Salt Lake Telegram | 1934-08-02 | Page 8 | Provoan Recollects Halcyon Day of Bike

RECOLLECTS RECOLLECT'S HALCYON DAY OF BIKE Pioneer Dealer Says There Were Traffic Problems Then Just as s Today PROVO Times PROVO Times when there were almost as man many bicycles on the streets of Provo as there are automobiles today today today to to- day are recalled by W. W S S. S Horr pione pioneer pio- pio ne neer nedr r bicycle dealer For loor 20 years Mr Horr has been engaged in the business that was a n leader in former fanner years Beginning In 1903 at Midvale he moved to Provo in 1913 where he has conducted a bicycle retail and repair shop ever since He lIe estimates he has hassold hassold hassold sold 1500 new bicycles second second- hand land ones ories and md repaired an untold number during that time lime In 1919 he reached reach the peak of his hl 26 years ears of business with sales amounting to nearly A rental ren ren- tal tat business o of a month was not uncommon then he said Traffic Many things thought to have been brought by the automobile are recalled recalled re re- called by Mr Horr as being quite common in the bicycle era Parking and traffic congestion collisions speed limits and traffic rules all existed ex ex- isted sled in the days when Sundays invariably in in- variably found John proudly riding up to Marys Mary's front door on a bicycle built for two Young men and women and older ones too thought nothing of riding 10 or 12 miles to a picnic in those days he said One could always find finda a place to park at large gatherings b by jy the simple method of leaning ones one's bicycle up against that o of someone else but the difficulty came when a bicycle icycle had to be extricated from the he center of a hundred or more vehicles when the affair was over Man Many towns had speed limits of 10 to o 12 miles an hour in early days and when bicycles first came out they were vere considered a dangerous and radical innovation by many citizens content with plodding at a sedate pace jacc behind old Dobbin Some towns owns even banned them from their main streets at first because they frightened horses said Mr Horr Old Bone Shaker The veteran bicycle dealer owned his first vehicle at 24 years of age one of the first Columbia safeties or wheeled low type He remembers the he old high front wheeled bone boneshakers boneshakers boneshakers shakers among the first types ever over ever Invented That type was really dangerous dangerous dan dan- he said as a fall frontward from rom the high wheel a common oc oc- S' S 4 I Lx 1 Ii i t It I 1 1 L t W. W S. S Horr I currence among riders often oUen caused serious injury Bicycles have not been greatly changed or improved from the safety model of 1890 according according ac ac- ac cording to Mr Horr except that they ride a little easier asier He has owned four his present one since 1915 and says SaS it is still goad good for 12 or 15 more years He has has' never owned or driven an automobile automobile automobile automo automo- bile and would not buy one if it he were a 8 millionaire he said