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Cycling as Innovation in Norway and Sweden—A Narrative Study of the Acceptance of a Technical Novelty

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Open Access
Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2014, 2, 72-85
Published Online January 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/jss
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jss.2014.21009
Cycling as Innovation in Norway and
Sweden*
A Narrative Study of the Acceptance of a Technical Novelty
Anders Gustavsson
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Email: anders.gustavsson@ikos.uio.no
Received 10 October 2013; revised 15 November 2013; accepted 22 November 2013
Copyright © 2014 Anders Gustavsson. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited. In accordance of the Creative Commons Attribution License all Copyrights ©
2014 are reserved for SCIRP and the owner of the intellectual property Anders Gustavsson. All Copyright ©
2014 are guarded by law and by SCIRP as a guardian.
Abstract
This paper deals with the acceptance of a technical novelty, in this case cycling, during the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century. Experiences and feelings are the focus. The analytical
perspectives are: social status, economy, age, gender, work/leisure, safety/danger. The innovation
process of cycling conducted by a contrast between two neighbouring countries of Norway and
Sweden respectively. The oral source material is found in Norwegian and Swedish folklore ar-
chives. The earliest design of bicycle was called velocipede. The bicycles began to appear around
1900. The first owners of bicycles were mostly well-to-do people in both rural and urban areas. As
long as there was a shortage of bicycles, a certain collegiality existed, which implied that several
people could use the same bike. Envy was also expressed in contrast to collective collegiality.
Ladys bicycles came somewhat later than mens bikes. Childrens bicycles did not exist at first, so
children were taught on adult bicycles. A major problem when bringing in bicycles was the bad
road conditions in rural areas, especially in winter and at the spring thaw. Among the elder, the
first velocipedes and bicycles could be perceived as a danger of supernatural character. Long
weekend bike rides are mentioned in many cases from the 1930s, both in Norway and Sweden.
Among cyclists, the expressions of positive feelings, as freedom, are clearly in majority. There
were special conditions during the Second World War. One problem the cyclists then experienced
was the total lack of rubber tyres. The difference between the neighbouring countries was that
riders in Sweden were not subjected to the checks carried out by the German authorities in
Norway.
*Paper presented at the SIEF Congress in Tartu, Estonia 1-4 July 2013, within the panel Cycling: past, present and future
. At this panel five
Swedish papers and one from Hungary were presented. After the panel discussions it was decided to start an internat
ional research network
with the topic of cycling.
How to cite this paper Gustavsson, A. (2014) Cycling as Innovation in Norway and Sweden. Open Journal of Social Sciences,
2, 72-85. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jss.2014.21009
A. Gustavsson
Keywords
Collegiality; Folklore Narratives; Innovation; Second World War; Technical Novelty; Velocipede
1. Introduction
My paper deals with the acceptance of a technical novelty, in this case cycling, during the late nineteenth and
early twentieth century. It will be a study of the experiences of both active cyclists and their surroundings dur-
ing the first period of innovation and also later changes up to the mid-twentieth century. What are the feelings,
both good and bad ones? As experiences and feelings are the focus of this study, it will be a narrative study.
Since I do not focus on bicycles as material objects, I must present background information about them. I have
not studied sporting activities. I compare the innovation process and the consequent changes in the two
neighbouring countries of Norway and Sweden respectively. My study is included in a newly commenced inter-
national network on Cycling: past, present and future, initiated by the University of Lund, Sweden (cf. [1]).
My source material is found in Norwegian and Swedish folklore archives. In Norway, autobiographies were
collected from ordinary people spreaded across the country on three occasions: in 1964 for writers born before
1900, in 1981 for those before the First World War, and in 1996 for those born before the year of 1930. The
narratives are especially concerned with the first half of the 1900s. The autobiographical responses in 1964 and
1981 have been published digitally for seven of Norways counties [2]. I have had access to the digital responses
from 1996 from all over Norway, but these responses have not yet been published online. The collected material
is anonymous, so all personal and local place names have been removed.
The Swedish material comes from the Folklore Archives in Gothenburg (IFGH, DAGF), which covers
western Sweden, and the Folklore Archives in Uppsala (ULMA), which have material from the central and
northern Sweden. The oldest material originated during the early 1900s and was collected in the form of free
records without the use of a questionnaire. The Folklore Archives in Gothenburg also sent out a list of questions
in 2013 entitled Bikes and bikers yesterday, today, tomorrow. I made use of the twenty responses that have been
collected thus far. I obtained photos from the Folklore Archives in Gothenburg, the digital museums belonging
to the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, the Bohuslän Museum in Uddevalla and the Norwegian Folk Museum in
Oslo respectively. I also came across photo collections during my own fieldwork in western Sweden.
