Russia invented the bicycle (?)
While the invention of the velocipede in the form of Karl Drais’ laufmaschine is accepted as the first two-wheeled human propelled vehicle, the original invention of the pedal-driven bicycle is a … Continue reading
Forty Years of Australian Club Racing: The Dandenong Cycle Club, 1908-1948
Wednesday July 8, 1908, outside Garnar’s on the Cranbourne Road, Melbourne, at 3:23 p.m., and Mr R. West sets off on his bicycle as the limit man in the day’s race. … Continue reading
Mrs F. M. Cossitt: The First Woman to Ride a Bicycle in New York?
A quick web search for Mrs F. M. Cossitt brings up a number of webpages that carry the above photo together with the caption, “Mrs F. M. Cossitt, first woman to ride a … Continue reading
Cycling Shorts: Richter’s Raketenrad
Sometimes pedal power just isn’t enough, which has led to various attempts at adding extra oomph to the relatively low, if efficient, power output achieved with human muscle and chains … Continue reading
Transferable Technology: From the Bicycle to the Aeroplane and the Car
Before Orville and Wilbur Wright gained fame as the first people to make a controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight they owned and ran a bicycle repair, rental and sales … Continue reading
A History of Cycling in n+1 Objects: No 5 – The American Star Bicycle, 1881-1893(?)
Today the basic elements of John Kemp Starley’s Rover Safety Bicycle, introduced in 1885, are the standard form for bicycles but in the late Nineteenth Century the ‘safety’ was just one of … Continue reading
Bacchus on a Bicycle: Cycling Under The Influence
Punch magazine is one of the great satirical publications and its cartoons brilliantly captured details of public and private life in Britain during its long print run. I came across … Continue reading
Guns, Wheels, and Steel: Cyclists and Small Arms in the Late 19th Century
A few weeks ago Jean, who writes at Cycle Write Blog wrote an interesting piece on stereotypes of cyclists and how these perceptions ignore the fact that, like car drivers, cyclists … Continue reading
Le Tour de France: Stage 21 – Paris ITT, 1989
And so after three weeks we finally reach Paris. When I decided to write this series back in February I had several ideas for the stages I wanted to include … Continue reading
Le Tour de France: Stage 20 – Brive-Puy de Dôme, 1964
It’s one of the Le Tour’s most iconic images. Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor fighting it out shoulder to shoulder on the slopes of the Puy de Dôme during the 1964 … Continue reading
Cycling History 