In the Sherlock Holmes short story "The adventure of the Priory School" written by Sir Arhur Conan Doyle, whilst investigating the countryside in an abduction case, Holmes and Watson come across a bicycle track, Watson enquires on the direction the bicycle was travelling in, Holmes replies that the direction can be ascertained by and I quote "The more deeply sunk impression is, of course, the hind wheel, upon which the weight rests. You preceive several places where it has passed across and obliterated the more shallow mark of the front one. It was undoubtedly heading away from the school"

The slip-up revolves around the fact that which ever direct you travel the back tyre will always pass across and obliterate the mark of the front one