The Pullman rail strike of 1894 basically shut down rail transit, and thus the delivery of mail, for almost the entire nation - mail could get into Fresno. but there was no connection to Oakland or San Francisco. Arthur C. Banta, the Fresno agent for Victor bicycles, came up with an ingenious solution to ensure mail delivery between San Francisco and Fresno - a relay of cyclists between the two cities. Special stamps and cancels were issued, and the mail was delivered in loads between the two cities. The stamps are commonly found in sheets of 6, or as individual stamps, though they were also applied as imprints to postpaid envelopes (these are quite substantially rarer). The messenger service ran from 07-18 July 1894, and delivered somewhere around 400 letters, though more than that number of stamps exist. Initial batches of the stamp were printed with the mispelling "San Fransisco", which was corrected, along with some slight changes in the artwork, in a second issue.
First version of the stamp, with the "San Fransisco" misspelling.
Second and final version of the stamp, with the corrected die.
preprinted postal envelope with stamp imprint.
Mail was collected at Banta's Victor Cyclery in Fresno, and delivered to the Overman Wheel Co., Victor agent in San Francisco (and vice versa). The distance, approximately 210 miles, was covered by 8 relays, riding distances of from 15 to 30 miles per leg - the Menlo Park - San Francisco leg being the most difficult, as it required the rider to immediately pick up mail bound for Fresno, and return to Menlo Park - a distance of 60 miles without rest. There were 8 primary riders, and 5 substiitutes, and the route took approximately 18 hours to cover. Runs were made on a daily basis. Cost of the service was $0.25 per letter, and it is recorded that besides letters and cards, packages were also delivered between stops on the relay - everything from legal documents to false teeth and undershirts.
Map of the full route from Fresno to San Francisco.
The last run of the bicycle mail route (outside of letters delivered purely for purposes of philately) was actually made by a single rider, after several of the relay riders were called up for duty defending trains from the striking railroad workers (the ARU Pullman rail strike being one of the most violent in labor history). The rider covered the distance in just under 2 days, which is pretty respectable, considering that the standard bicycle of the day would have been a fixed gear road machine with something near a 2:1 gear ratio.
Victor Cyclery cancellation stamped on the back of envelopes sent via the bicycle mail.
Preprinted Victor Cyclery envelope with the bicycle mail stamp.
On May 1, 1935, commemorative postal covers with stamps made from the voided original stamp dies were carried over the route in a bicycle race held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the bicycle mail route.
Some other examples of bicycle mail stamps
Information largely taken from Lowell B. Cooper's excellent book Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail Route Of 1894, which, though out of print, is an excellent reference if you can track down a copy.