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
Are you biking? We are.....
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 ...
