I know this article isn’t actually based at Portland, thought it was a large naval base during the Victorian era and men from the torpedo services frequently set up camp on the military area of the Nothe ridge to hone their skills down in Portland harbour.
So maybe they brought along with them a couple of their bikes…Weymouth certainly had their fair share of cycling clubs at that time.
Above show a group of Weymouth cycling enthusiasts, to read more about their exploits and pitfalls check out this link https://susanhogben.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/victorian-weymouth-bicycle-club/ )
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Article below taken from The Navy & Army Illustrated of 1899.
There are few modern innovations in the life of a sailor so deserving of encouragement as the recreation of cycling. Lack of accommodation is the chief reason for the bicycle not having made greater headway in the sea-going ships, since only large cruisers like the “Poweful” can afford the space required to stow a large number of machines. In most sea-going ships it may be said that only the heads of departments can find necessary space. this need not discourage the enthusiast. The writer can recollect the time when a midshipman was not allowed to take anything beyond his chest, and what he could store in it, to sea with him. it was time also when such innovations as a smoking-room was unheard of.
This has all been changed during the last ten years, and the writer is sanguine enough to dream of a good time coming when every mid will take a “bike” as being almost as indispensable as his dirk.
(Officers of the Vernon Cycling Club)
The advantages are great. Apart from the healthy exercise which it confers in the short intervals off duty, the machines are available for messages to postal and telegraphic offices, etc,. and so facilitate the work of the Service. There is scarcely a place in the world where civilisation has penetrated that the bicycle cannot be used. Even the precipitous rock of Hong Kong will soon be encircled by a level road. to the officers the features of the land become familiar over long stretches of coast, and who can tell when the knowledge may not be useful.
Just as St Vincent lamented that in the days where he was Captain Jervis he had not done a little more sounding round Brest, so Naval officers may regret some day that the bicycle was not more at their disposal to learn the features of the coast, where extensive coastal operations against railways and telegraphs are undertaken in some future war.
In the great central depots, the bicycle has become firmly established through the medium of bicycling clubs, of which the “Vernon” Cycling Club is typical. As the torpedo-school of the Navy, and having much to do with mechanism, it is not surprising to find that occasionally some of the members have excellent machines of their own make. It is also gratifying to find the members winning prizes at the annual cycling carnivals held at Portsmouth.
(Torpedo-Instructor Bargery of the Vernon Cycling Club)
It is interesting to note how many of the rules of the “Vernon” Cycling Club are derived from habits of the Naval life. In the club runs the speed is regulated by the slowest rider, just as the speed off the fleet is the speed of the slowest ships. The unwritten law that a ship should not go into port before its admiral, or a junior officer pass a senior officer in a boat, has its paralleling the rule that no member is to ride past the captain without permission. Intervals between bicycles during the run are carefully regulated, and orders are signalled by whistles just as is now done in torpedo-boats during manoeuvre.
Besides the crew of the “Vernon” the club is open for membership to all torpedo ratings of the Navy. The uniform of the club is a Navy serge blue suit of Norfolk jacket, knickers and cap, with blue stockings and a distinctive silver badge.
Now that the Channel Fleet has returned, the annual competitions will be held, and we shall be able to see what progress has been made since last year, when it did well with only thirty-seven members. It might be worth while to consider, in connection with these sports, whether a small exhibition might be held of cycles and fittings for Naval and Military purposes. If a good folding bicycle was the outcome of such a step, the exhibition would have conferred a lasting benefit on the Services. In any case, makers would have the opportunity of learning something as to what are Service requirements, and whether they are likely to be best attained with front or read drivers, chain or chain-less machines.
One thing is certain, and that is, the inventor who comes along with an electric motor-cycle will find a skilled audience in the members of the “Vernon” cycling Club, whose electrical training enable them to detect any flaws, or should we say “leaks.” With the placing of a good folding machine on the market, most of the objections to the presence of bicycles on board ship would disappear, and accommodation would be easily found for their passage in boats to and from ship. We commend the idea of furthering these matters to the energetic staffs of the “Vernon” and Whale Island cycling clubs as practical sailors having the interests alike of the Navy and cycling at heart.
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If you are looking for 19th century military or naval images including those that go alongside this article, check out my portfolio at https://www.istockphoto.com/gb/portfolio/cannasue?sort=best
NOTHE FORT AND BEYOND... 