The emergency of bike races in Curitiba (1895-1913): idealizing body pedagogies ^{1 2 3 3}

Abstract

Abstract: This article aims to investigate how the bicycle racing emerged in Curitiba. For this purpose, the newspapers from the period delimited between 1895 and 1913 were used as sources. The analysis of the materials indicated a relationship between the bicycle and the emerging urban ideas in the capital of Paraná in the temporality in question, as well as the need for a pedagogization of riding by bicycle because of the growing city. By way of conclusion the article points out that the presence of bicycles and races in Curitiba, at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century, contributes significantly in the formation of athletic gestures and in the education of bodies in individuals who interacted with bicycles.

Keywords
Cycling; Curitiba; Clubs; Pedagogization; Body

Resumo

O presente artigo pretende investigar como se deu a emergência das corridas de bicicleta na cidade de Curitiba. Para tanto foram utilizados como fontes os jornais da época, delimitados entre os anos de 1895 a 1913. A análise dos materiais indicou uma relação da bicicleta com o ideário urbano nascente na capital paranaense na temporalidade em questão, bem como a necessidade de uma pedagogização do andar de bicicleta em virtude do crescimento da urbe. A título de conclusão, o artigo aponta que a presença das bicicletas e das corridas em Curitiba, na virada do século XIX para o XX, contribuiu significativamente na formação de gestualidades atléticas e na educação dos corpos nos indivíduos que interagiram com tais artefatos.

Palavras-chave
Ciclismo; Curitiba; Clubes; Pedagogização; Corpo

Introduction

Even though it was not a metropolis, the demure city of Curitiba did not go unscathed to the cultural movement from Europe, especially England and France. It was the so-called modernity arriving in Brazil. The European practices, uses and costumes were incorporated – mostly unfiltered - as part of the national culture arrived, initially to bigger cities, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre. However, the capital of the state of Paraná was attuned to the novelties. After all, that is why this period is called by some historians as Curitiba’s belle époque (Benvenutti, 2004; Sêga, 2001; Trindade, 1992).

By widening our scale of observation, aiming to better understand the scenario of modernity, we agree with Vigarello and Holt (2005) when indicating that, in the modernist context of European cities, emerged a new lifestyle that valued physical exercises. Vigarello (1999) reminds us that, though many cities still keep ties with rural life, the main European urban centers started to be part of a modern project, establishing a more rational reorganization of spaces. The great works, done in Paris, under the orders of Baron Haussman, restructured the French capital and inspired Brazilian cities to follow its example (Bresciani, 1992; Pesavento, 2002; Sêga, 2001).

Vigarello (2018), when researching the French context, points out that the reordering of spaces was followed by a reorganization of the “gazes” on the city what has culminated on the creation of new ways to behave and, among those, the elements of physical culture⁵. Vigarello and Holt (2005) argue that the introduction of these ideals in the main Western cities did not have a sporting character at first. It was a gradual process, as physical exercises started to have a more competitive bias. In the beginning, such activities emerged with a new value, a different lifestyle, mainly amongst the richest- who had the time to practice them.

According to Vigarello and Holt (2005), it was in England that some of these practices started to have a more regulated form which, later, culminated in the creation of modern sport. The authors highlight that, in the whole of Europe, in the end of the 19^th century and early 20^th century, many sporting activities gained prestige. Many associations and sport clubs were created and, in this atmosphere, bicycles became a very present element in the main Western cities.

Gaboriau (1991), also in the French context, emphasizes how the bicycle overcame its eccentric and awkward origin in the early decades of the 19^th century and triumphed since the 1870s, with the invention of pedal-powered chain drives. This innovative machine marked the beginning of the Modern Era and fomented the bourgeois dream (Gaboriau, 1991; Weber, 1988). An era of speed was open to the world, in which the individual and the machine would be one and only. “Science and Sport associated in the same adventure” (Gaboriau, 1991, p. 20,). Poyer (2003) and Renaud (2016) stress that, as bicycle riding became more popular in France, there was a greater specialization of the practice, cycling gained a more ruled and competitive nature. According to Weber (1988) and Gaboriau (1991), this contributed to the appearance of the first cycling clubs, which, in the turn of the 19^th to the 20^th century, already had members from less-privileged backgrounds, such as clerks, craftsmen, and workers.

In Brazil, we also find evidences of the presence of bicycles in the urban scenery of the main cities in the end of the 19^th century. Schetino (2008), studying Rio de Janeiro, and Souza (2016) researching São Paulo, point out that the first bicycles arrived in the country with the immigrants and/or with the well-travelled elites of those cities who arrived from Europe with these novelties. This led to the creation of the first cycling clubs in the two largest Brazilian cities. Thus, Schetino (2008) and Souza (2016) show that, in the 1890s, such associations organized the first competitions in different spaces, as racecourses and the first velodromes.

