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Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 14 No.1 March 2017

HGWells & Things to Come – Bicycles!

Our local paper recently ran an article about the legendary author, and drew attention
to one of his short stories, ‘A Perfect Gentleman on Wheels” written in 1897. I naturally
assumed he had seen the Pickwickians on the road somewhere, but alas not so. It was the
story of one, Cecil Crampton who cycled from London to Brighton, following the route taken
by the first London–Brighton group ride in 1888. He became the first solo rider to do the
journey. Perhaps some of our older members remember him? Joking of course! However
there is a mystery about this feat, since it has been rumoured that Cecil took the train
from Three Bridges (near Gatwick Airport -not there in those days of course). Surely Not!

Another of his early stories was The
Wheels of Chance (1896) – he must have
known about the Pickwickians! This story
was a humorous adventure about a draper’s
apprentice Mr Hoopdriver who, like Wells,
rode all around Sussex during his 10 days
holiday, enjoying many an adventure.

Wells hailed from West Sussex, and was
an avid cyclist riding all around the
southern counties before motorcars
existed. With his second wife, Wells
wandered about Sussex on a specially
designed Humber tandem. Quite a
char act er , he helped d r af t t he
Declaration of Human Rights in 1943,
predicted aerial warfare before planes
had been designed, tanks before they
came about, and all of this in addition to
being a science fiction pioneer, womaniser,
domestic realist and supporter of the New
Woman. Sounds as if he would have been a
perfect member of the PBC.

(acknowledgment to the Horsham Gazette)