A German baron named Karl Von Drais made the first invention of a bicycle by creating a steerable double-wheeled contraption in the year 1817. He needed to get around easier while working and came up with the idea of sitting on a platform with two wheels and propelling himself with his feet. Thanks to that, he is credited as the father of the bicycle. After its invention, it was given different names, a running machine, draisine, hobby-horse and velocipede to mention a few. However, the 19th century kept evolving the bicycle to a material we know today. Several inventors then took bold steps to develop the running machine into what we now call a bicycle. Beginning in 1860s, several French inventors including Pierre Lallement, Ernest Michaux and Pierre Michaux developed prototypes with pedals attached to the front wheel. These were the first machines to be called bicycles, but they were also called boneshakers. Trying to add in some stability, Eugène Meyer and James Starley introduced new models that sported an oversized front wheel. These oddly shaped machines became all the rage during the 1870s and helped give rise to the first bicycle clubs. Starting the journey in 1884, an Englishman named Thomas Stevens famously rode a high-wheeler bike on a journey around the globe. The rise of the automobile in America slowed the growth of the bicycle as the convenience of driving a car largely outweighed riding a bike. But in Europe, however, people were still using bicycles in races and touring around the countryside. Cyclo-touring in France helped with the invention of the modern derailleur (the variable-ratio gearing system with different sized sprockets and a mechanical system to move the chain from one gear to another) and it made countless rides enjoyable. Currently, the bicycle is an increasingly accessible form of transport that will continue to have a growing social significance.
