In 200 Years, Bikes Have Come a Long Way
By: Tim O'Brien
Albany Times Union
April 8. 2017
The bicycle, that two-wheeled contraption children learn to ride and adults use to keep in shape, traces its origins back 200 years.
And while it makes no noise unless you put a baseball card in its spokes, its impact on the world, nation and our local communities has been profound. Especially in the last 40 years, bicyclists' push for transportation infrastructure is increasingly gaining traction.
The bicycle traces its roots to Germany, where a forest master named Karl von Drais invented what he called the running machine in 1817. The creation had no pedals and was powered, like the Flintstones' car, by the operator's feet on the roadway.
It did not take off. READ MORE