Cycle and recycle
Robert McCaffrey designs shoes. Innovative and classic shoes which rotate around one topic, one lifestyle – bicycles!
I want to concentrate in this entry on our fascination of bikes. Why do we love them?
Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century in Europe.
The "Dandy horse" or “Laufmaschine”, was the first human means of transport to use only two wheels in-line and was invented by the German Baron Karl von Drais in 1817. Its rider sat astride a wooden frame, pushing the Dandy horse with his feet and steering the front wheel.
The Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan invented the mechanically-propelled pedals in 1839. A Glaswegian newspaper reported the first bicycle accident in 1842, a "gentleman from Dumfries-shire... bestride a velocipede... of ingenious design" knocked over a little girl in Glasgow and was fined five shillings.
In 1885 Englishman J. K. Starley, J. H. Lawson and Shergold set the seat further back, added gearing and decreased the fronts wheel diameter and created the Safety bicycle, which hasn’t changed its shape significantly since then.
In 2003, more than 1 billion have been produced worldwide, twice as many as the number of automobiles that have been produced. They are the principal means of transportation in many regions.
But why are they so popular?
One of the most surprising facts about bikes is this graphic:
Vance Tucker of Duke University compared bicyclists to humans and animals running, birds flying and fish swimming, as well as to people in motor-powered cars, boats, trains and planes. The less energy per weight you use to travel over a distance, the more energy-efficient you are. It states that a person on a bike has the highest energy efficiency. A condor was traditionally seen to be on top of this ranking, while a human walking was behind a horse but before a human in a car.
This makes it the most sustainable form of transport, while being independent of finite resources like oil or gas. This gives the user a new degree of freedom. A cyclist is not restricted by infrastructure like fuel stations, environmental considerations or financial limitations.
Not needing a big starting capital to own a bike and easy and cheap repair, makes it the most cost-efficient form of transport for short distances, too.
Furthermore, it keeps the user active and fit, while intergrating the activity in the users lifestyle. Instead of scheduling in an hour to go to the gym, the way to uni, work and friends is the exercise. It is a low-impact activity, making it accessible for young and old.
Conclusion
The bicycle is an inexpensive, fast, healthy and environmentally friendly mode of transport!
You even could go as far as S.S. Wilson, who said:
“If one were to give a short prescription for dealing rationally with the world’s problems of development, transportation, health and the efficient use of resources, one could do worse than the simple formula: Cycle and recycle.”
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