All Hail the Bicycle in June

In April 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 3rd. as International World Bicycle Day.  It was designated as a special day to be enjoyed by all people.  It recognizes the "uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transport". It was founded by Professor Leszek Sibilski, a Polish social scientist working in the United States. He led a grassroots campaign with his sociology class to promote this day by getting support from Turkmenistan and 56 other countries.  The bicycle is considered a symbol of human progress and advancement that "promotes tolerance, mutual understanding, and respect and facilitates social inclusion and a culture of peace."  It is a "symbol of sustainable transport and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production and has a positive impact on climate". 

The bicycle has a very complicated past filled with controversy and misinformation.  Baron Karl von Drais in France is credited with inventing the "Hobby" or "Dandy Horse" in 1817.  It is considered a forerunner of the bicycle.  It was a two-wheeled vehicle with both wheels in a line and propelled by the rider pushing along the ground with their feet as in regular walking or running. The front wheel and handlebar were hinged to allow steering.  It was quite the precarious ride as the wheels were made of wood and there were very few proper paved roads for this machine.  Thus, the name "Boneshaker" was very appropriate. Also trying to maintain one's balance while coasting down a hill was another issue not to mention slowing down or stopping without brakes!  The only brakes were your heels!  So it was really limited to level roads. Drais patented his Laufmaschine (running machine) in France in February 1818. In English, it was known as a velocipede. 

Pierre Michaux is considered one of the fathers of the bicycle, as he was the first to fit the front wheel with pedals in1861. In 1862 Michaux produced 142 boneshakers each weighing 110 pounds and consisted of a wooden frame mounted with a set of compression-spoked, iron-rimmed wooden wheels.  Unfortunately, he managed to enrage one of his employees, Pierre Lallement.  Lallement immigrated to the United States where he teamed up with James Carroll in Boston and produced his own rendition of the boneshaker.  On November 20, 1866, the pair received the first patent ever issued for a pedal-driven bicycle.  In an 1883 interview, Lallement claimed to have conceived the idea of a pedal-driven bicycle in 1862, a year after Michaux had introduced the boneshaker, thus confirming the priority of his former employer. In1867 Michaux introduced a redesigned version of the boneshaker, making the front wheel larger than the back wheel.  He replaced the wooden frame with a wrought-iron one which reduced the weight to 59 pounds and added a leaf-spring saddle, lever shoe brakes, solid rubber tires, and an adjustable crank length.  He displayed this model, also known as a penny-farthing, at the World Exhibition in Paris, resulting in mushrooming orders including one from Napoleon III!  However, there was a real problem with this bicycle. If the rider needed to stop suddenly, momentum carried the entire contraption over the front wheel and landed the rider on his head! According to the IBF (International Bicycle Fund), this is where the term "taking a header" came into being.  Something some of us did as youngsters learning to ride a 2-wheeler without training wheels and propelled by Dad's hefty push!

In 1867, Rene and Aime Olivier and Michaux began marketing their velocipede with pedals. However, design disagreements and financial matters caused the company that they founded to eventually dissolve.  Michaux unsuccessfully sued the Oliviers and lost a countersuit as well.  He died in poverty in 1883.  The Olivier-owned Compagnie Parisienne lived on.

In the 1870s an English inventor named John Kemp Starley came up with the winning idea for a "safety bicycle".  He introduced the "Ariel" cycle and the tangent-spoke wheel with a tension-absorbing front wheel that helped make bike riding a somewhat comfortable activity.  Then in 1885, he introduced the "Rover", with its nearly equal-sized wheels, center pivot steering, and differential gears that operated with a chain drive.  It was extremely stable and the first highly practical version of the bicycle.  According to the National Museum of History, an estimated 200,000 bicycles were in use in 1889 and 1 million in 1899. Today, it is estimated there are somewhere around 1 billion in existence in the world.  364,000 bicycles are produced daily in China, India, the E.U., Taiwan, and Japan responsible for 87% of the global production.  47,670 bikes are being sold daily...that's every two seconds someone will buy a bike!  Every 19th person in the world buys a bike each year.  The production numbers for bicycles are 2.5x higher than for cars.  And the choices are mind-boggling!

So, get out there and buy yourself a bike!  Cycling is an aerobic activity that is good for curing heart disease.  It is beneficial for the heart, muscles, and lungs and helpful for overall body workout. It increases muscle strength and flexibility, especially that of arms and legs, and reduces stress and tension.  Strong bones and leg muscles can be achieved by cycling as it helps in burning body fats thus reducing obesity.

We would like to share our capture of the ultimate use of the bicycle.  This was taken in Delhi, India as we made our way through the city.  It is named "Incognito Biker".  We had to turn to the left, so we never got to see the biker's face. He had to really think about the placement of his wares.  Maintaining a safe distance from other drivers, bikers and objects were critical!  This would not be my idea of a stress-reducing bike ride!

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