Karl von dreis invented the first proto bicycle in 18 17. It was a device that, as you said earlier, lacked petals. You could steer the thing after a fashion. But it was definitely the er bike, and it caused quite a sensation.
Jody Rosen is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and a bike nut who has just published a rousing (and sometimes arousing) book called “Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle.” Today, he takes us on a rollicking ride through the two-wheeled revolution, revealing the surprising ways bicycles have shaped the world in which we live.
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