ABSTRACT
Cycling as a practice underwent major changes across the world between 1880 and 1950. Starting as an upper-class leisure activity, it gradually became more affordable and more popular for commuting and transport. In the process, the bicycle acquired increasingly working-class connotations. Meanwhile, the elite adopted the new symbol of modernity, the automobile, and shifted their lobbying efforts from better roads for cyclists, to better roads for cars – preferably with no space for bicycles. The declining status of cycling and the declining role of both government and lobby groups reinforced each other, making cycling an increasingly dangerous and unattractive practice. By the mid-twentieth century, large groups of people all over world were still cycling as they could not afford or lacked access to public transit or car ownership. The conditions for cyclists, however, were deteriorating. In the Netherlands this played out differently. Cycling put down deeper roots in governance structures and engineering norms. The role of the bicycle tax compromise can hardly be overestimated. Nor should we overlook the regional cycling path organizations working on recreational infrastructure. Both laid the groundwork for a material infrastructure supporting the practice of cycling to a greater extent than elsewhere.