In other Brazilian cities, there are also evidences of bicycles in the urban scenery. The study of Assmann et al. (2018) reports its use in Porto Alegre in the end of the 1800s. The authors date the creation of first cycling clubs to 1895 and 1896 and the building of the first velodromes in 1898 and 1899. In his doctoral thesis Moraes e Silva (2011) brings to light evidence on the presence of bicycles in Curitiba in the end of the 19^th century. The author points out that the habit of riding was common, so it was frequent to find in Curitiba’s newspapers advertisements of places that sold and fixed bicycles.

In this sense, this article aimed to answer the following question: how did bicycle racing emerge in Curitiba in the period between 1895 and 1913? Faced by this question, the general aim is to understand the first steps of cycling in Curitiba’s belle époque. The specific objectives are: a) to see the relation of bicycles with the emerging urban scenery in Curitiba in the turn of the 19^th to the 20^th century; b) highlight the educational processes kindled by the establishment of bicycle racing in the city.

The starting point of this study is 1895, when the first cycling club in Curitiba was created. We end in 1913 as sources show the weakening of bicycle racing in the city, due to the growth of other sporting activities which were more dynamic and playful, such as soccer.

Methodology

The material selected are journalistic sources related to the theme of bicycles and racing. Sevcenko (1983) argues that Brazilian newspapers, from the mid-19th century to the first two decades of the 20th, were the only way the population could access the cultural models from Europe. Through the newspaper, new ways to live and behave became visible to a great part of the Brazilian literate population.

We accessed the sources through the online interface of Biblioteca Nacional Digital, available through BNDigital (http://bndigital.bn.gov.br). From this platform, we searched in the Hemeroteca Digital (Digital Newspaper Library) delimiting the research scope to the period investigated. The collection of periodicals from Fundação Biblioteca Nacional in digital form allows advanced searches of content using keywords, time frame, and place of publication, thus it is an effective tool of data collection. The searches were not restricted only by descriptors related to bicycle and racing. We read all pages of the issue to understand the context of the period. A República, Diário da Tarde, and A Notícia were the Curitiba newspapers that presented contents related to bicycles and their racing.

The first newspaper selected was A República founded in 1886 and which circulated until 1930. The newspaper was locally important, considering it was the first republican paper of Curitiba. Corrêa (2009) highlights that the paper proposal was inspired by classical liberal thought, defending the federative republic, individual freedom and rights, attacking the government and its mistakes. However, regarding the scope of this article, the newspaper presented advertisements on bicycle racing and specific columns with the results and comments on the competitions in the city.

Another publication selected was Diário da Tarde. We selected it mainly due to its long period of circulation (1899-1940). According to Moraes e Silva and Capraro (2015), the paper was founded in 1899 and had a liberal and anticlerical leaning, approaching topics related to behaviors that could lead to a modernization of the city. Its news commonly demanded interventions from the public authorities. One of the themes in its pages was sporting practices and, therefore, we can find news on bicycles and races.

Finally, the last newspaper selected was A Notícia. As it was an independent paper, it had a brief circulation time in Curitiba, starting in 1905 until 1908. The use of this material is closely connected to the fact that the journal, in its first pages, had a space focused on sporting activities, such as bicycles and races.

Bicycle presence in Curitiba: between the metamorphoses of the city and the refinement of gestures

The consolidation of Curitiba as an important Brazilian urban center, as well as the intensification of a modern gaze on the city, behaviors, and a body education⁶ were processes that started in the mid-19^th century (Moraes e Silva, 2011; Moraes e Silva & Quitzau, 2018; Moraes e Silva et al., 2018). According to Pereira (1996), a significant part of the population partook in habits considered vicious, such as horse racing, cockfights, card games, billiard, and fandango balls. Behaviors considered immoral and that did not match the image of the city the elite wanted to portray.

Sêga (2001) highlights that, in the turn of the 20th century, Curitiba aimed to be part of the contemporary world. A part of the population wanted to acquire civilized habits, according to the models of the main Brazilian and European cities. The author points out that the intention was to integrate Curitiba in a larger civilizing project. Therefore, the need to incorporate new experiences that changed the perception of the world around. Thus, curitibanos started to live with new modern novelties. In an article celebrating the 46 years of Paraná as a separate province of São Paulo, such aspects were celebrated:

In the simple lines and few numbers that indicate the historical existence of our state, the progress is patent. Who today sees the capital: with plenty of luxurious buildings, long streets, around charming houses; who looks and observes them: the paved streets in which cars, trams, and pedestrians cross each other, the flourishing factories, the public spaces with an artistic and joyful aspect; who sees it at night: lightened by electric lights and thinks that the urban perimeter houses a population of around 30,000 souls, will understand this progress when remembering that the city was in 1812 a small village, lost amidst green fields, and proud to have under its roof the Inspectors’ families

(Diário da Tarde, April 08, 1899, p.1)

The previous excerpt shows the transformation that took place in the city in the past years. The elements of modernity were praised, while those connected to a more rustic world were frowned upon and, if possible, even forbidden by part of the press. The value of modern artifacts and the criticism towards a more rural past were also common in the pages of the newspapers:

It was published in Paris the monthly statistics, about the month of October last year, on the accidents in France caused by horses, bicycles, automobiles, and railroads. Under the responsibility of the horse there are 967 accidents, from which 82 deaths and 885 injuries; the bicycle caused 119 accidents, from which 6 deaths and 118 injuries; the automobile caused 88 accidents, from which 2 deaths and 86 injuries, railroads 145 accidents from which 8 deaths and 137 injuries. From all this, the result is that the horse, among the different means of transportation, was the one causing the greatest number of crimes against humanity. And the horse was men’s most noble conquest. It takes its revenge.

