A Little Bicycle History

Civil War Bike?

Actually the first non-chain, non-pedal bicycle was called a Dandy Horse was invented by Baron Karl Von Drais in Mannheim in the summer of 1817. This bike in the photo which I took at our Civil War Muster today is a forerunner of the velocipede as it has a crank with pedals on the front tire. These bikes were made in the early 1860s, so I guess this man is period correct.Notice the wooden spokes as the wire spokes on bike tires did not emerge until around 1869. Even this man had to *Ride for Safety* as to avoid hitting these modern visitors. -Jimio :-]

Touring Season is Upon Us

Bike Tourers Ride past Bucky Harris Park in Jackson MI

I passed these hardy riders a few days ago and wondered where they all found the time to go on a long tour. Either they were all on vacation from work at the same time or are between jobs. For me to do this would require getting a much lighter bike and some nice tools and equipment purchases. I suppose the Easy Tourer would rent hotel rooms but the Dedicated Tourer must camp out every night. I wonder if the real hard-core tourers even catch all their own food. Now that would be self-sustaining efficiency. At least in a big pack, you can help each other when problems arise. Don't think its a good idea to tour alone, 300 miles from home ,without a phone [batteries died]. Just be sure to ride along the safest roads you can and wear reflective clothing and have bike lights. If its foggy out, don't ride. If its raining hard, don't ride. Even go out of your way to bypass a busy road. We want you back in one piece to ride again! This is Jimio saying *Ride for Fun* *Ride for Health* and *Ride Safely and Responsibly*

Local Bicycle Shop

The mechanic and the owner of "On 2 Wheels"

Skills going back to the 1870s

There is nothing like your local bicycle shop. You can go in and talk bikes, browse for your next pedaling beauty, and learn about getting into bicycle racing, touring,mountain biking or BMX dirt racing. These guys, who have been around for 23 year are located on a wonderful brick building on a spacious corner lot with plenty of room for bikes and equipment. The Owner had a cat called "Campy", a great name :-] This is Jimio saying *Ride for Fun* *Ride Safe* and *Ride to your local Bike Shop and see what they have to offer*