Wheels

It is a little remarkable how the riding of bicycles has fallen off during the past year.  For several years, the streets of Williamstown have been lined with riders of the wheel, and many new wheels have been sold from week to week.  On the main thoroughfares on a Sunday afternoon a hundred wheels could be counted passing within an hour.  On last Saturday afternoon for two hours not a single bicycle was seen on Main Street north of Williamstown.  Very few wheels have been purchased in Williamstown this year, and the ladies and young men who have been great devotees of the wheel have abandoned the sport largely.  They have taken to buggies, fine horses, and rubber-tired carriages.  These things frequently trend in cycles [!], and our prediction is that the wheel in the future will be used more for business and convenience than for pleasure.

from the Williamstown Courier, June 8, 1899