Tag: Wear

The bicycle was introduced in the 19th century in Europe by German Inventor Karl von Drais. He is credited with developing the first bicycle. He introduced it to the people in Paris in 1818. It is supposed to originate from the human-powered vehicle called Draisines. Drais invented a walking machine that would help him get around the royal gardens faster. It was known by many names, including the “velocipede,” “dandy horse,” “hobby-horse,” “draisine” and “running machine. It had no pedals and its frame was a wooden beam. It had two same-size in-line wheels with the front one steerable and mounted in a frame which was straddled. In 1839, Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith, allegedly completed construction of a pedal driven…

A few years ago I visited Amsterdam to see a close friend of mine, who is Dutch. She’s not sport-obsessed, but she cycles everywhere, as do most Amsterdam residents. She also arranged for me and my friends to have bikes while we were there – the trusty and wholly wonderful ‘omafiets’ that are so comfortable. Of course, I’d known for a long time that Amsterdam was a cycling city, regarded globally as the pinnacle of “bike-friendly”. But nothing really prepared me for experiencing it first hand. I’d been cycling in London for years without any issues, but it was an absolute joy to be cycling in a metropolis, almost entirely separate from traffic. And I’ll be honest, none of us…