Originally Posted by
TimothyH
Anyone with a keyboard can confirm my claim about the popularity of competitive cycling in the early 20th century.
Any number of books will give a feel for its popularity. I suggest "Road to Valor" about Gino Bartalli. It is an entertaining read even apart from cycling.
-Tim-
Listened to "Road to Valor" already, nothing about bicycling in North America at all, and it hardly indicated that the Italian or European general public was crazed about bicycle racing in the late 30's or 40's.
I find nothing on the Internet about any country where the general public , but especially in North America, has ever been crazed about the sport of bicycle racing anymore than they were about flagpole sitting or wing walking.
Now if you were talking about soccer or American style football, that might be another story
There are however some indications that perhaps 0.1% of bicyclists might be described as zealous bicycle enthusiasts who are just crazy (as in obsessed) about competitive/racing bicycling activities and its associated equipment and seem to not understand that 99.9% of bicyclists may not be so affected.