On 17 February 1869, three riders set off from Trafalgar Square in London for Brighton: John Mayall Jr, Charles Spencer and Rowley Turner. Their machines were early velocipedes, and the winter roads had not been designed with cyclists in mind. In the account compiled by Brighton & Hove Museums, Mayall was the first person to reach Brighton from London by velocipede. The route is familiar now, but at the time the journey itself tested a new way of travelling.
The successful attempt had a prelude. Mayall became interested in velocipedes after seeing them presented at a London gymnasium, then practised in city squares and parks. An earlier attempt to reach Brighton ended at Redhill after 17½ miles when he became exhausted. On the February journey he completed all 53 miles in about 12 hours. The museum’s account says he reached speeds of up to eight miles an hour on some stretches.
The story gives a sense of what a distance now considered a challenging day ride demanded in the earliest years of cycling. It was not only a challenge of endurance; it showed that the new machine could connect cities. London to Brighton later became a well-known route for organised bicycle rides. Mayall’s journey captures an earlier moment, when cycling habits, bicycle design and the experience of travelling by road were still taking shape.