Cycling: the World of Wheels

Any day spent in one of America’s cities will be a day spent in the presence of countless cyclists. Curriers ride bicycles, as do college students and police officers and even the occasional postal worker. Some taxis are pedicabs, seats attached to bicycles and powered by the feet of young men and women.

Even tourist attractions, from Swan Boats to parade floats, are often powered by hidden bicycle-like contraptions. And this is just on the city streets of downtown urban areas. In the country, with more room and less traffic, cycling is the sport of freedom, transportation for the free spirit.

Bicycles have come a long way through history. The first bicycles introduced in 1818, push bikes and hobby horses, were powered by the rider’s feet; he or she would self-propel the wooden frame on two wheels. By the 1850s, however, the modern bicycles had been given shape, and the world of transportation would forever be changed; soldiers would even ride bicycles to war in a type of bicycle infantry.

Utility bicycles remain the most popular bicycles, as they provide added comfort and easier steering. Still, road bicycles and race bicycles are the bicycles built for speed, and remain crucial additions to the sport of cycling.

Going for Gold

Once bicycles were introduced to the world, it did not take long for the birth of the sport of cycling. These first races, littered across the globe, were dangerous and resulted in numerous injuries and death due to the poor design of early bicycles. By the 1890s, considered to be the “Golden Age of Cycling,” large races were held across Europe, the United States and Japan, on both roads and on manmade Velodrome tracks.

While in the 19th century almost every major American city hosted a cycling competition, in the 20th century, the sport has become a minority athletic event in the United States. In Europe, however, cycling remains a major sport, especially in France, Italy and Belgium, and since 1903, the Tour de France has captured the attention of the entire sporting world.

Depending on the type of race, different bicycles are used. Mountain bikes are used on rugged outdoor train and indoor dirt tracks, while track bicycles are used in Velodrome races. The Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body for the sport of cycling, sanctions almost every road race and has instituted various rules concerning the types of bicycles that can be used in the sport of cycling. For road races, bicycles must weigh more than 6.8 kilograms, and certain bicycle frame innovations are banned; only the double triangle structure is permitted.