My interest in the topic of cycling is linked to my personal interest in cycling and my own experiences of
daily routines characterized by enjoyment. Even in bad weather I have often been asked, Are you bicycling
today?I have usually responded that cycling inspires thinking in my brain. I often get new ideas about and
interpretations connected to research problems while I am cycling alone.
Picture 1 The author cycling on a weekend outside Uppsala in 1994, with his six-year-old son Johan in a
child s seat on the luggage carrier. Photo Kristina Gustavsson.
My analytical perspectives when studying experiences and feelings are: social status, economy, age, gender,
work/leisure, safety/danger.
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2. The Oldest Forms of Bicycles
Picture 2 Alban Thorburn (1862-1933) from Uddevalla cycled across Europe on his velocipede in the 1880s.
Here he was photographed in a studio in Genoa before arriving in Rome in 1884. Bohuslän Museum, private
archives. No. 139, Uddevalla.
The earliest design of the bicycle was called the velocipede. Among ordinary people it was named High
wheelbecause the front wheel was significantly higher than the small rear wheel. The rider sat on top of the
higher wheel that had two pedals spun around with the wheel. A free hub had not yet been invented. The brake
consisted of a simple handbrake. Velocipedes were produced in Huskvarna, Sweden from the early 1890s [3].
This type of velocipede enjoyed some popularity in Norway and Sweden during the late 1800s. The history of
the velocipede was short and can be seen as an initial phase of the cycle.
The bicycles began to appear around 1900. The bicycles with pedals and chain were first produced in 1885.
The exterior appearance and design of the bicycle underwent a number of important changes during the early
1900s. One was the introduction of the free hub that made it possible to brake with the rear wheel. Wooden
spokes were replaced with spokes made of steel. Iron-shod wheels were replaced with rubber wheels.
3. Social Statuses and Economy
Velocipedes were especially popular in the higher social strata, and among some of the craftsmen who made
them. This is the case with, for example, a blacksmith in mid-Sweden (ULMA 25223, Gästrikland Province). A
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man born in 1867 in Gothenburg reported that in his childhood in the 1870s, velocipedes began to appear and
that they were owned by the sons of the upper-class families (IFGH 4770). Similar data exist from Norway and
Sweden.
Picture 3 The Norwegian photographer Anders Wilse (1865-1949) cycling in 1902. Norwegian Folk Museum
Oslo. NF. W00754
The first owners of bicycles were more well-to-do people in both rural and urban areas. This was mainly due
to the high cost of a bicycle. One Swedish informant, who remembered the first bicycles in his parish around
1900, stated that only wealthy farmerssons were able to purchase them. In order to emphasise the specific and
memorable owners of the first bicycles went to a photographers studio to have a picture of them with the
bicycle. In one northern Norwegian district, the parish organist was the first to acquire a bicycle around 1900.
He rode it back and forth on the road after church services for the sake of public display (MO 1964 No. 11
informant born in 1888, Troms County). This helped to accentuate social contrasts when not everyone could
afford to acquire novelties such as a bicycle.
The price of the bicycles gradually went down so that ordinary people could afford to buy them. It was
especially younger men who earned enough money to buy a bicycle. It was the norm that young people would
first earn the amount of money needed to make the purchase (MO 1964 No. 26, Oslo). Loans were to be avoided
even if the final amount could be paid in installments. It took several months of work to earn enough for a
bicycle in the early 1900s in both Norway and Sweden. A Norwegian, born in 1894, stated that the few bicycles
that existed in his youth cost 100 - 140 dollars apiece and that this corresponded to 5 - 6 months of work for a
farmhand (MO 1964 No. 57, Rogaland County). The price could be reduced if you bought a second-hand
bicycle. A Swede, born in 1898, bought his first bicycle in 1918. It was a second-hand purchase and cost him 65
Swedish crowns at a time when his salary was 20 Swedish crowns a month (IFGH 6341). A man from the
Norwegian town Drammen who earned 20 Norwegian crowns monthly in 1904, bought a used bicycle for 75
crowns. The bicycle was in any case advantageous because it had a practical use and high social status.
