From an original figure of 142 to 3,356 in 1880, and 6,705 in 1882 - www.set2com.com.

the big hotels... and seek, incognito, the cosy quaintness of village life. From an original figure of 142 to 3,356 in 1880, and 6,705 in 1882, club membership rose to a record 60,449 at the turn of the century. Workers employed in the mills and factories of industrial areas took to the bicycle as a principal means of travel to work. In 1932, a new Raleigh bicycle could be bought for under 5, or on the instalment system for 9/7d per month without deposit. The Raleigh was regarded as the aristocrat; a Hercules cost less, approximately 4, and there were cheaper makes and predictably, a thriving secondhand market. So by the 1930s there were thought to be at least 10 million cyclists ten times the number of private motorists. Clubs were affiliated to organizations ranging from church to political party. This cycling boom was a youth-based phenomenon too, spawning its own networks of cafes and modest bed and breakfast' digs'. The CTC and the National Cyclists' Union held their own conventions and cycling was not immune