Fifty Years Ago - The Evolution Of Cycling (1931)

"Taken with the assistance of the Cyclists' Touring Club." Introductory intertitle reads: "Fifty years ago, wearing a bustle and a pained expression, Eve took a sedate front seat." Travelling shot of a couple in Victorian dress riding on an antiquated bicycle. The woman sits on the front part of the bike whilst the man pedals at the back. "Nothing strenuous about this for Eve - Adam did the pedalling." Closer travelling shot of the strange vehicle. "The "Sociable", when the forward young Misses of the day dispensed with the skirt." (shot missing) "Later came the high "ordinary." L/S of man riding a Penny Farthing type bicycle. "The "Whippet" followed." Moving shot of a man riding a "Whippet" bicycle. Travelling shot of the bike being ridden by a man in old fashioned costume. "Happy days, when modern traffic was an undreamed of horror." The cyclists (plus two women in strange garb riding a side by side tandem) arrive at a pub. They park their bikes. "If they cycled through London today..." High angle shot of these old fashioned bikes being ridden through a busy London street. Large crowd of people observe and follow the cyclists. "...it would drive them back to the country lanes, where, like old soldiers, they would fade away." Shot of the cyclists riding off down a country lane. By means of a camera trick they appear to disappear. Ghost riders! Was an item in Eve's Film Review issue number 535. Note: flash-frame intertitles. FILM ID:944.13 FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT http://www.britishpathe.com/