Did you know that the earliest form of the bicycle had its debut 200 years ago on June 12, 2017. Invented by Karl Drais in the city of Mannheim, about 250 km from where I live. The "Draisine" or "Vélocipède" (French), or Laufmaschine (German, literally: Running machine) had wooden wheels and no pedals.
Except for the wheels, it is basically the same design as the push bikes that children learn to ride on.
Karl chose a nice flat area to do his demonstration and managed to do 14 km (8.5 miles) in one hour.
Without pedals, though this really was quite a lot of work and it did not really take off for some time.
The next leap in design came in the 1860s when pedals were attached directly to the front wheel. In order to get any efficiency without gears, you needed a really large wheel, which in turn made it quite hard to handle.
Apparently there were clubs of gentlemen who would ride these around for fun, but they were not practical enough for everyday transport.
In 1884, an Englishman invented the "bicyclette de sûreté" (Safety Bicyclette) pictured below.
With the addition of rubber tires, a chain and pedals attached to the middle of the frame, we finally arrive at something similar to a modern "fixie" bicycle (only one speed).
Note that this even has a bell and a light. It's hard to tell if the light was meant to hold a candle inside it or a lamp with a small gas reservoir).
In the 1890s, bicycles came into mass production. Apparently there were bicycle clubs in this area of Germany dating back to the turn of the 20th century - and they are still going strong.
Bicycles also began to be used in armies. Initially they were used for messaging, but eventually some countries had bicycle infantries. The bicycles below are quite literally "Swiss Army Bikes". They apparently even had some sort of foldable bikes the soldiers would carry on their backs.
With the arrival of WWI, bicycles came into the mainstream because fuel and vehicles were in short supply and this was the only way to get around.
The widespread use of bicycles also brought social change. It meant that workers could live further away from the factories where they worked. And it provided a way for women to get around, once it became acceptable for them to ride bikes (around 1900).
It was also interesting to note that during World War II, bicycles were used by resistance fighters to smuggle documents across the border from Basel, Switzerland into Weil am Rhein and Lörrach (on roads that I likely took today on my bicycle ride). They would hide the documents in the frames and inside the tires and inner tubes!
There is much to the history of the bicycle - it's replacement by the automobile in the 1950s and resurgence in the 70's due to the energy crisis and more recently for health and environmental reasons!
If you live in the Drieländereck, head over to this exhibit which is running through Sept 17, 2017 and celebrate this truly marvelous invention! (entry is €3)
