Page 11 - PBCSeptember2014

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 11 No.2 September 2014 !11
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They had also held a few excursions and wanted to associate themselves more closely by
forming a club at which meetings could be held, as they put it in their quaint way, for ‘
social intercourse’”. Extracts from the club’s history described how in the nineteenth
century, Hackney’s streets were perilous. Riding together gave the Pickwick Club’s
members safety in numbers, helping them to avoid ‘hooligans’ who frequently attacked
the cyclists. A commemorative plaque marking the home of the club was fixed to the
former Downs Hotel building in 1996 but when the building was turned into flats years
later, it was stored ‘so carefully that no one could find it’ explains Mr Pickwick.
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Club Secretary Sergeant Buzfuz crossing
Downs Road with the Bone-shaker
Bicycle.
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(Photograph: Hackney Citizen)
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Before the unveiling of the new plaque, which was witnessed by recently appointed
Speaker of Hackney Council, Cllr Sharon Patrick, the members gave a demonstration of
their vintage bicycles. A crowd of Hackney Downs park-goers looked on as Bullman and
Mr Dumkins road their vintage bicycles on Downs Road. The aptly named Bone-shaker
bicycle from 1807 has wooden wheels with iron tyres and its sixty-pound frame was
manoeuvred skilfully by Club Secretary Sergeant Buzfuz. Bullman rode a handsome
bottle-green 1907 Dursley Pederson with a distinctive hammock-style seat.
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Hackney Speaker Cllr Sharon Patrick said: “ I was very pleased and honoured to be asked
to unveil the new plaque for the Pickwick Bicycle Club and to learn about its history as
the oldest recorded bicycling club in the world. Hackney Council has an excellent
reputation for supporting cyclists and I was delighted to meet the members and see
their historic bikes. Hackney is a biking borough and it’s good to know that our residents
enjoyed cycling in the past as much as they do today“.