In 1817 Baron von Drais invented a walking machine that would help him get around the royal gardens faster: two same-size
in-line wheels, the front one steerable, mounted in a frame which you straddled.It was made entirely of wood.
The next appearance of a two-wheeled riding machine was in 1865, when pedals were applied directly to the front wheel.
In 1870 the first all metal machine appeared. The pedals were still atttached directly to the front wheel with no freewheeling
mechanism. Solid rubber tires and the long spokes of the large front wheel provided a much smoother ride than its predecessor.
The front wheels became larger and larger as makers realized that the larger the wheel, the farther you could travel with
one rotation of the pedals.
Bicycling was so popular in the 1880s and 1890s that cyclists formed the League of American Wheelman (still in existence
and now called the League of American Bicyclists). The League lobbied for better roads, literally paving the road for the
automobile.
