| The time was right in the Gay Nineties for a bicycle club
in Auburn. The high wheeler, with its large front wheel and small
back one, had been replaced by a safety model with wheels the same size.
Air-filled rubber tires had been around since 1890. Therefore, fresh
air, exercise, and pleasure seekers such as George Petrie, fourth from
left, and B.B. Ross, sixth from left, organized a group of riders.
The club eventually built a bicycle path from where Gay Street ended at
Samford Avenue to Wright's Mill (Chewacla Park). Others in front
of the McElhaney House were, from left: Charles Ross, Bob Trammell, J.M.
Stedman, Mrs. Petrie (who with her husband had ridden a tandem bike on
part of their honeymoon trip in Virginia), A. Foster McKissick with daughter
Ellison in basket, and John J. Wilmore. The pet dog was muzzled.
-- Photo: AU Archives |