(A República, January 20, 1901, p.2)

The note, besides portraying an idealized image from Paris, shows that the horse, an important symbol of the rural world, was being left behind, as it represented a larger threat compared to the modern artifacts, such as the bicycle, cars, and trains. The news, in addition to idealize Paris as the capital of the world, highlights that the horse was surpassed by the bicycle. As reinforced by Gaboriou (1991), the horse had a different instinct from the individual, but the bicycle conversed with him/her, granting the individual the sensation of having wings. Curitiba press wanted, in a way, to produce new ways to use the bicycle in the city. Therefore, the artifact was soon considered an important instrument to develop physical culture. After all, as pointed out by Weber (1988), Gaboriou (1991), and Renaud (2016), the bicycle was an emblem of French progress in the late 19^th century and, thus, similar discourses were found in Curitiba newspapers:

In fact, without the agility of the body…without the exercises of muscles that give strength how can the spirit triumph in life, if not miserably and deplorably?...In Cultured Europe, everyone that is someone is somewhat sporty, starting by the public writers, who, before starting their daily work, do their favorite physical exercise. The old father Hugo, after his morning ablutions, joins the parlor games and, sometimes, the trapeze. Zola cycled through his neighborhood. Meterlinek was a true sportsman; D. Annunzio was an accomplished fencer [our highlight].

(Diário da Tarde, March 21, 1907, p.1)

The fragment praises the elements of physical culture and, to justify this argument, uses idealized images from Europe, indicating that important names of French letters, as Victor Hugo and Émile Zola, were contaminated by the discourse of physical culture. Weber (1988) reminds us that cycling in France in the end of the 20^th century was a symbol of material and moral progress and a way to regenerate the individual through physical exercise. The author mentions a phrase by Zola, himself, arguing that riding a bike was “a continuous learning of will, and admirable lesson on government and defense” (p. 239). In an article published in a Curitiba newspaper, there are elements that reinforce a similar valuing of bicycle riding, pointing out that exercise had become a valuable practice in the city:

We can see, with satisfaction that lately our people are starting to enjoy sporting amusements, extraordinarily characterized by the taste for bicycles that has been granting so many services to the physical education of our youngsters. Nowadays, we can see many muscular, sturdy young men, with healthy and joyful colors. This tendency towards the bicycles that is popularizing day by day, gives us the consoling hope that, soon, there will arise, amidst an anemic population, a beautiful and vigorous generation. Regrettably some young men will still lose their health, intelligence, and even their own youth in the endless gambling houses that infest the capital, others – fortunately in great numbers – focus themselves on athletic games, sporting amusements that have the great advantage to combine pleasure with usefulness.

(A República, 1901, November 28,1901, p. 1)

Two points called our attention in the article. The first is the criticism towards betting. Vigarello (1999) highlights that betting received endless criticisms in the European context in the 19t^h century, as it assembled bodies in a series of moral debauchery and bad habits that could hinder health. Game would lead to drinking and this would lead society to disorder, violence, and degeneracy. In the wake of arguments presented by the French historian, we can see the second particularity in the article, its content values bike riding as an important tool for corporal strengthening. Considered morally useful, these practices, as highlighted by Vigarello (1999, 2018), could activate and protect body health, as they were great allies to the hygiene and health of the bodies, a key characteristic for the urban project under consolidation in the main Western cities.

Though bike use was exalted, traces of problems related to its presence in the streets of Curitiba were also reported by the press: “By orders of Mayor Cicero Gonçalves Marques, it is strictly forbidden to ride a bicycle in the internal streets of Passeio Público” (O Município, 03/12/1898, p. 3). The city order did not seem to have effect as, in 1901, similar news were published: “Several people complain against the abuse of some cyclists to speedily ride in the alleys of passeio público, thus risking their [walkers] lives. We call the attention of those who commit this absurd” (Diário da Tarde, 10/04/1901, p. 2).

