Bike to Work: Wilber and Jennie Folger of San Fernando, 1928

 On this annual Bike to Work Day, lets turn back the clock, nearly one-hundred years. It is the end of 1928, December 30th to be exact, and W. C. Temple of the Los Angeles Times begins a story as such: "Automobiles to the right of him, automobiles to the left of him and a few trucks and motorcycles thrown in, but Wilber B. Folger rides his bicycle just as he did fifty years ago. He is 76 years of age, but, as he says, 'what's a few years when the old wheel is ready to go.'"

Wilber Folger at the time he moved to San Fernando, 1898

Folger, a resident of San Fernando, so the story notes, is "one of America's few remaining adult bicycle devotees and out of that dwindling group it is doubtful if any can boast of being as earnest a "bike bug" as this San Fernando cyclist." Continuing, "Folger daily makes his appearance on the streets of San Fernando, waving at friends as he pedals along through the city traffic. Strangers would never guess that he was born before the Civil War..."

"The story of this pioneer cyclist is an interesting one. His hobby for bicycles is one that matches that of any living American, because he rode the first one built in this country. It was in 1872 that Folger mounted the first American-built bicycle and won his spurs, or rather his pedals as a wheelman... Folger became a bicycle enthusiast immediately after his ride on the first "bone-breaker. He was a resident of Grand Rapids, Mich... became one of the leaders in the bicycle clubs that were formed. He led hundreds of weekly spins into the country and... became an official in the League of American Wheelmen."

Not to be outdone, Mrs. Jennie V. Folger, wife to Wilber, "has come in for her share of honors on the wheel... Mrs. Folger was the first woman in her State to don the bloomers that came into fashion for female cyclists in 1887. For her courage, the Grand Rapids Democrat gave here two full columns..." to whit: "Today the first bloomers ever worn in public in the history of the town will flash across the local horizon on a bicycle. The brave little woman who will wear them is Mrs. Jennie V. Folger... her experience in wearing long skirts have caused her to make up her mind to adopt the new national costume and let all the narrow-minded people who will scoff at her."

mrs. Folger and her bloomers, Grand Rapids, Michigan

"One of Folger's first acts after coming to San Fernando was to build a "side path" for bicycles three miles from the town to the beautiful Olive View, where the Los Angeles County Hospital for Tuberculars is located. He immediately organized a wheel club and resumed his riding."

"Folger has watched the growth of San Fernando and the great valley which bears the same name literally from the saddle of his wheel. All during his residence in the community he never has been off the streets with his bike except for a period of two weeks, during which he recuperated from an accident which occurred when he was struck by an automobile while riding on one of the main thoroughfares of the city."

Folger officiating at a race in Grand Rapids, early 1890s