4. Age and Gender
While bicycles were first acquired by younger males, their fathers were less interested. Many members of the
parent generation objected to riding a bicycle. They were more sceptical of the cycle as a technical novelty. This
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was the case especially among the horse owners. On a farm the horse was the primary means of transport for the
elderly, whereas younger men tried to get a cycle (MO 1981 No. 100 Ryfylke, Rogaland County). A factor that
played a significant role in the bicycles childhood was when the bicycles were accepted in the peasant districts;
they were useful to transport milk bottles to the milk trucks and dairies (MO 1981 No. 48, A man born in 1888,
Østfold County). They were also used for trips to the local store where all items were hung on the handlebars or
tied on the luggage carrier (MO 1981 No. 97, A woman born in 1907, Rogaland County).
Picture 4 A farmers family in western Sweden in the 1920s. The husband and wife each display one horse for
the travelling photographer. The grandfather stands with his cane in the middle. The teenager son is placed in
the background with his bicycle. Photo Simon Martinsson. Privately owned.
When elderly men bought a bicycle, it was primarily for cycling to and from work. This saved time and was
more convenient than walking. People in their forties and up found it harder to learn to ride a bicycle than
younger people did. At the same time, learning was also problematic for the younger ones because bicycles were
bulky and heavy. Childrens bikes did not exist at first, so children were taught on adult bicycles. They could not
reach the bicycle seat and had to pedal with one leg under the bar on a mans bicycle. Smaller bicycles came
later and made it much easier to learn riding (DAGF1451, A woman born in 1942, Dalsland Province). It
became common for young people to get a bicycle during their preparation for confirmation, or in connection
with the confirmation ceremony in church, when they were fourteen years old. The young people then got a
grown-up bicycle (MO 1996 No. 41, Østfold County). Furthermore, children had to ride on errands for their
parents to the shops etc. and made it beneficial for the parents when the kids had a bicycle (DAGF 1444, A
woman born in 1936, Blekinge County). From the age of ten I myself in the 1950s had to carry out errands for
my parents on a farm in western Sweden. It was important for visiting the shop, the pharmacy, the bee-keepers
farm etc.
Younger men found that social contacts were spatially extended thanks to the bicycle. This applied to both
cities [4, p. 20] and countryside. The youth got the opportunity to travel away from their own community and
meet other people. At weekends, it was tours to dance pavilions (ULMA 26747, Uppland Province, MO 1981
No. 139, Østfold County). Similar descriptions can be found both in Sweden and Norway. When young women
got a bicycle, excursions were the main attraction, preferably with girl friends. Bathing was an important
destination for the young women.
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Picture 5 A young man who rode his bicycle to a dance pavilion in western Sweden. Photo Simon Martinsson.
Privately owned.
Picture 6 A ladys bicycle in the early twentieth century. The Nordic Museum, Stockholm.
Ladys bicycles came somewhat later than mens bikes, but they were not uncommon in the 1920s in Norway
and Sweden (ULMA 26747, Uppland Province). Women needed a chain-guard to prevent their dresses and
skirts from getting caught in the chain. Trousers were not considered appropriate for women to wear during the
early 1900s. Stories are told about skirts being tied together and pulled up with help of a belt when riding a bike
(MO 1981 No. 52, Rogaland County).
5. Leisure
With the regulation of labour in the 1920s [5], people got leisure time. Then there were opportunities for cycling
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in the evenings and at weekends and, from the 1930s, also during holidays in summer time. Long weekend bike
rides together with some other young people are mentioned in many cases, both in Norway and Sweden. The
two-week vacation in 1936 in Norway [6] (three weeks in 1947), and in 1938 in Sweden [7,8] (three weeks in
1951) meant that cycling tours could be arranged over several days with overnight stays under simple conditions
in barns or in hostels. In some cases, cyclists were able to hitch-hike with trucks for some distances and get a
rest from their strenous cycling. This was of particular value if cyclists had the wind against them as on the flat
lands in Skåne and Denmark, for example (ULMA 30927, Uppland Province). Burning summer heat is also
mentioned as being tiring. The scout movement arranged long bicycle tours. A diary preserved in southern
Norway describes such trips with their heavy loads during the summer to Denmark (MO 1996 No. 4 Aust-Agder
County).
Picture 7 Two young Swedish women on a pause in front of a restaurant during summer holiday in the 1940s.
The Nordic Museum, Stockholm.
6. Special Conditions during the Second World War
During the 1920s and 30s, bicycles began to get competition from cars. Some people abandoned their bicycles
when they could afford a car. The Second World War changed the situation abruptly to the advantage of the
bicycle, not only in German-occupied Norway, but also in Sweden. Private individuals had no access to cars.