Sources denounce that certain individuals committed imprudence when using their bicycles. Some cyclists used it in an uncivilized fashion, as they rode recklessly in the lanes of the main municipal park, risking the safety of regular users. However, such behaviors also took place in city spaces: “Saturday night, when riding on the 15 Street in a bicycle a young man named José Barbosa Mendes, a commerce worker, was run over by another cyclist in the different direction, as a result he fell and was seriously injured in the face” (Diário da Tarde, November 16, 1901, p. 2). After some years, we still found some notes on incidents caused by cyclists:

The city hall must forbid cyclists from riding on the sidewalks of General Ozorio square. The day before yesterday I witnessed an unfortunate event. On the occasion, a man carrying his son in his arm was almost run over by a cyclist passing by and that could have led to unpleasant consequences.

(A Notícia, March 15, 1907, p. 1)

The sources reproduced here show a double facet. While pointing out that some individuals did not have the proper education to ride a bike in the city space, the newspaper articles also end up being an important pedagogical tool. Local press intended to produce new ways to behave in the urban space. Through the discourses presented in the papers, they emphasized ways to use the city (Benvenutti, 2004) and also educate the bodies of the population (Moraes e Silva, 2011; Moraes e Silva & Quitzau, 2018; Moraes e Silva et al., 2018). After all, there was the need to approach the behaviors of individuals, as these could risk the well-being and health of the population.

Gradually these actions intensified and new prescriptions and organizations were established in the city. The newspapers even published that the municipal legislative bodies were increasingly concerned with how individuals behaved, a concern also connected to the way they used their bikes:

We believe that the positions of the municipal chamber determine that any type of vehicle must turn on the lights at night, on the streets of the city, therefore, we call the attention of the interested parts to cease the abuse of some cyclists riding their bicycles at dark and in full speed, at night, causing great harm to pedestrians

(Diário da Tarde, April 19, 1904, p. 2)

The news gives us evidence that some cyclists were circulating without their lights and fast. About this we can approximate our analysis to the one of Gaboriau (1991) in the French context. To this author, the young student and/or artist became a famous cyclist for his exaggerated speed that, in turn, scared the pedestrian. Such pursuit for speed and excitement, also a modern element, has another facet, as it endangers the physical integrity of pedestrians. Here, once again, there is a lack of elements considered civilized, as these cyclists used bikes without the posture demanded by modernity.

Trying to solve such problems, Curitiba city hall created some control measure: “Next January, taxes will be collected, in the respective municipal section, on the assessment of weights and measurements, registration, and license of vehicles, including bicycles and automobiles” (A República, December 23, 1904, p. 2). Such concerns on the circulation of bikes, as pointed out by Weber (1988), also take place in France in the last decade of the 19^th century when the government started to consider obligatory honks and lights.

Faced by these issues, we can make an important reflection, considering that having a bicycle was not accessible to low-income classes in Curitiba in the beginning of the 20^th century.^7.The artifact in this period was restricted to the upper classes, as can be seen in a note published in 1906: ‘Practical life: In a school: Teacher – Which of you, boys, can tell me what is the most difficult thing a cyclist can have? Boys, answering together – The bicycle” (A Notícia, April 25, 1906, p. 1). We could perceive that the first cycling practitioners and enthusiasts in Curitiba were the sons of families with the financial means to import a bicycle.

Though bikes were restricted to few, there was the need to implement pedagogical actions for its correct use. Soon, a physical structure needed to be built, as the physical space was a key element to consolidate an institutional dispositive that would establish the discourse of physical education in Curitiba (Moraes e Silva, 2011). As the city did not have a velodrome, such as in Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, spaces for cyclists were demanded: “Several cycling amateurs will ask to the competent power the central part of Carlos Gomes square, to use in bicycle tournaments and similar” (A República, August 24, 1906, p. 2).

The lack of spaces to different elements of physical culture, as cycling, was a reality in Curitiba in the early 20th century (Moraes e Silva, 2011). Local newspapers demanded from the government the creation of spaces with this end, as they believed that a civilized body education could only take place in specific spaces:

The works to level the Republica square continue in great activity, and soon the meanderings of this space which hindered it will disappear. We have heard the City Hall intends to plant trees in the square, following the project to beautify the city. We do not agree with this measure. Our main squares are almost all gardened, with a great advantage to the hygiene and aesthetic of Curitiba; the trees on Republica square, besides being unnecessary will disable that excellent space that, if improved, will be an enviable bicycle track and other sort of sports…The simple leveling of the square, thus, imposes itself and, if taken to fruition, will contribute to grant us a beautiful and useful public space and a magnificent field for the movement of the bodies [our highlight]

(Diário da Tarde, March 21, 1907, p. 1)

The tension portrayed by the paper shows that bicycle use with more sporting characteristics was a reality in Curitiba in the first decade of the 20^th century. It is, then, known that cyclists needed an adequate space for their athletic activities. However, a more elaborate improvement of the actions involving the practice were only possible thanks to the role developed by sporting associations. Therefore, some entities were key to produce these new types of behavior. Sporting clubs were, as pointed out by Weber (1988) and Vigarello (1999) when analyzing the French context, a meeting place for people with the same education. A meeting locus of “peers”, a space they would gather to enjoy the pleasures of physical culture. Curitiba followed the French precept.

