Celebrate

Happy 200th Birthday, Bicycle!

27 Comments

Today, on the excellent website treehugger, I learned that today is the 200th anniversary of the bicycle, which was invented because of an environmental crisis—a volcano that caused a famine that led to the slaughter of horses and thus the slowing of transportation. Treehugger’s article is fascinating, especially to a bike lover like me.

So happy birthday, bicycle! I have had my own Blue Beauty for twenty years. I’ve ridden it many miles and plan to ride it for many more to come. Not only is it a great way to stay in shape, but the bicycle also goes at exactly the right speed, fast enough to actually get somewhere but slow enough to smell, notice, and enjoy everything around you. (Thanks to Cheryl and Kerry for pointing this out.)

 

27 thoughts on “Happy 200th Birthday, Bicycle!”

    1. We live at the bottom of a hill, and we drive into town where there is a flatter start and finish. Cheating, I know, but there you go 😉

  3. I wish we lived somewhere a bit flatter, but the back road down into town has a gradient of 1 in 4 and the thought of it always puts me off when I start considering a bicycle. Glad to hear you get so much enjoyment out of your, though.

    1. A hilly area does make it hard to be excited about biking. I must admit, Clif and I do cheat a bit. We drive into town and park by the public beach. This means we don’t have to go up the big hill by our house, and we also don’t have to cross a major highway where the cars and trucks zip by oh so fast.

  4. My sister is the bicycle lover in our family – I did ride one briefly last year but I was alarmingly wobbly. I appreciate the link to the website – I hadn’t seen it before and there are quite a few interesting articles there.

  5. I have a bike but haven’t ridden it for years! I keep meaning to, but I have got quite nervous since getting arthritic. I have asked Richard to come out with me but I think he thinks I’ll cramp his style so it hasn’t happened yet 😀
    Happy Birthday, Bike! Happy Cycling, Laurie!

    1. I, too, have arthritis, and biking is how I get a good workout. (Swimming would be another way.) I built strength on my exercise bike, so that by June, I was ready for the road. But if you’re nervous, it might be best to find another way to exercise.

      1. I try to walk as much as possible (I don’t swim and am stupidly scared of water) but walking doesn’t use up the amount of energy I need to use to lose weight 😦

      2. Trust me, I know how hard it is to lose weight. I’ve been on various diets for 50 years. My body is very efficient in storing calories. Sigh.

    1. I know! Me, too, when I read that piece. Fun to know how bikes got their start.

  7. Happy birthday, bicycle! I have nice memories of riding with the kids, when they were toddlers, in a seat on the back of my bicycle. I still have my old Schwinn which was the first thing I bought when I graduated from college over 40 years ago. You just might have motivated me to see if I can get it rideable again.

  8. Our home is on many a bike route. It seems like insanity to me, but I guess our road is the least dangerous of all those around us . . .Anyway, we are all fans of bikers (except the dog – she hates them) and we see dozens and dozens (hundreds??) of them go by every week during the riding season. I’ll have to yell out : “Happy 200th Anniversary!!” when I see them next.

    1. Oh, if only the U.S. would embrace bike lanes the way other countries have. Much, much safer and better for both car drivers and bikers.

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