One problem the cyclists experienced was the total lack of rubber tyres. Therefore everybody was forced to
endless repair work on old tyres (DAGF 1515, Västergötland Province, MO 1996 No. 7 Akershus County). At
best, you could buy a bicycle tyre that was fit for use (MO 1996 No. 9, A woman born in 1933, Østfold County).
Bicycle tours during leisure time and holidays did not come to an end; instead they were quite popular in the two
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neighbouring countries. A woman, born in 1930 in Hovås in Gothenburg, remembers how one had to carry
clothing and household utensils on the luggage carrier when going to a summer home. Bicycles could then be so
back-heavy that they could even rear (DAGF 1511 Gothenburg). In Norway, in addition, cycling out of the cities
during weekends was aimed at trying to buy food in rural areas. This was an illegal black market action hidden
from the German authorities (MO 1996 No. 17 Østfold County), who carried out checks on the contents of
luggage on bikes. Such bicycle rides often took place at night (MO 1996 No. 31, A man born in 1909, Oslo).
Picture 8 A woman cycling in Oslo in 1941. A Nazi soldier in the background. Photo Anders Beer Wilse, The
Norwegian Folk Museum, Oslo.NF.WF 15116.
Picture 9 Factory workers cycling to and from their place of work in Stockholm during the Second World
War. The Nordic Museum, Stockholm.
When War ended, Norwegians were able to ride across the border to Sweden to find scarce goods, especially
clothing fabrics. Private cars did not exist to any great extent in Norway until 1960 [9, p. 83, 10]. Swedish goods
were liable to custom duties, but customs officials were often lenient when they saw that smuggling women had
wrapped several layers of fabrics around their bodies as they passed through customs on their bicycles. On the
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marriage front, Swedish men had an advantage in the Norwegian-Swedish border areas because they had cars
whereas the Norwegian male youths came by bike. A Swede born near the border explained:
Swedish boys were very popular in Norway after the war. ....Norwegian boys stood there with their
bicycles while Swedish youths came with their nice, big cars. And they picked up Norwegian girls [11].
7. Dangers of Cycling
Balance is important in cycling. It was something that no one had learnt previous to the introduction of the cycle.
It was especially difficult to learn to ride a velocipede with its high front wheel. In Norway it was called
Veltepetter(Peter Tip-over). In his diaries from 1880s, Alban Thorburn from the town of Uddevalla (see
Picture 2) often tells about the falls he took during his journeys all over Europe. On 27 May 1884, he fell over
twice on the same day, frightening two approaching horses. Adults often tried to learn riding a bike but many
gave up after having made a few attempts. One Swedish spokesman said: Dad tried when he was 45, but soon
relinquished the idea(ULMA 25223 Gästrikland Province). A man in northern Sweden tried to learn when he
was 61 in 1914, but he hurt himself badly when riding down a steep hill (ULMA 31678, Ångermanland
Province). The fixed hubs made it impossible to brake with the rear wheel, which then had to be done with the
handbrake, which was more difficult (MO 1981 No. 25 Oslo). The art of slowing down and simultaneously
maintain balance at high speed took a long time to learn. When children were taught to ride on adult bicycles,
this not only led to many overturned rides (DAGF 1440, A woman born in 1928 Gothenburg, MO 1996, A man
born 1916, Oslo), but also to collisions with pedestrians or with other cyclists (MO 1964, A man born in 1885,
Rogaland County). The risk of accident was greater when several persons rode the same bicycle (MO 1964 No.
77, born in 1894, Oslo). There were also mishaps when skirts or bathrobes jammed inside the wheel, leading to a
fall from ones bicycle (DAGF1519, A woman born in 1933 in Gothenburg).
The shame felt after a tumble was mentioned by those who had experienced this personally. A man born in
1916 in Oslo said: I did not tell anyone about my fall then and I have not done it later. I was ashamed about
what had happened(MO 1996). A fall could mean that not only the rider but also the luggage could be
damaged. A situation like this was particularly dramatic in the Second World War if rationed goods were spoilt.
A Norwegian woman born in 1926 told of her fear when she went to fetch her mothers extra ration of 5 kg of
jam sugar. The entire ration in a paper bag on the carrier was destroyed when she slid and fell on loose gravel.
Her mother wept bitterly over this bad happening (MO 1996 No. 15, Akershus County).
