Vigo County Historical Society

Early bicyclist, at 71, peddled 100 miles on birthday

You can’t help but admire someone who would get up at 1 a.m., go out and get on his bicycle, and then ride 100 miles. That takes stamina. You have to admire him even more when you realize he did it in 1917 when neither the roads nor the bikes offered the smoothness and speed of modern bikes. When you couple that administration with the fact the ride was made on his birthday--his 71st birthday--you realize why he deserved a trophy.

Made of silver, this loving cup was resented to J. Fred Probst on July 1, 1917. He had gotten up at that early hour, jumped on his bicycle, and ridden a 7 1/2 mile circuit, round and round, until he reached 101.9 miles. He finished a little after 10 a.m. in the morning

J. Fred Probst was an avid biker. A member of the Old Cycling Club of Terre Haute (members of that club introduced the newfangled contraption to the area), he sold bikes from his store at 1406 Wabash Ave. He dealt in the Snell, Rubby and Crown bicycles along with the Indian,Yale-California, and R-S motor cycles. He first began selling bikes in 1884.

Prior to his becoming a dealer in bicycles, Probst made and sold picture frames and moldings. He came to the United States in 1853 from Bavaria, Germany, where he was born in 1846. He arrived in Terre Haute in 1862.

The first bicycle in Terre Haute was reported to have been ridden by Charles Bauer in 1882. The first bicycle club was organized in 1884 with 11 charter members. Probst was one of those members, and it was this club that would present him with his trophy in 1917.

The bicycle those club members used was called an "ordinary." It was the type with the huge wheel in front and a small wheel in back. The rider usually perched about 6 feet off the ground and had to have some acrobatic abilities to be able to ride. "Headers," were the rider flipped over the wheel and landed on his head, were common.

The second type of bicycle to be introduced in Terre Haute was called a "Star." It had the high wheel in the back and the small wheel in front. It was propelled by levers instead of cranks attached to the wheel. It wasn’t as graceful as the ordinary, but its design prevented headers. The ordinary also was faster on smooth flat roads, but the star could out perform it on hills and rough roads.

When the machine was first introduced, the bicyclers had to fight for their rights to use the roads. In 1886 the Terre Haute Gazette said that the Vigo County Commissioners had asked the county attorney "for an opinion in regard to prohibiting bicycles from being used on the grade west of the river bridge, giving as their reason that such bicyclers are cutting up the splendid roadbed of said thoroughfare." The paper went on to note that "the commissioners had evidently never been near enough to a bicycle to ascertain that a sort rubber tire encircles each wheel. In what manner that soft rubber can cut up a hard road bed is as yet an unsolved mystery, which our worthy commissioners can probably explain best. It may just as well be claimed that one can cut plate glass with the end of their

finger . . ." Apparently the commissioners didn’t pursue the matter. Bicycles became a common sight on roadways.

The "safety" bicycle, one with matching wheels, soon made its appearance. It was so much safer it became very popular. Clubs sprang up all over the state, clubs that in turn sponsored state meets. Two of those meets were conducted in Terre Haute. One was in 1887 and one in 1897. At the 1897 meet, five of the state championships were won by two men from Terre Haute, Hal Dronberger won two and Anton Hulman won three.

In 1886 Anton Hulman, Ed Hulman, Ed Allen and J. Fred Probst made the longest one-day trip on record at that time. They went from Terre Haute to Indianapolis via Crawfordsville in one day. The distance was 190 miles. And many of those "miles" were not over good roads.

By 1908 there were over 9,000 bicycles in the city, and over 1,250,000 nationwide. Their cost at that point was only about $40; they didn’t require a stable, feeding or much maintenance. There were fun to ride; and they were good for your health.

Obviously, it did a lot of good for J. Fred Probst! He called bicycles "a very effective formula for the cure of many ills."