World Bicycle Day

The World Bicycle Day is celebrated on July 16th. In most countries bicycle is considered as transportation means and equal participant in traffic. It’s considered as healthy and cheap means of transportation in urban areas but it isn’t enough used in everyday traffic. Cycling doesn’t pollute the air, doesn’t make any noise and cycling half an hour per day can replace the body’s daily needs for physical activity.

Discovery of the bike isn’t related to a specific time or specific name of the inventor. The prototype was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1490. German Baron Karl von Drais is mentioned as the first bike rider who in 1817 called his pushing bike Draisienne and introduced it in Mannheim. In the mid 19th century Frenchman Ernest Michaux and his student Pierre Lallementom have developed a bike with the pedals on front big wheel. Real progress was introduction of the chain drives which was designed by Starley, Lawson and Shergold. Starley’s model of bike from 1885 is mostly considered as the first modern bicycle. Further improvement occurred in 1888 when the Scotsman John Boyd Dunlop introduced pneumatic tires. The basic concept of the bike has not significantly changed till today, except that in making bikes are used more quality material and the bikes are safer and easier to manage.