A major problem at the introduction of the bicycles was the bad road conditions in rural areas, especially in
winter and at the spring thaw. It was extremely difficult to keep balance when the deep ruts caused by horse
carriages were filled with ice or water. Bicycle wheels easily got stuck in these tracks. It often proved to be
necessary to walk the bicycle over lengthy distances before you came to a better road (MO 1981 No. 65, Aust-
Agder County, MO 1964 No. 57, Buskerud County). This is often mentioned with reference to the mountain
areas in Norway and the islands in the northern Norwegian archipelago. One had to try to ride alongside the
deep ruts. Many accidents are mentioned in the recorded material. Cycling was therefore concentrated to the
summer months in the countryside (ULMA 25223, Gästrikland Province).
Punctures often occurred. During longer trips it was necessary to carry a repair kit with you to fix a puncture.
It was not easy to find a repair man within a reasonable distance. One might have to walk the bicycle long
distances. Children usually had to walk their bicycles home and ask parents to fix whatever was damaged
(DAGF 1451, A woman born in 1942, Dalsland Province).
It is only recently that separate cycling roads have made cycling safer at the same time as the number of cars
has increased significantly. Cyclists have expressed anxiety about the numbers of cars that compete for space on
roads used by cyclists. One can speak of a conflict of interest. A woman, born in 1933 in Västergötland county,
who loved riding her bicycle, said that road traffic destroys much of the joy of cycling(DAGF 1518).
Unlike bicycle paths, which increased security, problems with thefts have grown significantly. This was
something that the older spokesmen had never feared earlier. A man born in 1918 in Gothenburg stated that even
during the 1950s, bicycles were never stolen even if they were left unlocked [4, p. 11]. The risk of theft ought to
have been greater earlier when there was a shortage of bikes, but according to the records this hasnt been the
case. Bicycles could be borrowed from each other. Social moral constraints emphasized the seriousness of
stealing from others.
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Picture 10 A punctured rear tyre during a summer excursion in 1940. The Nordic Museum, Stockholm.
Number 0039680.
8. Collegiality, Cooperation
To begin with, no more than one cycle existed on each farm or each family. As long as there was a shortage of
bicycles a certain collegiality existed which implied that several people could use the same bike in the same
household. Younger siblings borrowed from the older ones and in that way learned how to cycle. More than one
person could ride the cycle at the same time. Passengers could sit on the luggage carrier, the mens rod and the
handlebars of the bicycle. Even people outside the immediate family were allowed to borrow bicycles (MO 1981
No. 100, Rogaland County). This would seem to indicate generosity.
There were many instances of the fact that several cyclists could use the same bicycle on their way to and
from their jobs or on excursions. A Swedish man, born in 1904, stated that when several workers were sent to
work in the forest, they often agreed to share a bicycle. The first man rode the first distance. Then he lay the
bicycle on the roadside and continued on foot. The next man rode the next distance before he put the bike on the
roadside to be used by the man following after etc. They continued like this until they reached the working place
(DAGF 1453 Östergötland County). Similar data are characteristic of Norway both in towns and on countryside
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(MO 1981 No. 19, A man born in 1886, Buskerud County). When the father of four boys in Oslo bought a used
bike for his sons, the four brothers agreed that they would ride the bicycle a quarter of an hour before the next
one was allowed to continue. This was joy riding in the central Greenland district of Oslo. A wall clock in the
square was checked carefully by the brothers so that none of them rode more than a quarter of an hour (MO
1981 No. 53 Oslo).
Envy was expressed in contrast to collective collegiality. A young Norwegian man who had bought a new
bicycle with his own money was so happy about this that he wanted to display his vehicle to other people. He
didnt always get positive comments from the environment. One neighbour who saw the new bicycle said:
There must be an old woman chasing you, I see. The bicycle owner was very saddened by this remark (MO
1981 No. 10 Rogaland County).
9. Positive and Negative Reactions from the Surroundings
A common reaction to the new and unfamiliar velocipedes and bicycles was wonder about something totally
different from what people were used to. Earlier it had only been a matter of walking or riding the horse that
mattered. Owners of a velocipede gladly displayed their vehicles and attracted many astonished spectators. This
is mentioned among others by a woman born in 1872 in the western Swedish town of Strömstad (IFGH 5761).
From Tensta in Uppland, Sweden a spokesman told of how he stood in a crowd around 1900 and admired the
first bicycles in the parish (ULMA 19048).