The role of sport associations in the dissemination of cycling in Curitiba

Moraes e Silva (2011), when analyzing Curitiba’s context, indicates that a part of the local youth had their “civilized” body education in sporting associations. In Curitiba, these associations were idealized by young people from families already established in the city, as well as the immigrant youth, especially German, as pointed out by the studies of Capraro (2002) and Moraes e Silva (2011). The aim was to connect the associations with the immigrants, intensifying activities considered to be civilized, i.e., helping to build a physical culture. After all, there was a series of German-origin entities that diffused practices, such as gymnastics, shooting and sports in city, but there was the need for a broad incorporation to make these practices part of a national culture (Moraes e Silva, 2011; Moraes e Silva & Capraro, 2015).

In the case of cycling, there is a similar movement as the one signalized by Capraro (2002) and Moraes e Silva (2011) about clubs in general. Vechia (2002) found evidences of the creation of a club in 1895 organized by German-origin young people, the Radfahrer-Club, translated as Cyclist Club, which aimed to offer bicycle expeditions, make picnics, and promote social gatherings:

RADAFAHRER CLUB – Yesterday, this honorable association held a parade to Piraquara. Were present 16 cyclists and 3 young ladies, members of the club, the travelers left at 8 o’clock in the morning, arriving at Piraquara, through S. José dos Pinhais, at 3 o’clock. The return way was by train as the female cyclists were fatigued

(Diário da Tarde, September 25, 1905, p. 1)

Besides bike rides and picnics, the association promoted some bicycles races, as it was no longer enough to go to the outskirts of the city, they needed to promote competitions, compare performances, and distribute prices:

RADAFAHRER CLUB⁸ – This hardworking sporting society will hold a bicycle tournament, on the current 26. The distance to travel will be from this city to Xaxim, that is, 22 kilometers. There will be two prizes: the first winner will receive a silver cup, the second a rich thermometer. In the afternoon, the club will hold a great picnic in Portão.

(Diário da Tarde, March 18, 1905, p. 1)

As presented, the Germanic association developed activities related to cycling, but it was not the only one. Another group was Club de Cyclistas Curitybano, an organization created within an important institution, the Associação Curytibana dos Empregados no Commercio. The new cycling club began to organize bycicle races in the first years of the 20^th century: “We have received from the Associação C. Dos Empregados no commercio an invitation to a party to celebrate its foundation on the 8^th of this month, there will be a bicycle ride at noon in Prado, a solemn event, and a ball in its social club” (Diário da Tarde, December 03, 1901, p.2).

Races became a reality. However, as the city did not have a velodrome, competitions were held in the racecourse:

The distinguished young men who started yesterday in Prado Paranaense the extremely interesting bicycle races deserve our warm salutations. This sort of sport is generally disseminated in all civilized capitals. The competition was not big, due maybe to the fact that the beautiful and humanitarian amusement was not widely divulged. We are certain, however, that other races will attract a much higher number of people, who will be interested in the elegant and useful parties…The winners were acclaimed by the public, the races finished at 4 in the afternoon, always under a great enthusiasm. The profit from the entrance tickets and races were reverted in favor of Hospital de Caridade, which is thus recognizant of all the gratitude of those notable young men who had the joyful idea of introducing such beautiful amusement to out costumes. In the future, those parties will be considerably festive, as the good news of the first experience will run quick brought by those who had the good fortune to watch it.

(Diário da Tarde, September 23, 1901, p. 2)

The news praises the implementation of bike racing, indicating that these competitions were an amusement worthy of a modern city. To answer to this end, such gatherings were gradually improved, presenting new itineraries and attracting a greater number of spectators:

Yesterday an open competition took place, in the racetrack of Jockey Club, the races of Club de Cyclistas Curitybano. At 11 in the morning, preceded by a music band in a special tram, they paraded on the streets 15 de Novembro, Matto Grosso, Aquidaban, and S. José towards the Prado, the members of the club in uniform for the races…During the races, an excellent music from the 6th brigade played.

(Diário da Tarde, November 04, 1901, p. 2)

Another point to be mentioned refers to the non-participation of other clubs in the first races. Though Germanic associations were invited, for some reason, they did not take part in the new association. We could find in the papers some notes that suggest that the atmosphere was not friendly between the cycling associations:

The bicycle rides promoted by the distinguished young men employed in the commerce were splendid…All those who had the good luck to watch them, left the Prado, pleasantly impressed. In front of a considerable number of spectators 4 races were bravely disputed… the winners received warm applause which blended with the accords of the excellent musical band of brothers Puglielli. At 3 and a half, the magnificent fun ended, it was particularly happy as the spectators, when leaving, did not give signs of tiredness, as normally happens in the races of Jockey Club Paranaense that normally end in the evening. We were informed that the Radfahrer Club was not part of the program, they refused to take part at the last minute. [Our highlight]

(A República, September 23, 1901, p. 1)

The news corroborates the points raised by Moraes e Silva (2011) indicating that Curitiba’s racetrack was an important space to develop different elements of physical culture. Besides horse racing, the space was key to disseminate shooting, running, bike races, and soccer. Capraro (2002) highlights that the racetrack was controlled by local elite, thus we can infer its use was natural for the young people connected to the commercial association. This may have been one of the main reasons that led the Germanic associations to not participate in the first events organized by the new cycling club.

