| What excited me the most in the museum was the
bike displays. Like H. G. Wells, the sight of a grown man on a bicycle
gives me hope for the future of the human race. In the world of
machines evolution is alive and well. Some of the very first bicycles
had no pedals. The man, and it did take a courageous man to get on
one, used both feet to propel man and machine in much the same way that
scooters and skate boards are propelled today.
Seeing the many mutations and permutations man has produced in this field
almost gives me goose bumps, especially the three wheeler Steam Powered
Bike. It isn't that hard to imagine man going a thousand miles a day
on a bicycle tomorrow if our highways were made for biking enthusiasts. One
innovation I would like to see is lifts -- or drags might be a better word
-- to pull bikes up the steepest hills. Just latch on, and hang on until you
reach the top. Going down the other side would then have all the fun
of skiing, not to mention getting you to your destination with far less
effort.
Before cars took over the road all the garages were for bicycles.
There is a small, but very complete bicycle garage exhibit here. As
cars did take over the road your bicycle mechanic took up the trade of auto
repair. It was an easy switch because there really wasn't a great leap
of imagination to see a sibling relationship between bicycles and the early
autos. Much of what made the horseless carriages go had already been
tested on bikes.
Almost as amazing as the leaps of improvement in your basic bicycle
design was the constant improvement in seat comfort.
There's even an early model of the Harley Davidson on exhibit here.
Isn't that drive belt beautiful? What a wild leap into the future this
machine must have been back at its birth.
Then, for sheer luxury, CLICK to take a look at the BICYCLE in the
picture below. |
