jennifer Gonnuscio G2G6 Mach 3 (32.7k points)
edited by Jennifer Gonnuscio
Another missing picture. I can see your dad but not you.
How about now?
Not yet.
Maybe "Third time's a charm?"
Yes! A great picture! Thanks for persisting.
+9 votes

My grandfather Fernand Marchal, approximatively 1950, in Schorbach (Moselle, Lorraine, France). He was a train driver, and he liked to walk in the forest and pick mushrooms and chestnuts. heart I remember he liked butter toasts with raw onion on it laugh

by Isabelle Huth G2G6 Mach 1 (13.9k points)
Thank you Isabelle for sharing such a wonderful photo of your grandfather. I love the many things you remember about him, and the photo has so many interesting things to see in it.

Thank you Alexis wink

+8 votes

This is a photo of my Mum Jenny Tharme taken around 1944.  It was her first cycle but she continued to cycle into adulthood and I remember cycling with her when I was younger.

by Jutta Beer G2G6 Mach 6 (67.1k points)
Junta your Mum is precious on her bike; her hair is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your dear photo.
+9 votes

My mom with her new bike in 1951. My grandmother taught us both how to ride. I got my first bike on my 5th birthday from my grandparents. 

by Ron Raymer G2G6 Mach 5 (53.8k points)
Ron thank you for sharing such a happy photo of your mom. She certainly looks excited about having her new bike. I love the way she is dressed.
Thanks Alexis. She was a stylish gal when she was young. Hard to believe I was born 7 years after this photo was taken!
+8 votes

I looked for a photo with a bike ... the only one I found was one with me on a bike ... and enough about me already.

So I expanded the search for something with wheels ... and I found the photo below of my Great Grandmother, Etta May Omelia-Allison in a baby "Bike?".devil

by Bill Sims G2G6 Pilot (126k points)
Thank you Bill for sharing your wonderful photo. Your great grandmother Etta is so adorable, and the umbrella is fabulous. Etta looks very content.
I am guessing that the carriage is a photographer's prop. I imagine that photographers in those days had a whole back room full of interesting props.
This is called a "Summer Carriage" if taken even in a studio about 1910-20's it is probably hers,. My mother had her picture taken in one just like it, umbrella and all, she was born 1907 taken  in her father's studio, Danbury, Ct.  bmlb
Pretty classy, to have two baby carriages, a summer and a winter one!

I looked at your mom's profile. Love the sharpshooter story!
+9 votes

If only my 8 month old legs could reach the pedals, it looks like a lot of fun.  Spending time with my grandfather, Pop Morley, was always a highlight for me. Christmas 1950.

by Beverley Grow G2G6 Mach 1 (16.5k points)
Thank you Beverley for sharing your sweet photo. You certainly look happy and are having a wonderful time with your handsome grandfather.
Thank you,  Alexis
Beverly, that bike is something special, of the highest order, a professional machine. Wish I could tell what it was. Was your grandfather into bikes? Did he race?
Thanks for your comment, and I too wish I knew what make it was.  The Malvern Star and Austral bikes were very popular here in Australia at the time, unless it was a well known British import.  On the cross-bar you'll see the bicycle license.  My grandfather used his bicycle for transport purposes as at that time, he didn't have a motor vehicle.  It was after the depression.

Thanks for the reply Beverly. Didn't realize you were in Australia. You're right, could be a Malvern Star, Austral, Carbine, Swansea or any number of Australian made brands. Could be British (dozens). It may have a deeper history than you know. Bikes like this weren't bought for "transportation" alone. There were lesser brands that could have easily filled the bill, and more cheaply too. Something tells me Grandpa was into the Australian Cycling Club scene for a while. Here's a link to a story and an Australian bike of your grandfather's time. They were beauties. 

https://historicalcycleclub.com.au/membersbikes/2019/5/24/swansea-1950-don-hill

+6 votes

The year, 1957, at Christmas, my first bike. Our home in Colorado City, Colorado Springs, CO faced Pike's Peak. Of course I was dressed as a cowboy.

by Glenn Soden G2G5 (5.4k points)
edited by Glenn Soden
I can't see the picture.
Thank you Joyce. I had selected width of 500, however, auto converted to 300.
No, sorry, I still can't see it.

I just sent a comment to the person in charge of the instructions. I hope someone can make them clearer.

Go to your photo that you want to add to this week's challenge. On your photo page, scroll down until you see on the left side "Edit Image Details".  Under this will be a section called "People & Things in the Image:" followed by a list of the person or people in the picture.  Just below that is the text "Add person or free-space profile:" followed by a data entry box.  In this box enter the weekly theme space page address - in this case it is exactly as it appears below:

          Space:52_Photos_Week_34_Bikes  

You can copy it from here and past it in if you like.  Then click "SAVE CHANGES TO IMAGE DETAILS".  To verify it worked, the text "52 Photos Week 34 Bikes (Space:52 Photos Week 34 Bikes)" should appear in the list of people and things in the photo.  Now you're all set to add the picture here by clicking "Answer".

