Returning to the Lightner Museum by popular demand, Riding High is a new exhibition of vintage bicycles and cycling memorabilia from the private collection of St. Augustine bicycle aficionado Keith Pariani.

Originating in Europe in the eighteenth century, the bicycle underwent decades of engineering improvements and design changes. The first popular models of the bicycle were cumbersome and dangerous for the unskilled rider. With the invention of the “safety bicycle” in the 1880s—a new design that incorporated many features seen in modern bicycles today—cycling became a safer and more accessible mode of transportation and recreation.

In the late nineteenth century, the bicycle took America by storm. Used by millions, regardless of age or gender, the bicycle was an important cultural and societal force, transforming daily habits, social behaviors, and even clothing styles.

Riding High is an ongoing, rotating exhibition that celebrates the bicycle as an object of beauty and engineering ingenuity.

Riding High is presented by the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council and the St. Johns Cultural Council.

Bicycle Academy at the Hotel Alcazar, ca. 1896

Family on a Bicycle at the City Gate, St. Augustine, ca. 1897
Collection of Keith Pariani