When people became more accustomed to seeing a velocipede, humorous hecklings to the cyclists could
occur. A man who studied at Trondheim University in Norway acquired a velocipede to get home more easily.
His comrades called out to ask him how much higher the temperature on the high wheel was (MO 1964 No. 63,
Østfold County).
The first velocipedes and bicycles did not only attract positive attention but also led to fear, as is evidenced in
many records. Elderly people did not like the fact that the horses were frightened by the early velocipedes and
bicycles. These were the first vehicles that moved faster than horses. So the term run-away machinecould be
used (MO 1981 No. 7, A man born in 1907, Rogaland County). Bicycle wheels were compared to spinning
wheels (IFGH 6521, Halland Province). Another expression was that the bicycle was a cartwheel parable
(IFGH 4469, A man born in 1876, Bohuslän County).
In addition to horses many people were also scared. Children would run away and hide. Among the older
people the first velocipedes and bicycles could be perceived as a danger of supernatural character and be
associated with the devil. A Swedish woman, born in 1833, saw a man on a summer day in the 1880s riding a
velocipede at high speed down a hill. She was absolutely terrified and thought that the devil himself had come
rushing on the road. A few days later she was told that it was the parish blacksmith who was out on his
self-produced vehicle. That made her ashamed of her fear (ULMA 25223, Gästrikland Province). The technical
novelty of the cycle could in the folklore narratives also be considered to foretell the end of this world. A
Norwegian spokesman reported that a woman living on an island in northern Norway was so scared when she
saw a bicycle for the first time that she sat down on the roadside and exclaimed that this meant the end of the
world (MO 1964 No. 10, Nordland County).
As the first bicycles were mostly found in higher social strata or among those who had worked to save enough
money to buy a bicycle, there was, in some cases, jealousy among neighbours. It could at worst lead to damage
done to bicycles such as letting the air out of the tyres, or even worse to harming them. Some young men were
really rough on bicycles while young women could orally demonstrate their jealousy towards other young
women who had got their own bicycle (MO 1996 No. 46, A woman Østfold County).
10. Feelings of the Riders
Among cyclists the expressions of positive feelings are clearly in majority. The negative aspects are earlier
mentioned in Section 7 “Dangers of cycling”. Children showed their joy in learning to ride a bicycle. This was
thought of as a friend that gave much of fun. A woman got a big bicycle when she was six, and she could not
reach up to the bicycle seat. Nevertheless she was so happy and related: My bicycle was my best friend who
could carry me to different friends. ... I was so happy, so radiant with joy, and I placed it so that I could see it
from my window every day(DAGF 1447 Gothenburg). A woman in Stenungsund said: I was really happy
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when I could ride a bike. What a wonderful feeling of freedom it was to ride with the wind whistling in the face
and hair(DAGF 1519 Bohuslän County). In some cases, little girls took over their mothers used bicycles and
this was sometimes not seen as being positive. They longed to get a girls bicycle.
Adolescents stress the feeling of freedom they felt when being able to move faster than before and reach an
outside local community to meet other young people. This was true of both cities [4, p. 20] and rural areas. At
weekends they cycled out to dance pavilions (ULMA 26747 Uppland Province, MO 1981 No. 139 Østfold
County). Many cyclists appreciated the feeling of the wind blowing and, not least, in summer time the scents,
sights, smells, and wildlife in nature. Comparable descriptions can be found in responses from Sweden and
Norway. When young men had a bicycle and not the young women, they often could offer rides on the bar when
going to dance pavilions. Such young men described how happy they were to have a girl on the bar and to
receive a kiss as a thank after the ride. A man, born in 1932 in Lilla Edet in Västergötland Province, said: that
sense of happiness lasted until I got home(DAGF 1515).
Cycling to and from work also aroused many positive emotions. A woman from Varnhem in Västergötland
Province cycled 13 kilometres every day to and from her place of work. She said:I really enjoy it. ... I often see
hares, deer, foxes, and in the spring lots of cranes. ...You get exercise and the air is filled with birdsong(DAGF
1512). Similar thoughts have been expressed by those who made daily bicycle tours for fun and those who went
on cycling vacations both earlier and later in time. A woman whose family had a cycling holiday in 1983 stated:
The best thing about cycling is that you are so free. Now we can stay where we like it and do whatever we want.
We usually keep an eye on the map to watch for different sights and natural heritage so that we can stop and
look at them as we pass[12]. Several Swedish informants said that the joy they felt when they received or ac-
quired the first bicycle during the early 1900s was much greater than the joy they experienced later in life when
they bought a car. This is also true in Norway where there were hardly any private cars from 1940 to 1960 (MO
1981 No. 9 Aust-Agder County, MO 1981 No. 10 Oslo, MO 1996 No. 18, A man born in 1925, Østfold
County).
