Monmouth U. hosts antique bicycle meet

WEST LONG BRANCH — The National Wheelmen is holding its annual meet at Monmouth University through July 31. The event, celebrating antique bicycles, will include bike rides, public demonstrations, races, games on bicycles, lectures, displays and a parade.

The meet included a historic century ride on July 28 starting at Monmouth with 80 riders traveling 100 miles on bicycles made before 1917, including many highwheel bicycles from the 1880s. July 29 has been designated “Jersey Is for Wheelmen,” and there will be rides from Monmouth University to the Metz Bicycle Museum in Freehold and to Sandy Hook.

On July 30, a “Show & Tell” will be held at Anacon Hall in the Student Center at Monmouth University from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and will have a display of bicycles and tricycles and other historical objects relating to bicycles.

On July 31 a parade of vintage bicycles with riders in 19th-century riding attire will start at Monmouth University at 10 a.m. and proceed along the route of Long Branch’s half-marathon, stopping at the pavilion at the boardwalk just north of Long Branch’s Pier Village for a public demonstration of antique bicycle history and riding skills at 11 a.m. At 8:30 p.m., David V Herlihy will give a lecture on his new book, titled “The Lost Cyclist: The Story of Frank Lenz and His Fated Ride Around the World in 1892-4,” in Monmouth’s Wilson Hall. Herlihy’s book and other bicycle history books will be on sale in the university’s book store.

The Wheelmen is a national organization of people interested in all aspects of early bicycles, from the beginnings in 1817 up to 1917, when bicycles had acquired many of the characteristics found on today’s bicycles, and bicycle history, including collecting, restoring, riding and researching. The organization follows bicycle development from the invention of the first bicycle in 1817 with such types as the draissine, velocipede, boneshaker, ordinary (also known as a high-wheeler or penny farthing), tricycle, high-wheel safety, hard-tired safety, cushion-tire safety, and pneumatic safety, including tandems and chainless models.

For more information on The Wheelman, contact Gary Sanderson at 973-857- 3447 or garysanderson@comcast.net.