Bicycle The Definitive Visual History

The inventor was aware that people were reluctant to take both feet off firm ground, which restricted possibilities for propulsion. The biggest factor limiting the popularity of this new man–machine– road system was potential rider anxiety. It took 50 years for people to feel safe enough to put both feet on pedals, in 1864, eased by the roller-skating boom started on American rinks. Once mastered, the bicycle became the freedom machine for the young at heart. Turn-of-the-20th-century memoirs are full of happy reminiscences of increased opportunities for travel and encounters with the opposite sex. Young couples quickly learned to evade their chaperones by taking to the bicycle. And, once married, they could use a tandem for their honeymoon.