Despite his support for cycling, CP Scott, former Guardian editor, wrote in 1878 about reckless ‘bicyclists’ riding too fast and even endangering pedestrians.
Ahead of the 1900 election, journalist Harold Spender interviewed politician John Burns during a cycle ride around the constituency of Battersea.
In 1916, another contributor, this time from the north of England, wrote that safer roads meant more cyclists were using highways and byways, some riding tandems.
Cycling in the UK was given a further boost in 1934 when the first cycle lane, or “safety track for cyclists”, as the Guardian called it, was introduced.
News of cycling’s biggest sport, the Tour De France, has often featured in the Guardian. Readers have taken a keen interest in the gruelling race since it began in 1903.
This interest grew stronger when Bradley Wiggins, riding for Team Sky in 2012, won the Tour, making him the first British rider to claim the yellow jersey.
News about cycling’s newer, brethren sports, such as BMX, have also found their way into the paper.
Coverage of claims that cycling is both beneficial to health and to the environment have regularly been reported by the Guardian.
