1884: Riding Around On A Bicycle
By Clair D. Wilcoxon

IN THE YEAR 1884, Thomas Stevens of California went on a long bicycle trip. He went around the world. It took him two years, eight months and 13 days. The popular bicycle of his day was called the "Ordinary." The front wheel was 50 inches high and the back wheel was 16 inches. The pedals were attached directly to the front wheel.

Mr. Stevens left San Francisco, California on April 22, 1884 and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on August 24. He sailed by boat to Europe. He rode his bicycle through England, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Persia, India, China, and Japan. He reached Yokohama, Japan on December 17,1886. He landed in San Francisco, Calif. on January 4, 1887. During his travels, he pedaled his bicycle for 13,500 miles.

Bicycle riding started to become popular in the United States following the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876. A businessman from Boston saw an English Ordinary bicycle. He decided to manufacture bicycles. The "ordinary" was a lighter weight, stronger and more comfortable than previous models. One of the previous models with wooden spokes earned the name "bone shaker" as it rolled along the cobblestone streets.

In 1886, James K. Starley of Coventry, England developed the modern bicycle. It had two 30-inch wheels with a chain drive to the rear wheel.

The first person to travel faster than a mile a minute on a bicycle was Charles Murphy in 1896. He followed a train with a protective wooden panel that reduced the wind resistance.

The story of students at South El Monte High School (CA) building a solar racing bicycle is at: http://tqd.advanced.org/3684