Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
June 24, 2017 The Klingle Valley Trail for pedestrians and bicyclists was inaugurated in northwest Washington, D.C. Muriel Bowser, mayor of the District of Columbia, cut a ribbon to formally open the 0.7-mile (1.1-kilometer) paved path. Other public officials in attendance included Leif Dormsjo, director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Construction on the... Continue Reading →
June 5, 2003 Cardinal Greenways in east-central Indiana was designated a National Recreation Trail by U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton. This network of asphalt-paved trails encompasses 62 miles (100 kilometers) of an abandoned CSX railroad corridor between the cities of Marion and Richmond in the Hoosier State. Cardinal Greenways is Indiana’s longest span of trails for... Continue Reading →
December 16, 1895 In Australia, the second race of the now-famous one-day road bicycle classic between Melbourne and Warrnambool in the British colony of Victoria took place. (Victoria became one of the states of the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.) The first of those bicycle races had occurred just a little over 10 weeks... Continue Reading →
December 3, 2015 The first segment of a cycleway (a special path intended primarily for use by bicyclists) was opened in the city of Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island. This route, which is known as the Nelson Street Cycleway, also includes sections that can be used for both bicycling and walking. This initial portion... Continue Reading →
October 22, 1938 Professional cyclist Alfred Letourneur set a new world record during a motor-paced racing competition at a velodrome in Montlhéry, France. Motor-paced racing involves having a cyclist closely follow a motorized vehicle to gain momentum and speed from that vehicle’s slipstream, and Letourneur – while riding his bicycle behind a motorbike in Monthlhéry... Continue Reading →
August 7, 1908 In Italy, a front-page announcement in the Milan-based newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (The Sports Gazette) formally marked the start of a new chapter in the nation’s bicycling history: the inaugural multi-day bicycle race known as the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) would take the place the following year under the newspaper’s... Continue Reading →
June 28, 2013 A new bicycle sharing system was launched in Chicago. This system was named “Divvy” to highlight a key defining characteristic of bicycle sharing, namely how participating riders divide and share the use of bicycles in this type of service. The efforts to establish such a system in the Windy City began in... Continue Reading →
June 10, 2010 One of the largest urban bicycle-sharing programs in the United States was introduced in Minneapolis. The Nice Ride Minnesota system took shape through the Twin Cities Bike Share Project, an initiative that had been formed in 2008 by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation. At the... Continue Reading →
June 7, 1975 In the Boston area, the first section of the Paul Dudley White Bicycle Path along the banks of the Charles River was formally opened. Construction on the route had begun in 1971. This initial segment of the path stretched between the Boston-based Museum of Science and the city of Watertown on the north... Continue Reading →
May 20, 1899 The first known official speeding infraction in the United States involving a “horseless carriage” took place in New York City. Jacob German was driving an electric taxi for the Electric Vehicle Company when city policeman John Schuessler – riding a bicycle at the time -- caught up with him. Schuessler had observed German speeding... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 