The Joseph H. Ferodowill bicycle repair shop, 86 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, in May 1899. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org)

Bicycling was hugely popular in the late 1890s. News of bicycle races, outings and accidents appeared in the Tribune nearly every day, along with a weekly column on the mechanics and attire of cycling.

The cause of the first accident described in this item caught my eye. Slipping on a banana peel is a staple of old-time slapstick comedy. But a bicyclist slipping on a banana peel? It’s hard to visualize.

The next day, the paper reported “a number of [bicycle] accidents in different parts of the city,” though none involved fruit remnants scattered thoughtlessly on public thoroughfares. Two men fell off their “wheels” and suffered serious head injuries. And a woman suffered unspecified injuries when she collided with a buggy and fell under a horse at Fifth Street and Nicollet Avenue. Dangerous contraptions, these “safety bicycles.”

BICYCLISTS INJURED

A Banana Peel Causes a Serious Ac-
cident to F.H. Rogers, and G.H.
Vincent Is Struck by a Street Car.

F.H. Rogers, a sign painter at 221 Nicollet avenue, was quite seriously injured yesterday while riding his wheel. He was near Fourth street on Nicollet avenue, and rode over a banana peel. The front wheel slipped and went under. The rider was thrown to the pavement, striking on his right hip. He thought nothing of the accident at the time, and returned to his shop. Here he remained for some time suffering intensely. Last evening he called a physician, and as he was unable to walk, the police took him home. He resides at 2717 Bryant avenue south.

A.H. Vincent, a switchman in the Great Northern yards, was struck by an interurban car at Fifth street and Hennepin avenue last evening, while mounting his bicycle. He was thrown to the pavement and injured his back. The police took him home to 400 Bryant avenue north.

Here’s young Percy Affleck in front of his home at 196 N. Smith Av., St. Paul, in the mid-1890s. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org)

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