Done Chuck; text appears and now perhaps the photo.  Appreciate the guidance.
Now I see you in your cowboy hat.
You're quite welcome. Good picture.  Glad you could share it.
+12 votes

This is a photo of my Great Grandmother Ellen Straw. It was taken  around 1900 when she first arrived in Canada, either Paris or Dundas, Ontario.

by Bill Curran G2G Crew (690 points)
Thank you Bill for sharing your adorable great grandmother. She is so cute with her hat and dress and her bicycle.
+3 votes

Around 1930, my dad, Harold Skelton, worked as a telegraph messenger. He styled himself as a "professional bicycle rider." He rode his bicycle in an endurance contest sponsored by the Anderson (South Carolina) Independent newspaper and set a world record for the longest non-stop bicycle ride.

by Betty Norman G2G6 Mach 2 (29.9k points)
edited by Betty Norman
If you posted a picture, I can't see it.
I can see it. Can anyone else see it? No clue what I did wrong.
Oh no! How can I get rid of the duplicate photos?

I just sent a comment to the person in charge of the instructions. I hope someone can make them clearer.

+5 votes

This photo is of my Dad, Chuck Biggs, Sr., on his first motorcycle.  It's a '55 Harley Davidson scooter called a "Hummer."  It was the first of many Harley Davidson's my Dad rode.  He is 19 in the photo, just finished high school and about to enlist in the Air Force.  Photo was taken in his home town of Clute Texas (Brazoria County USA).

by Chuck Biggs G2G6 (8.4k points)
edited by Chuck Biggs
I can't see the picture.
AH, thank you.  I found my mistake.  It should be visible now.
Yes, I can see it now. Thanks for sharing.
+8 votes

My maternal grandfather, Arthur Deane Dawson, was the chairman of the membership committee in the Century Road Club, a bicycle riding and racing association in the Brooklyn and Long Island, New York area. He used to ride century races 100 miles long. He is featured in the picture below with his bicycle and club jacket sporting a medal for winning a race.

by Marion Ceruti G2G6 Pilot (351k points)
Thank you Marion for sharing such an interesting photo of your good looking and athletic grandfather. It is wonderful that you know so much about the photo and even his medal.
+6 votes

My dad, Frank Cunningham on his bike in 1943, Port Moody, BC, Canada

by Brad Cunningham G2G6 Pilot (188k points)
Thank you Brad for sharing your great photo of your dad. He certainly looks sharp in his sweater and slacks on his bike.
+5 votes

This is my dad with my brother and sister in the late 40s.

by Lynda Heines G2G2 (2.9k points)

Oh, no, not another invisible photo! I have just sent a comment to the person in charge of the instructions. I hope someone can make them clearer.

Go to your photo that you want to add to this week's challenge. On your photo page, scroll down until you see on the left side "Edit Image Details".  Under this will be a section called "People & Things in the Image:" followed by a list of the person or people in the picture.  Just below that is the text "Add person or free-space profile:" followed by a data entry box.  In this box enter the weekly theme space page address - in this case it is exactly as it appears below:

          Space:52_Photos_Week_34_Bikes  

You can copy it from here and past it in if you like.  Then click "SAVE CHANGES TO IMAGE DETAILS".  To verify it worked, the text "52 Photos Week 34 Bikes (Space:52 Photos Week 34 Bikes)" should appear in the list of people and things in the photo.  Now you're all set to add the picture here by clicking "Answer"

I can't figure it out. I'm usually pretty good at this, but I'm confused. Somehow it's my primary image which I don't want it to be. I've tried to delete it following the instructions and no luck.
Now I see it. What a cute picture! Makes me smile just to look at it. Thanks for persisting.
+8 votes

My great grandfather, "Doc" Kiddoo carried mail on a route near Arco, Minnesota from 1905-1909. He used a buggy, bicycle, or sleigh depending on the weather and the condition of the roads. These were usually rough and he suffered from back pain. When he was unable to do the route his son Willie would take over. In 1908 Doc ordered a motorcycle (referred to in his diary as "Motor") which made the route easier. The photos below are of Doc and Willie with Motor.

by Richard Kyllo G2G6 Mach 1 (13.6k points)

Related questions

+17 votes
31 answers
1.6k views asked Aug 19, 2019 in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
+12 votes
11 answers
+11 votes
6 answers
+11 votes
10 answers
479 views asked Aug 23, 2022 in The Tree House by Dieter Lewerenz G2G Astronaut (3.1m points)
+18 votes
10 answers
1.1k views asked Dec 21, 2020 in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
+20 votes
11 answers
1.0k views asked Dec 14, 2020 in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
+16 votes
15 answers
1.5k views asked Dec 7, 2020 in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
+18 votes
18 answers
1.1k views asked Nov 30, 2020 in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
+15 votes
11 answers
714 views asked Nov 23, 2020 in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
+15 votes
12 answers
697 views asked Nov 16, 2020 in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)

WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

disclaimer - terms - copyright

...