The first official cycling race on record took place at Hendon, England, in 1868.
Late 19th century doctors warned bicycling women that they would get "Bicycle Face"—a permanent "hard, clenched jaw and bulging eyes."
On June 27, 1894, at about 11 o'clock in the morning, a Latvian immigrant to the United States called Annie Kopchovsky set off on a 19kg women’s bicycle on from the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill, Boston. She had decided to settle a wager about whether a woman could cycle around the world. 15 months later, on September 12, 1895, Kopchovsky arrived in Chicago and collected her $10,000 prize. Kopchovsky—the first woman to cycle around the world—only learned how to ride a bike two days prior to setting off.
The first individual time trial for racing cyclists on public roads was held on a 50-mile course north of London on October 5, 1895. For many years in the UK, time trials were the main road-based cycling competitions, and remain popular today.
Fashion designer Sir Paul Smith (b July 5, 1946) wanted to be a professional racing cyclist but was forced to change tack when aged 17 he had a serious accident on his bike, while on his way to work at a clothing warehouse. Six months of recovery in hospital followed, during which Smith made friends with people from the local art college who would introduce him to the world of art and fashion.
Late 19th century doctors warned bicycling women that they would get "Bicycle Face"—a permanent "hard, clenched jaw and bulging eyes."
On June 27, 1894, at about 11 o'clock in the morning, a Latvian immigrant to the United States called Annie Kopchovsky set off on a 19kg women’s bicycle on from the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill, Boston. She had decided to settle a wager about whether a woman could cycle around the world. 15 months later, on September 12, 1895, Kopchovsky arrived in Chicago and collected her $10,000 prize. Kopchovsky—the first woman to cycle around the world—only learned how to ride a bike two days prior to setting off.
The first individual time trial for racing cyclists on public roads was held on a 50-mile course north of London on October 5, 1895. For many years in the UK, time trials were the main road-based cycling competitions, and remain popular today.
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| Bradley Wiggins at the 2012 Tour de France, riding a time trial bicycle. By Denismenchov08 -Wikipedia |
Fashion designer Sir Paul Smith (b July 5, 1946) wanted to be a professional racing cyclist but was forced to change tack when aged 17 he had a serious accident on his bike, while on his way to work at a clothing warehouse. Six months of recovery in hospital followed, during which Smith made friends with people from the local art college who would introduce him to the world of art and fashion.
Gustaf Håkansson, a Swedish cyclist, was denied entry to the 1951 Sverigeloppet race because he was considered too old at 66 years of age. However, he was determined to compete and decided to ride the entire 1,000-mile course on his own. Despite facing harsh weather conditions and other challenges along the way, Håkansson completed the race in just over two weeks and was the first person to cross the finish line. His impressive feat made headlines around the world and earned him international recognition as a talented endurance cyclist.
British female cyclist Beryl Burton set a new 12-hour time trial record of 277.25 miles in 1967 - a mark that surpassed the men’s record of the time by 0.73 miles and was not superseded by a man until 1969.
Eddy Merckx gave the bicycles he used to win the men's road race at the 1974 UCI Road World Championships to Pope Paul VI.
In 1977 Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia, a poor Indian artist, rode a second-hand bicycle for four weeks and three days from New Delhi to Gothenburg in Sweden to meet his love Charlotte Von Schedvin because he didn't have enough money. They married and have two children.
Belgian cyclist Femke Van den Driessche was discovered to have a hidden motor in her bicycle during the women's under-23 race at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. It was the first proven instance of "Mechanical Doping."
Triathlon cycles have a different frame geometry than regular road bikes not only for improved aerodynamics but also minimize the overlap of muscles that will be used in the running portion of the race. Apparently this makes triathlon bicycles extremely unpleasant to ride comparatively.
You can cycle at three times walking speed for the same expenditure of energy.
A cyclist uses one fiftieth of the oxygen of a car making the same journey.
Six percent of Americans don’t know how to ride a bike.
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