ABSTRACT
Social theorists such as Wright Mills maintain that ‘history is the shank of social study’ (Wright Mills 1959: p. 143) and that the psychology of man should be understood in its sociological and historical context. Therefore, although later chapters are primarily concerned with the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of riders, and to a lesser extent non-riders, this chapter concentrates on the way that biking has developed in the United kingdom and the way that it has been portrayed in the media to develop an understanding of ‘biking’ today.
