Believe you've had a harsh commute this morning? 4WD twunt cut you off? 4 cylinder [censored] failed to note your presence? Hah!
Although I reckon these blokes must of had amazing bike handling skills, finely-honed to perfection on those clunky water-pipe frames. 😉
*****
They pedalled behind enemy lines
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=82e18b7b-752a-49b1-b2bd-0f5dc1d68066&k=87268
Published: Monday, November 06, 2006
Initially they were mocked — referred to as "the Gas Pipe Brigade," but they were some of the most valued Canadian soldiers. They were 1,200 men in the five battalions Canada sent into the war on bicycles.
"These guys were amazing," says 63-year-old Dennis Thomassen of Ottawa. He began collecting bicycle infantry memorabilia about 20 years ago, when he first learned of their unsung military contribution.
"They were the best and the brightest. That’s who the military was trying to recruit for this. They had to be special. They wanted these guys to be spies and guides, do intelligence behind enemy lines, report on troop movement, reconnaissance."
The bicycle infantry was also sent behind enemy lines to do topography, interpretation and signalling. Cyclists would accompany troops as they advanced into battle, and often stay behind to tend to the wounded and dying in the aftermath.
They soon became known as "the Suicide Cavalry" for their important, but dangerous work behind enemy lines.
They carried and used a light machine-gun on their bikes, known as a Lewis Gun.
The Canadian Cyclists also suffered some of the heaviest casualties of the war. Of the five battalions that went into the First World War, only enough men were left at the end to cobble together one full battalion.
"By World War I, we were starting to see the use of tanks, and these guys were on bikes," says Mr. Thomassen. "So at first they took a lot of humiliation.
Yet, they proved themselves as critical and as crucial in battle as tanks. Bikes were quiet and stealthy. One man on a bike patrol can really cover a lot more ground than a guy on foot."
Bikes could also travel faster in bombed-out territory, were swift when travelling in the dark and didn’t require fuel. Unlike horses they also didn’t need to be fed or bedded. All the cyclists needed was an oil can and a tire pump.
Mr. Thomassen says the Boer War in Africa in 1899 was the testing ground for using bicycles in warfare. They were found to be particularly good for dispatching and patrolling, enforcing curfews and for riot control in congested cities for "swift, silent cordoning of small areas", according to The Man Powered Military Vehicle, in the Army and Defence Journal, Vol. 101.
Another account describes Major B.F.S. Baden-Powell of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards using a collapsible bicycle which carried a kite. "The kite was used at first for taking photographs of the camp by a remotely controlled camera, and later for raising an aerial for experiments in wireless telegraphy," according to historian J.M. Cuthbert.
Bikes were still used in the Second World War, but with less success. But Thomassen says the bikes proved to be too cumbersome and often had to be abandoned in battle.
"It didn’t work," Mr. Thomassen says. "They were just too heavy. And by then the military was evolving into using motorized bikes."
Mr. Thomassen’s interest in bicycles is more than just a hobby. He also owns two shops, Fresh Air Experience in Ottawa and another store by the same name in Thunder Bay that specialize in cycling and cross country skiing. He figures he’s got about 25 antique bikes in his collection right now, dating from 1866 to 1984. But the jewel in his collection is his World War I military bicycle.
"I have bikes that are more valuable than that one," he says, "but it is very rare. Those bikes didn’t usually come back."
He also has another 1898 militia bike plus a collection of silver match boxes, cups, medals, bugles and bicycle lamps bearing the Canadian Cyclists insignia, photographs and a number of personal letters penned by members of the Corps. Prominent in his collection is a copy of an obituary for Captain W.D. Ellis, the last surviving member of the Canadian bicycle infantry who passed away in Toronto in 1996. He was 100 years old.
It is a collection worthy of a museum, but Mr. Thomassen isn’t sure he’s ready to pass the material on. He doesn’t want to see this colourful chapter of Canada’s military history "languish in a back room in storage."
"At least if it’s with a collector, you have it on display, or you’re trying to promote it. I have some very unique stuff," he says. "Certainly it should never leave Canada."