<p><br />

The students of the most prestigious<br />

Kyiv gymnasium during a cycle racing competition in the late<br />

nineteenth century (now the “Yellow building” of the Kyiv Taras<br />

Shevchenko University). The gymnasium garden serves as a cycle track.<br />

In the late nineteenth century the high society of Kyiv was really<br />

enraptured by the bicycle; besides, some new ways to use bicycles<br />

were searched for. Due to lack of hard and flat road surface and<br />

shortcomings of the first rubber wheels, bikes were not very widely<br />

used as a means of urban transport till the late nineteenth century.<br />

However, cycle races and bike trips became quite popular at that<br />

time. Cycle races gathered a lot of bike owners regularly, as well as<br />

spectators who were ready to pay for this sports show. In the<br />

picture, there are gymnasium students exercising in high-speed<br />

racing; this fact indicates that cycle racing was one of the<br />

encouraging sports in prestigious educational institutions.</p><p>Olga Martyniuk</p>