However, gradually the races organized by the Club de Ciclystas started to gain prominence and raise the interest of young people from the German clubs⁹. To move forward with their participation, the members of different associations started to gather to organize the competitions together:

The Associação Curytibana dos Empregados do Commercio invited the direction of Club Gymanstico Teuto Brasileiro and Radfahrer Club, as well as cyclists in general, to a meeting next Sunday, to deal with the organization of a cycling championship (10,000 meters) in 1907.

(A República, 27/11/1906, p. 2)

Therefore, competitions started to have racers from different associations and a more detailed itinerary was organized:

Great bicycle races, Sunday, in the current 13 at 1 in the afternoon sharp, in Prado Paranaense, organized by the Associação Curitybana dos Empregados no Commercio. ...The cyclists from Radafahrer Club and Gymnastica are asked to have the finesse of arriving at 11 and a half in the morning at the building of Associação Curitybana dos Empregados no Commercio, to leave from there all together [our highlight].

(A Notícia, May 12, 1906, p. 4)

The article shows the participation of German clubs in the races organized by the young people from the commercial association. We can say that an atmosphere of rivalry, though cordial and civilized, started among the members of different associations. A 1906 article indicates, between the lines, this peaceful rivalry:

As a sign of happiness of the victories in the last bicycle races earned by the members of the distinguished German-Brazilian sporting society Turnverein, it decided to offer this current Saturday, 19, in the ample rooms of theater Hauer, a great ball to the Associação dos E. no Commercio and the nice Radafahrer Club.

(A Notícia, May 17, 1906, p. 1)

The source indicates that Turnverein was the winner in one of the competitions. This was an entity of German origin found in the 19^th century (Moraes e Silva, 2011). To celebrate its triumph over the Clube de Ciclismo and the Radafahrer Club the Germanic association organized a ball and invited the other clubs.

Another point we must highlight in this article is the technical improvement of cycling competitions, which started to have programs meticulously created by commissions, the presence of judges, and inspectors. There were different distances and running became part of the cycling gatherings promoted in the racetrack. The competitions organized by Clube Ciclístico were so successful that, when other associations organized their races, the Clube had to distance itself:

The Direction board of Club Cyclista Curitybano has the honor to inform to the respectable public, that the bicycle races held in the current 4 at the Jockey Club, were not under the auspices of this Club…the direction has the duty to inform this to the public considering certain irregularities committed in these races, of which it cannot and should not be responsible.

(Diário da Tarde, May 07, 1902, p. 2)

The distinction project aimed by the association was broader, as it, probably, wanted to be the regulating body of bike racing in Curitiba. To reach such goal, the association tried to be attuned with European, especially French, cycling values:

Great Prize – CRITERIUM RESISTENCE. Next July there will be the competition <<CRITERIUM RESISTENCE>> IN FIFTY THOUSAND METERS, the inscription is free to all cyclists from Paraná. The winner, besides the prize, will receive the title of 50 thousand meter champion, the second and third place will also receive prizes. N.B. - O Club Cyclista Curitybano having asked the affiliation to the UNIÃO VELOCIPEDICA INTERNACIONAL in PARIS, the titles handed will be valuable in any velodrome recognized by the UNIÃO.

(Diário da Tarde, February 1, 1902, p. 4)

The news shows that young members tried to follow the discourses circulating in the main cities of the world. The source also points out that the typical characteristics of modern sports, such as distances, prizes, and connection with regulating bodies were elements sought by the association. After all, as indicated by Vigarello (2018) in the French context, the establishment of rules, distances, and prizes were important steps to consolidate the diverse elements of physical culture. Aspects that were also seen in the cycling gatherings held in the first decades of the 20^th century in Curitiba. Issues that did not go unnoticed by the Curitiba press:

Yesterday in Prado do Jockey Club Paranaense, there were great races in the Club Cyclistas Curitybano. The competition was quite regular, in the grandstands and other dependencies, the movement of the people was intense…The races were extremely exciting. In the first race, the 800 meters, the winner was Mr. João Seiller. ... In the second race, 1,000 meters, the winner was Mr. Alvaro Franklin. ... Fearing the rain could end with the party, the greatest attraction of the party, the race of 12 cyclists, was changed in the program, in 3rd place there was the great championship of 15,000 meters. In fact, this race raised great enthusiasm among sportsmen that were divided into races… The starting signal given, the 12 cyclists started under the people’s ovation. It was not longer, however, for a fight to be established among Mr. Albano Gaesley, Gustavo Berndt, and Oreste Codega, who were quite far from the others. In the 9th lap, this cyclist fell, then the fight was between Mr. Gaesley and Gustavo Berndt. The enthusiasm grew with the last lap of the race. But it was not long before Brendt moved forward, receiving the victorious applause for the winner. Gaesley arrived in 2nd place. A round of applause and warm cheers erupted to welcome the winner of the championship to whom was placed a green and red ribbon with golden letters, where we could read <To the winner of the 1902 championship>. ... The triumph of Mr. Berndt was a surprise to all, as he was sick for 3 weeks, the reason why he considered not joining the race…The three German bicycles that reached 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the great championship were from the famous brand Adler.

