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History Of Bicycle Riding
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Published: August 17, 2006
The Revolving Evolution: A History of Bicycle Riding
In his autobiography It's Not About the Bike, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong praised the freedom and power the bicycle granted him during his youth in Plano, Texas.
In its more than 200-year history, the bicycle- a machine composed of two wheels, a frame and a chain- has induced social change and endowed individual freedom to its riders. Dawning with the creation of the first mechanical mode of transportation, the history of bicycle riding has become ingrained within the evolution of the modern world. It has affected the global workforce, gender equality and the cardiovascular health of millions.
Germany-born Baron Karl von Drais invented the first primitive version of the bicycle in 1817. Von Drais' invention resembled the bikes of the 21st century except for one significant aspect: no pedals. The German baron called his version of the bicycle the Walking Machine. It consisted of two wheels, a frame and a seat. While modern bicycles are composed of ultra-light metals and are aerodynamically shaped and molded together, von Drais' bicycle was made of wood.
The rider moved the bike by pushing his or her feet across the ground, causing the bike to slowly glide along surfaces. Many people did not use the Walking Machine as a reliable and valuable mode of transportation. Much of the 19th-century European population used von Drais' invention as a fashionable hobby or means for roaming local gardens.
The first bicycle with pedals did not clamor along cobblestone streets and plentiful Victorian garden paths until 1865. With its wooden frame and metal wheels, the velocipede, or boneshaker, contained pedals in front of the tires rather than in the middle of the frame. The velocipede, meaning fast foot, began the history of bicycle riding's contemporary uses. Riders took their boneshakers for journeys on academic campuses. Indoor track races also began to develop with this version of the bicycle.
After the velocipede, the 19th century saw a multitude of other bicycle adaptations, including the high-wheel bicycle. This 1870 invention contained a front wheel significantly larger than its back wheel. With pedals on the front wheel, like the Walking Machine, the high-wheel bicycle could cover more distance because of the front wheel's large diameter. With the passing of the 1800s, many other modifications and changes were made to the bicycle, altering the history of bicycle riding.
Though the public took a brief disinterest in the bicycle with the advent of the steam train and automobile, the 20th century brought a resurgence of public appeal to the bicycle. The bicycle not only helped people get to their destinations faster, but it also became a staple in the American equal rights movement of the early 20th century. Thus began a new stage in the history of bicycle riding.
Susan B. Anthony famously claimed the bicycle was pivotal in the movement to give American women more rights and liberties. In a New York World interview with Nellie Bly in 1896, Anthony said the bicycle has done more to emancipate women more than anything else in the world.
More than 100 years later, technologically-sound, light-weight bicycles have found another purpose besides basic transportation. After being diagnosed with cancer in three different areas of his body and undergoing extensive chemotherapy treatment, Lance Armstrong became famous in his unequivocal persistence and domination in the arduous Tour de France, a 21-stage race covering almost 100 miles per day. Armstrong won seven straight races and gave new meaning to the bicycle: hope.
Thanks to the cardiovascular and health benefits biking offers as well as the debilitating increase in the costs for gasoline, many citizens opt to ride bicycles instead of drive cars.
Today, there are more stylistic options to choose from than ever before in the history of bicycle riding. A rider can select a light-weight road bike with slender tires, a rugged and heavy mountain bike with tires made for gripping awkward surfaces or even a tandem bicycle where two people can ride simultaneously.
The bicycle has developed and matured into a reliable and entertaining mode of transportation. Composed of basic parts, the complex machine continues to glide across all corners of the globe. What began as a negligible hobby nearly 200 years ago, the history of bicycle riding includes strong presence in terms of social relations between men and women as well as the fight against cancer. Nevertheless, the bicycle has always maintained its function to explore not only Armstrong's hometown of Plano, Texas, but the entire world.
In his autobiography It's Not About the Bike, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong praised the freedom and power the bicycle granted him during his youth in Plano, Texas.
In its more than 200-year history, the bicycle- a machine composed of two wheels, a frame and a chain- has induced social change and endowed individual freedom to its riders. Dawning with the creation of the first mechanical mode of transportation, the history of bicycle riding has become ingrained within the evolution of the modern world. It has affected the global workforce, gender equality and the cardiovascular health of millions.
Germany-born Baron Karl von Drais invented the first primitive version of the bicycle in 1817. Von Drais' invention resembled the bikes of the 21st century except for one significant aspect: no pedals. The German baron called his version of the bicycle the Walking Machine. It consisted of two wheels, a frame and a seat. While modern bicycles are composed of ultra-light metals and are aerodynamically shaped and molded together, von Drais' bicycle was made of wood.
The rider moved the bike by pushing his or her feet across the ground, causing the bike to slowly glide along surfaces. Many people did not use the Walking Machine as a reliable and valuable mode of transportation. Much of the 19th-century European population used von Drais' invention as a fashionable hobby or means for roaming local gardens.
The first bicycle with pedals did not clamor along cobblestone streets and plentiful Victorian garden paths until 1865. With its wooden frame and metal wheels, the velocipede, or boneshaker, contained pedals in front of the tires rather than in the middle of the frame. The velocipede, meaning fast foot, began the history of bicycle riding's contemporary uses. Riders took their boneshakers for journeys on academic campuses. Indoor track races also began to develop with this version of the bicycle.
After the velocipede, the 19th century saw a multitude of other bicycle adaptations, including the high-wheel bicycle. This 1870 invention contained a front wheel significantly larger than its back wheel. With pedals on the front wheel, like the Walking Machine, the high-wheel bicycle could cover more distance because of the front wheel's large diameter. With the passing of the 1800s, many other modifications and changes were made to the bicycle, altering the history of bicycle riding.
Though the public took a brief disinterest in the bicycle with the advent of the steam train and automobile, the 20th century brought a resurgence of public appeal to the bicycle. The bicycle not only helped people get to their destinations faster, but it also became a staple in the American equal rights movement of the early 20th century. Thus began a new stage in the history of bicycle riding.
Susan B. Anthony famously claimed the bicycle was pivotal in the movement to give American women more rights and liberties. In a New York World interview with Nellie Bly in 1896, Anthony said the bicycle has done more to emancipate women more than anything else in the world.
More than 100 years later, technologically-sound, light-weight bicycles have found another purpose besides basic transportation. After being diagnosed with cancer in three different areas of his body and undergoing extensive chemotherapy treatment, Lance Armstrong became famous in his unequivocal persistence and domination in the arduous Tour de France, a 21-stage race covering almost 100 miles per day. Armstrong won seven straight races and gave new meaning to the bicycle: hope.
Thanks to the cardiovascular and health benefits biking offers as well as the debilitating increase in the costs for gasoline, many citizens opt to ride bicycles instead of drive cars.
Today, there are more stylistic options to choose from than ever before in the history of bicycle riding. A rider can select a light-weight road bike with slender tires, a rugged and heavy mountain bike with tires made for gripping awkward surfaces or even a tandem bicycle where two people can ride simultaneously.
The bicycle has developed and matured into a reliable and entertaining mode of transportation. Composed of basic parts, the complex machine continues to glide across all corners of the globe. What began as a negligible hobby nearly 200 years ago, the history of bicycle riding includes strong presence in terms of social relations between men and women as well as the fight against cancer. Nevertheless, the bicycle has always maintained its function to explore not only Armstrong's hometown of Plano, Texas, but the entire world.
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