"In this little book, the writer, looking back to his own days of inexperience in cycling, has endeavored to furnish some useful information and advice to those who intend joining the army of wheelmen, or who, in their first season on the road, are beginning to appreciate the healthy pleasure which cycling brings. The book [is] especially intended to aid the amateur rider of the safety bicycle in the intelligent use of his wheel. Further, the writer has attempted, perhaps too emphatically as some may think, to commend the merits of bicycling as a means towards innocent enjoyment and healthy living." Written in 1895, one year before Henry Ford invented his first "quadricycle", this book presents an idyllic picture of cycling before the era of cars. (Summary modified from the preface)