“…there are two sorts of cyclist, the romantic one and the matter-of-fact one. The romantic cyclist admires the color, the delicacy of the wheels and frame, the feel of the saddle. He carries no map, no compass, no watch, delighting in the wind on his face and the pleasures of the countryside. The practical cyclist studies gear ratios, tubing lengths…map distances. Nevertheless, these opposing attitudes are bounded by the bicycle itself which is a combination of mechanical, visual, and experiential factors. It is a model of “human” technology, with its beauty and utility. And both the romantic and matter-of-fact cyclist are, so to speak, common sense aesthetes.”

– Robert Poole, “Bloomsbury and Bicycles”
ELH, Vol. 56, No. 4, (Winter, 1989), pp. 951-966