The Prime, Decline, and Recalling of Rural Cycling
Bicycle Practices in 1920s' and 1930s' Finland Remembered in 1971-1972
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Author:
Tiina Männistö-Funk
Tiina Männistö-Funk
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The article studies rural cycling in Finland in the 1920s and 1930s through a folklore survey conducted in 1971-1972. Written memories enable a rare insight in the disappeared practices of bicycle use in the countryside. Comparing the role of the bicycle in the remembered time and the time of remembering, the article furthermore scrutinizes the role of historical narratives in the cultural constructions of the bicycle. Instead of demonstrating a linear, universal decline in the face of motorization, changes in bicycle use and redefinitions of the bicycle are linked to fundamental societal changes.