When the shortage of bicycles was at its height, it was important that they would be maintained, lubricated
and cleaned before being used during the summer. This indicates of the mental worth of the bicycles for the
owners. A woman born in 1933 in Gothenburg explained in detail about this procedure (DAGF 1519). It was
also important that the bicycle was kept under the roof. If not, children and young people were reprimanded by
their parents (DAGF 1451, A woman born in 1942, Dalsland Province).
Clairvoyant persons have related that they could encounter supernatural beings and deceased persons while
they were out on a bicycle ride. Modern technology has therefore not been an obstacle to the survival of older
folk beliefs. One farmer, born in 1904 on the island of Tjörn in western Sweden, belonged to a free church con-
gregation. He described several experiences of contacts with a supernatural world, especially with ghosts. He
told of how he had met the teacher he had had in his first grade class outside the school house.
I came cycling along and had just been to the chapel. A woman in a long skirt was walking along the road,
but it was impossible to catch up with her. When she got to the bend by the school house, she disappeared.
And I think that it was the teacher who was walking there. …I had been in that teachers class some months,
but then she died. When I saw her walk up the hill, she had been dead for many years. I recognized her by
the clothes she wore.
This was said to have taken place about 1920, a short while after the informant had acquired a bicycle in 1918
[13, p. 168].
The idea of the environmental benefit of cycling has begun to be discussed in the media in recent years, but
the recorded material under study has only a few details of this. Thus a woman born in 1931, who was a teacher
and who cycled to her place of work for many years, is the one person who most clearly emphasized the
environmental aspect: I feel responsible for the environment. The bicycle is a fantastic invention, it does not
pollute the air nor waste the earths resources. That is why I take the bicycle instead of the car even though I
have had a car since 1952 [4, p. 7].
11. National Aspects on the Cycling
No really significant differences concerning the innovation of cycling have been found in the neighbouring
83
A. Gustavsson
countries of Norway and Sweden. This is in contrast to the results of my earlier studies on gravestone symbols
and memorial websites on the Internet in recent times [14]. Norway lived under extremely challenging
conditions during the German occupation in the Second World War. However, in Sweden as well, the War was
clearly evident as bicycle tyres were in short supply. One difference between the countries at that time was that
riders in Sweden were not subjected to the checks carried out by the German authorities in Norway. Even after
the War ended, national differences were still apparent as Norwegians did not have private cars to any
significant degree until 1960. The bicycle therefore continued to be more important than in Sweden for
transportation and vacation tours. Another difference between the two countries is that road conditions during
the early 1900s were significantly worse in Norway than in Sweden, due to the many and steep valleys in the
western part of Norway and the isolated islands in northern Norwegian archipelago.
References
[1] Vivanco, L.V. (2013) Reconsidering the bicycle: An anthropological perspective on a new (old) thing. Routledge.
[2] Internet source. www.hf.uio.no/ikos/tjenester/kunnskap/samlinger/norsk-folkeminnesamling/
[3] Ekström, G. (1984) Svenskarna och deras velocipeder. Hudiksvall.
[4] Hultstrand, K. and Kohlrusch, B. (1986) Cykla bör man. University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg.
[5] Svensk författningssamling (1982) 673. Stockholm.
[6] Ferieloven (2009) Store norske leksikon. http://snl.no/ferieloven
[7] Hesselgren, O., et al. (1972) Semesterlagen. Stockholm.
[8] Svensk författningssamling (1977) 480. Stockholm.
[9] (1999) Gränsmöten. Ed. by Rolf Danielsson & Anders Gustavsson. Strömstad.
[10] Skåden, K. (2004) Frembringelser av Tyskland i Norge: Med utgangspunkt i arbeidet for bilsamfunnet 1936-2002.
Oslo.
[11] Gustavsson, A. (2000) Living near the Swedish-Norwegian border in the 20th century. Volkskultur und Moderne.
Europäische Ethnologie zur Jahrtausendwende, Wien.
[12] Arbetet Väst June 16, 1983.
[13] Gustavsson, A. (2012) Cultural studies on folk religion in Scandinavia. Oslo.
[14] Gustavsson, A. (2011) Cultural studies on death and dying in Scandinavia. Oslo.
