[BITList] Cyclist Frederick Thomas Bidlake

[John Feltham]

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Bidlake,  Frederick Thomas  (1867-1933), cyclist and journalist, was born at 318 Essex Road, Islington, London, on 13 March 1867, the only son of John Purdue Bidlake (1817-1906), a graduate of London University who taught private pupils, and his wife, Phebe West, nee Sharman (1827/8-1899). In 1883, at a time when cycle use was becoming particularly popular, he rented a tricycle and displayed so much enthusiasm that an aunt promised to buy him a machine of his own if he succeeded in his university matriculation examinations. He pursued both his sport and his studies with diligence, passing the London University matriculation from Petherton School, Highbury, in 1884, and graduated BA in 1886 at the age of nineteen. For some years he followed his father's occupation as a private tutor, but soon became a prominent cycling journalist, having joined Cycling magazine at its foundation in 1891.

In 1887 Bidlake joined the North Road cycling club and between 1889 and 1895 broke more than 100 tricycle records, holding the 50 mile, 100 mile, 12 hour, and 24 hour records on the track, and the road. His most notable achievement took place in 1893 at the Cuca cup race at Herne Hill velodrome, where he came second overall on his tricycle to another great record breaker, Frank Shorland, on a bicycle, setting the as yet unbeaten record for the longest distance tricycled (410 miles/660 km) in twenty-four hours.

While Bidlake was involved in record breaking on both track and road, road racing was facing considerable opposition. Cyclists were thought to pose risks to other road users, and the number and speed of competitors involved in 'massed start' or 'bunched' racing was considered especially dangerous. Public pressure led to race cancellations and police interference, and cyclists could be issued with citations for 'riding to the common danger' or 'furious riding'. On 21 July 1894 Bidlake was involved in an accident that almost put an end to cycle racing on British roads. He was leading a race when a horse panicked, forcing him and two other cyclists off the road. Although there were no serious injuries the driver's complaint resulted in the police demanding an immediate cessation of racing. The sport's governing body, the National Cycle Union, complied with this, and limited competitions to tracks and private roads. Bidlake, however, was committed to the alternative solution of unpaced, or time trial racing, in which individual competitors raced against the clock, setting off individually at intervals according to a handicap system. As they rode alone, originally clad entirely in black, it was hard to tell that they were racing. He nurtured this through the North Road cycling club, which eventually seceded from the National Cycle Union over the issue, and was instrumental in bringing the road clubs over to the new system. The first major race of this kind took place in October 1894.

Bidlake married, at Peterborough on 29 October 1895, Fanny (1874-1962), daughter of Frank George Buckle, registrar of births and deaths. They had a daughter. By then Bidlake was established as a cycling journalist. His contribution to cycling was not limited to its competitive levels. He campaigned on a range of safety and legislative issues, and served as an advisory expert to the Ministry of Transport. He used his writing to argue against cycle taxation and licensing proposals, for promoting safety and greater provision for cyclists, and to share his immense knowledge of cycling practice. During the 1890s he emphasized the need for a workable definition of amateurism in a sport where, as he complained, there was much sham amateurism and veiled professionalism. He encouraged female cyclists but was dismissive of the rational dress movement, and argued that women should restrict themselves to utility and leisure cycling:

The stylish, clever lady stops short of being a scorcher, but if women's races were to be organized, the participants would have to run to their limit, or else make a mockery of racing. And that limit is not pleasant to contemplate. Somebody else can paint the picture of the speed woman, dishevelled, grimy, and graceless. (Cycling, 25 July 1912)

From 1889 Bidlake was a timekeeper for races and record attempts, and he developed a reputation that made him much in demand for motorcycle, boat, and air, as well as cycling, races. By 1922 cycle time trials in Britain were sufficiently established to require a new governing body. On 27 June 1922 he called a meeting of all clubs involved in the sport, and the Road Racing Council was formed, with Bidlake as its first president. The rules he helped put in place reflected the sport's clandestine origins. There was a recommended limit of 100 competitors, who would undertake events 'alone and unassisted'. As well as strict rules about timing, starting intervals, and 'inconspicuous costume', there was a ban on the publicizing and reporting of race start times, locations, and routes, and on advertising and product testimonials by riders  (Road Racing Council rule pamphlet, c.1928). Although time trials had taken place before the mid-1890s his intervention marked the point when they became ubiquitous. Massed start racing disappeared almost entirely until after the Second World War, although it remained popular in other countries; time trials came to hold a place of unique importance in British cycling.

Bidlake was hailed as 'the father of road sport' when, on 21 January 1933 at the Royal Albert Hall, he signed the Golden Book of Cycling, a compendium of cycling's heroes. A testimonial fund was arranged to celebrate his cycling jubilee, and he planned to retire from journalism and move to Devon later that year. On 27 August, he was knocked off his bicycle by a car. He did not appear to be seriously injured, and made his own way to his home at 10 Park Way, Golders Green. He continued to produce material for the Cycling magazine column he had written since 1911 and to correspond with his friends for about a week, but gradually began to display symptoms which were interpreted as a nervous breakdown, or delayed shock. He died in Camberwell House asylum on 17 September 1933, and was cremated at Golders Green. At the time of his death Bidlake was president of the North Road cycling club and the Road Records Association, and vice-president of the Cyclist's Touring Club. The planned testimonial fund was reinvented as a memorial fund, and the F. T. Bidlake memorial plaque has been awarded annually since 1934 for 'the most outstanding performance or contribution to the betterment of cycling in all spheres'.

Laura Dawkins 

Sources  F. T. Bidlake, Cycling (1896); rev. edn (1898) + Cycling (25 July 1912); (8 Nov 1926); (8 Sept 1933); (22 Sept 1933); (29 Sept 1933); (11 Nov 1954) + C. T. C. Gazette (Oct 1933), 327-8 + B. Thompson, Alpaca to skin suit: 50 years of time trialling (1988) + C. Messenger, Ride and be damned (1998) + Roberts papers, U. Warwick Mod. RC, National Cycle Archive, MSS 328/N7/1119 + Road Racing Council rule pamphlet, c.1928, U. Warwick Mod. RC, National Cycle Archive, MSS 328/N.10/G/B/2/2 + The golden book of cycling, www.thepedalclub.org/archives/goldenbook/f-j/FredBidlake.html,  accessed on 30 Sept 2011 + www.randonneurs.bc.ca/history/photo-pages/an-alternative-form-of-long-distance-cycling_shortland-bidlake.html,  accessed on 30 Sept 2011 + www.bidlakememorial.org.uk,  accessed on 30 Sept 2011 + London University registers + census returns, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 + b. cert. + m. cert. + d. cert.
Archives U. Warwick Mod. RC, National Cycle Archive, Roberts papers, MSS 328/N7/1119
Likenesses  portrait, c.1890, Mary Evans Picture Library · photographs, 1893-5, U. Warwick Mod. RC, National Cycle Archive, Roberts papers, MSS 328/N7/1119 [see illus.] · drawing, repro. in www.bidlakememorial.org.uk · photograph, repro. in www.bidlakememorial.org.uk · photograph, repro. in www.randonneurs.bc.ca/history/photo-pages/an-alternative-form-of-long-distance-cycling_shortland-bidlake.html · photographs, repro. in C. T. C. Gazette (Oct 1933) · photographs, repro. in Cycling (1926-54) · plaque, repro. in www.bidlakememorial.org.uk
Wealth at death  £12,977: probate, 28 Oct 1933, CGPLA Eng. & Wales



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