(Diário da Tarde, January 27, 1902, p. 1)

Distances and participants’ performance were points highlighted, even the brand of the bike, giving individuals the condition to pursue such athletic exploits, as indicated in the news. However, another element gained prominence in the cycling gatherings: the time figure. Vigarello (2018) points out that this figure was a new way to keep track of the exercise time, a way to compare duration, to understand velocity, and to value speed. The author argues that this velocity imposed its own show. After all, the clock to the cyclist became a new type of compass, a point of reference for the gestures, as bodies were now raptured by speed and acceleration.

In this context, speed was highly valued, turning the clock into a central tool. Timing was key to consolidate cycling as a modern sport as, according to Gaboriau (1991), time keeping gave it a mathematical precision. Through this numeric precision the notion of record¹⁰ was systematized. Vigarello (2018) highlights that such questions allowed the creation of a pedagogy that instilled performance with a rate of corporal improvement. Traces that were also found in Curitiba newspapers:

The first race – 1,500 meters – was competed by Vicente Rebello, Antonio Borges Moura, Alvaro Franklin, and Lindemann, the latter was the winner with a great advantage over his competitors. The 2nd race had Mr. Francisco Miguel Guemant, Alfredo Labsch, Joannino Sabatella, and João Carnasciali, who was very distant from his competitors in the distance of 1,609 meterss. 3rd race, 1,500 meters, competed by Bernardo Mainster, Clodoaldo Werneck, Manoel Liberto Rocha, and Geniplo Pedroso D’Almeida. The first was the winner. The race that stirred most enthusiasm was the last, competing Manoel Whiters, Joannino Sabatella, Antonio R. de Almeida, and Gustavo Marques Tupinambá. The favorite was Mr. Whiters, there was a great movement in the races and the bets around his name. The distance of 2,000 meters was won in 4 minutes, the competitors fought equally to a great extension. Mr. Rocha who was winning fell when he was almost winning, his place was taken by Mr. Sabatella, quite distant from Mr. Almeida and Whiters. The second place was up to Mr. Tupinambá [our highlight].

(Diário da Tarde, September 23, 1901, p. 2)

The scenario was set to hold competitions in the format considered modern. After all, the events took place in an elite institution and had the participation of different associations, there were parades and bands played pleasant music to the spectators that followed a program of different races, with different distances, whose speed was meticulously measured by a clock:

At midday, in a special tram and with the respective banner, arrived at the Jockey Club several members of the Associação Ciclystica dos Empregados no Commercio, who were received by the respectable Radfahrer Club, in a line of 25 bicycles and also with their respective banner. A bit later, arrived the Sociedade Gymnastica Teuto-Brasileira with its banner. Under the sound of the musical band of 14 cavalry and the grandstand full of people – the races started at 1 o’clock…1st race 1,500 meters ... Time 4 minutes and 25 seconds ... 2nd race 2,000 meters. ...Time 4 minutes and 25 seconds ... 3rd race, running on foot, 500 meters. ... Time 1 minute 25 seconds ... 4th. race, 6,000 meters. It was the most sensational one because of an aggressive fight among the cyclists. Alfredo Müller (Saturno) and Arthur Hauer (Anker). The first started in the lead, in the first lap, lostthe place to Anker who won by a small difference…Time 13 minutes and 45 seconds…5th race 9,000 meters…Time 21 minutes and 10 seconds.

(A Notícia, May 14, 1906, p. 1)

However, as indicated by Capraro (2002) and Moraes e Silva (2011), bike racing started to share the racetrack with other elements of physical culture. One of the activities offered in these gatherings, soccer, started to gain prominence over the others and became the main attraction on the racetrack events. Therefore, other modalities, including bike racing, became side attractions to soccer matches:

The grandstands were completely filled by ladies and young ladies and the areas around the pavilion, where more than a thousand gentlemen anxiously crossed each other until the moment of the great match. At midday, the first trams arrived with the teams that would start the fight and many guests, starting at the time, the affluence of the people in party, affluence that was notable until late. Following the program, there were running races, the winner of the 1^st race Edmundo Hey Junior. In the second running, on foot, 200 meters, the winner was Brasilio Scheka. In the third bicycle race, 1,500 meters, the first place was Erotides Calberg, and the 2^nd E. Hauer. The fourth race, 4,500 meters, was run only by Vicente Pinheiro, Pedro Cunha, A. Weigert, and Erotides Calberg. It was then the time for the match, anxiously waited. The MATCH. The floor, very humid, and with a soft land, was heavy and dangerous, however, fighters were enthusiastic when the formation sign was given by the referee Mr. Wilson. The field inauguration was done by a commission of ladies, composed of Misses Elly Franck, Martha Koch, Margarida Hey, and Adelaide Glaser, who reached the central mast of the green and white pavilion of Coritiba Foot Ball Club, the social hymn was played in the occasion.

