Recently, the Star Tribune in Minnesota, printed an article about the start of the bicycle 200 years ago. I want to share with you some of the information from that writing. In 1817, Baron Karl von Drais, a German, invented a two-wheeled, human-powered device that a rider could straddle and propel by pushing on the ground with his feet. Later tweaks added pedals and cranks. Thus, the bike was born.
As early as the 1880s, bicycles were promoted as a form of exercise. Women, though, were warned away, told that cycling could injure reproductive organs. Some brave females rode anyway, especially after the development of the “safety bicycle,” with equal-sized front and rear wheels, driven by a chain.
Bicycling’s beginnings were riddled with safety challenges. Bikes were expensive and sometimes dangerous status symbols, with nicknames like “boneshakers” and “dandyhorses,” and were ridden by fashionable, well-off daredevils. Over time, better roads and bikes meant the benefits of riding on two wheels outweighed the risks. Today, we know bicycling is good for the heart, brain, muscles and bones. The term "bicycle" was coined in France in the 1860s.
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek
Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
- United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
- Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
- Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
- Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
- The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
- Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
- Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
- Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
- Some Cycling Moments From The Past
