The departure of Schuyler Colfax to Washington, D. Grant was not the only big news story in South Bend in early Joseph Valley Register, described the dramatic arrival of a promising new invention:.
Its destination was Notre Dame, where it will, no doubt, become quite a favorite with the exercise-loving students. This bicycle, as we would call it today, was an pound affair composed of a solid iron frame, a suspended leather saddle, handlebars and two wooden carriage wheels, the front one boasting the all-important pedals.
The man who engineered this curious acquisition was none other than Rev. In the autumn of , after presiding over the bucolic oasis for nearly a quarter century — during which time the student population had ballooned to almost — he had returned to his homeland for a prolonged visit.
He was also determined to set up an exchange program with Notre Dame de Ste. Shortly after his arrival, while strolling the streets of Paris, he heard a frightening rumble.
Wheeling around, he saw a man flash by, straddling a curious contraption. I must have one for Notre Dame. So let us have the velocipedes. They were not, however, fast in coming to the United States. On December 10, , Sorin wrote to his students to signal that a prized specimen was on its way to them.
