See-saw Cycling

Thrills and spills on two wheels at a charity motorcycling gymkhana in Mitcham, Surrey.

Evel Knievel meets Wacky Races in this superb Topical Budget newsreel item on the London Ladies' Motor Club gymkhana at Mitcham. The fearless motorcycling men (and one or two women) show us how it's done as they tackle the giant see-saw and other death-defying stunts: proof that life is more fun on two wheels!

The year this film was shot, twin-sister motorcycling poster girls (and gold medal-winners) Nancy and Betty Debenham published 'Motorcycling for Women', a book promoting the sport's suitability for ladies. Women's motorcycling was a hot topic in the 1920s, part of the growing debate around female emancipation. The London Ladies' Motorcycle Club was a specialist club for fearless females, but, curiously, female motorcyclists in this film are few and far between.