This is wonderful! I love the depth of your insight. Holmes not wanting to appear flawed in front of Watson just rings so true. Of course, he would think that Watson was only in love with him if he appeared to be perfect all the time. As usual, Watson brings him down to earth in the nicest possible way.
I knew what a penny-farthing' bicycle was, but I had no idea about the date when the safety bicycle was invented. Good research!