A Century of Sports With a History of Cycling

The bicycle is mankind's favorite vehicle. It's used universally across the world with nearly 1.4 billion bicycles in active use. Developed in Europe during the nineteenth century, it has been the most popular vehicle for travel for over a hundred years. It doesn't require gasoline or other fuel, and it has far superior maneuvering capabilities over motorized vehicles. People can take them over almost any type of terrain, and they are fit for both climbing hills and taking a leisurely ride through the park. Learn about all of this and more in the history of cycling.

In the Beginning

The history of cycling is quite extensive. A variety of technological advancements during the eighteenth century allowed for a human powered vehicle to become a viable alternative to the horse for quick travel. During the 1880s, bicycles really took off, and they quickly became popular throughout Europe and later the United States. However, people quickly learned to use them in a variety of manners. In a commercial sense, postal companies used them to quickly traverse both the countryside and city streets. For recreational purposes, people toured beautiful parks and serene country roads, taking in a wide stretch of land quickly and more easily than by walking. Racing, exercising, and even military usage became common in the early twentieth century, but the history of cycling really became interesting as it became more and more popular.

In the history of cycling, bicycle racing became one of the most popular sports with the advent and mainstream acceptance of television. Beginning in the seventies and continuing through today, bicycle races as depicted in films and lengthy races such as the Tour de France have been broadcast worldwide with levels of popularity reaching football (soccer in the United States). People from around the world participate in cycling, and it's a sport that anyone can easily pick up, although very few people do train hard enough to become a world champion in it.

Finally in the history of cycling, it is useful to mention how bicycles themselves have been innovated to fill a wide variety of uses and needs. Mountain bikes are perfect for going cross country and on non-paved surfaces such as dirt pathways. Racing bikes tend to be more lightweight with much thinner tires so they have the least amount of drag (and consequently can travel the fastest on roads out of any bicycle). Standard road bikes are useful for everyday riding on roads, as the name implies. With so many events and innovations, the history of cycling stretches far beyond the outline presented here.