(Diário da Tarde, June 13, 1910, p. 1)

The source indicated that bike racing was losing its centrality in the news, as the focus was now on soccer matches. We can notice that sporting associations encouraged its members to be interested in other practices (Moraes e Silva, 2011), similarly Weber (1988) pointed out that cycling clubs allowed the development of other sporting practices in the French context.

Capraro (2002), when researching the emergence of soccer in Curitiba, states that, since 1909, many clubs were created in the city. In 1913, a discussion started to create a league to regulate soccer practice, as it was extremely disorganized up till then, leading to many problems. We should note that the meetings to systematize the league took place in the commercial association space, a fact that makes us question if the group of young people, previously interested in cycling, became interested to engage more closely in soccer, an attention that culminated on the creation of the league in 1915.

Final remarks

Though bicycle racing took place in Curitiba based on similar models from the main Western urban centers, its emergence had specific characteristics. The lack of a velodrome in the city, built only in 1979, which existed in Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, forced the competitions to take place in the racetrack.

The insertion of physical culture elements in Curitiba was part of an urbanization process that started in the end of the 19^th century. Therefore, among the several feats and technological artifacts that emerged in the city, there are also traces of bicycle presence, which directly contributed to the establishment of new gestures and the valuing of pedagogical elements related to the correct way to use it, as well as the many forms to have a better race performance.

It is also worth mentioning the Strong relation between cycling and youth, mainly Brazilian youngsters from families established in the city for some generations and the immigrant ones, especially German. These were the people that introduced the bike to the urban scenery of Curitiba, creating cycling clubs and organizing the first competitions which started to attract the press and part of the local population. Something that, even in the first decade of the 20^th century, has greatly helped to create a sporting mentality that, in the following decade around soccer, would reach another level of organization and value, with more delimited bureaucratic and regulatory elements.

Finally, we point out that the establishment of physical culture has contributed to establish a whole body pedagogy in Curitiba. After all, nobody escapes from the gaze advocated by the process of education in modernity. In this space named city, the bodies and gestures were educated by a more technical logic, and the bicycle and its competitions were part of this history.

• 2
  Portuguese review, formatting, and preparation: Vera Lúcia F. Gouvêa Bonilha, [e-mail]
• 3
  The work received the the support of Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Funding code 001
• 3
  English version: Viviane Ramos- [e-mail]
• 5
  Physical culture is a concept used by Kirk (1999) to refer to a set of practices towards the maintenance, representation, and regulation of the body, represented by three coded and institutionalized practices: sport, recreation, and exercises. Moraes e Silva and Quitzau (2018), when using the concept in historiographic research in Brazil, divide the concept into sports, amusement (in Portuguese divertimentos, in a broader sense than recreation), and gymnastics.
• 6
  Soares (2014) states that the notion of body education is characterized by the progressive repression of corporal manifestations. According to the author, educating the body is making it adequate for social coexistence. It also refers to the process of inserting it in learning processes that aim to uncover and erase a rebellious nature, bringing to light a pacified nature. This concept allows the writing of a history of education or, even, a history of multiple embarrassments, as, it is inscribed in the body a slow, intense, meticulous, and obstinate work of embarrassments.
• 7
  Weber (1988) and Gaboriau (1991) indicate that during a long period in France, riding a bike was an amusement reserved to the upper classes. However, still in the 19^th century, the artifact was more popular and became a common practice in the French context.
• 8
  As previously mentioned, the German word Radfahrer means cyclist. In this sense, the spelling used in the newspaper may be a way to make the word “more Portuguese” or even a mistake when using a term in a different language.
• 9
  Though the first bike races in Curitiba were a masculine space, aer excellence, we found some evidence of women riding bicycles in the city in the beginning of the 20^th century. Some women races were even organized in the racetrack. However, these were sporadic events and women were basically spectators in this scenario. Even though the limits of this article do not explore this issue, we highlight the need for further studies in the Curitiba context about the moment in which women started to take part in the world of bicycles.
• 10
  Guttmann (2004) points out that the search for records was one of the elements that significantly contributed to consolidate modern sport.

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Edited by

1

Responsible editor: Carmen Lúcia Soares. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4347-1924

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  28 Mar 2022
• Date of issue
  2022

History

• Received
  21 Sept 2019
• Reviewed
  09 Nov 2019
• Accepted
  30 Apr 2020