84
A. Gustavsson
Unprinted Sources
Gothenburg
The Folklore Archives (DAG)
Free records
Responses and pictures on the questionnaire Bikes and bikers yesterday, today, tomorrow
Oslo
The Folklore Archives at the Department of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo
(IKOS)
Autobiographies (MO) collected in 1964, 1981 and 1996
The Norwegian Folk Museum (NFM)
Digital Museum
Stockholm
The Nordic Museum (NM)
Digital Museum
Uddevalla
The Bohuslän Museum (BM)
Photos
Uppsala
The Folklore Archives (ULMA)
Free records
www.digitaltmuseum.no
www.digitaltmuseum.se
85
... 6 En uppsats om cykling som innovation i Sverige och Norge har fram till nu 4580 nedladdningar. En annan uppsats om trosföreställningar om livet efter döden förr och nu har under 2022 nått upp till 3 962 nedladdningar (Gustavsson 2014a(Gustavsson , 2014b. 7 En av mina undersökningar avsåg alkoholkontakter över den svensknorska riksgränsen i ett historiskt perspektiv (Gustavsson 2018 Den digitala publiceringen utan kostnad för mottagarna är en stor hjälp för forskare att uppfylla universitetens tredje uppgift att nå ut till en bred allmänhet med forskningsresultaten. Universitetsforskningen finansieras till en stor del med skattemedel, och det utgör en motivering för att forskningsresultaten skall kunna nå ut till allmänheten som bidrar till att finansiera forskningen. ...
... The article on cycling as an innovation in Sweden and Norway (Gustavsson 2014a) has been downloaded 4,580 times since the time of publishing. Another article under the heading "Swedish Belief Narratives on Afterlife Earlier and Today" has been downloaded 3,962 times in 2022 (Gustavsson 2014b). ...
Article
During the last two years of Covid pandemic we have seen the issues related to digitalization, Open Access, and Open Data (meaning open access to research results and research data) become more salient. Scientists have been unable to access archives and libraries in person, or to meet colleagues and students in physical meetings in the form of seminars, conferences or congresses. Distance has become the key word. Digital contacts have become the norm that shapes the scientific working day. In this subjectively oriented article, I intend to describe and comment on the new situation scientists have to face. These comments are based on my own background as a scientist since the 1970s. Scientists need to recognize the new opportunities that are offered by the new digital tools. This became particularly important in the conditions of the sudden pandemic outbreak in the early 2020s. What can we, scientists, learn from this development?
... I chose a panel having a tangible emphasis, titled Cycling: Past, Present, and Future. My paper presented the earliest history of cycling in Norway and Sweden (Gustavsson 2014a). ...
Article
In cities throughout the world, bicycles have gained a high profile in recent years, with politicians and activists promoting initiatives like bike lanes, bikeways, bike share programs, and other social programs to get more people on bicycles. Bicycles in the city are, some would say, the wave of the future for car-choked, financially-strapped, obese, and sustainability-sensitive urban areas.
Svenskarna och deras velocipeder
  • G Ekström
Ekström, G. (1984) Svenskarna och deras velocipeder. Hudiksvall.
Store norske leksikon
  • Ferieloven
Ferieloven (2009) Store norske leksikon. http://snl.no/ferieloven
Frembringelser av Tyskland i Norge: Med utgangspunkt i arbeidet for bilsamfunnet
  • K Skåden
Skåden, K. (2004) Frembringelser av Tyskland i Norge: Med utgangspunkt i arbeidet for bilsamfunnet 1936-2002. Oslo.
Living near the Swedish-Norwegian border in the 20th century
  • A Gustavsson
Gustavsson, A. (2000) Living near the Swedish-Norwegian border in the 20th century. Volkskultur und Moderne. Europäische Ethnologie zur Jahrtausendwende, Wien.
Cultural studies on folk religion in Scandinavia
  • A Gustavsson
Gustavsson, A. (2012) Cultural studies on folk religion in Scandinavia. Oslo.
Cultural studies on death and dying in Scandinavia
  • A Gustavsson
Gustavsson, A. (2011) Cultural studies on death and dying in Scandinavia. Oslo.
Unprinted Sources Gothenburg The Folklore Archives (DAG) Free records Responses and pictures on the questionnaire "Bikes and bikers yesterday, today
  • A Gustavsson
A. Gustavsson Unprinted Sources Gothenburg The Folklore Archives (DAG) Free records Responses and pictures on the questionnaire "Bikes and bikers yesterday, today, tomorrow"