27 May 2017

Karlsruhe is celebrating its son - the inventor of the first bike

Karl Freiherr von Drais - the inventor of the first bicycle, the very first
where men sat on a wheel but had to push themselves with their own feet
like the bikes of very small children today
named for his inventor: Draisine



This was in. the year 1817 - This gentleman lived from 29 Aprl 1785 - till 1851
in Karlsruhe but also in Mannheim where he worked,
a town ca. 60 km north of Karlsruhe. 

Karlsruhe is celebrating the 200 years of bicycles for a few days 
and installed two "Big Wheels"
(as I read in my dictionary also called Ferris wheels) representing a bike.



We did not ride it - it is a long and slow affair - stopping and going
good for young people in love.

We saw wonderful  bikes exposed in the park
This one - you see the petals on the front wheel


or this with two large wheels - it could have been for elderly ladies


Wooden wheels and spokes -  The owner posed the wheels himself as a replica
and he carved the seat from wood


He has a museum near Magdeburg (Germany).
and loved to pose for my photo


Another oldfashion-dressed lady


Many people were dressed in the fashion of old times 
It must have been difficult to ride with a long skirt on




Those dressed up people were nice to see



An expert explaining things - also men had old-timer cloths on them





They are on their "walking machines"


A group from France
(Three last photos from Karlsruhe Newspaper).


There was a parade through the town with many people watching

two bikers from Indonesia, Djakarta and Java
About 20 nations took part


People watching the start of the parade - we thought they were waiting 
for something - tickets or entrance - and we came a little late to watch


A bike as high as me ...


Are you biking? We are.....







4 comments:

  1. such an interesting blog Anneleiese had no idea that bike`s had wooden wheels when first invented, must have been very uncomfortable to ride on uneven surfaces, have not ridden myself for over 30 years.

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  2. very interesting post. i love the bike with the huge front wheel. my granddad owned a bicycle shop in the 1940s so i watched my dad fix bikes many a time. i was never very good at riding a 2 wheeler and haven't had a bike since i was a teenager.

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  3. The bicycle is the best invention ever, after the wheel!

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  4. That is a very interesting post. I' m sorry I missed this event.

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