It has been written by Jerry Moos:
> high fuel taxes encouraged bicycle use in
> Europe, while inexpensive cars and fuel contributed to the long decline in
> grassroots US cycling and in the sport which had produced stars like Major
> Taylor at the end of the 19th century. One of the classic examples of the
> transformation of sport in the US by the automobile is that of Barney
> Oldfield. Most Americans know him as a famous early US auto racing driver,
> who drove Henry Ford's famous "999" prototype before WWI. Few know that
> Oldfield had already established a considerable reputation as a bicycle
> racer, but switched to autos as the motorized age dawned.
Henry Ford was provided backing by Tom Cooper, my wife Janet's great-great uncle. Tom Cooper raced against Major Taylor and went over to France and did very well there (pre Greg & Lance). He came back and spent some money with a guy named Ford, in fact the "999" was known as the Ford-Cooper in "The Automobile" articles from 1903 that Peter Nye has provided us. Barney Oldfield was a personal friend and fellow racer of Tom's, and continued racing for Ford when Tom and Henry fell out.
When Janet started riding in the late 70's, her family thought he "weird", but her great aunts told her the story. ;^)
Roy "Hey, nice bike" Drinkwater
Lititz, PA