A week in Scotland’s capital city provided a few nice
surprises on the biking front. First is
Edinburgh’s commitment to creating a pro-cycling culture through abundant
biking infrastructure, a new bike share program, and supportive marketing. It was impressive to see automated ‘cyclist
counters’ on a major bikeway near the University of Edinburgh campus. The total number of passing cyclists for the
year was impressive, averaging over 1200 cyclists per day.
(A useful metric)
The second surprise was multiple displays of cycling-related
history at the National Museum of Scotland.
The earliest precursor to the bicycle, the Hobby Horse, was displayed
next to a McCall Velocipede in the Science and Technology Gallery. The former moved ‘Fred Flintstone’ style
(i.e., pushing and stopping by foot), while the later was a treadle-driven
machine. Both were limited by an inability
to steer. Having recently walked many of
Edinburgh’s Old Town streets, they would not travel far before needing to stop!
(Hobby Horse, owned by Earl of Eglinton in Ayrshire, c1820)
(McCall Velocipede, invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan of
Kilmarnock, Scotland, 1871)
My smooth Compass tires have Scotland to thank for their origination
and development. The first pneumatic bike
tire was invented by Robert Thompson of Stonehaven, Scotland in 1845. In the following decade John Boyd Dunlop took
Thompson’s invention and adapted it to bicycles, capturing a global market
during widespread adoption of the ‘Safety Bicycle’.
(Dunlop bicycle tire on display)
(The Cyclists Touring Club, est. 1878)
Finally, in the Scottish Sport Hero’s Gallery, I came upon
Graeme Obree’s time trial bicycle, Old Faithful. This was the bike Obree used to break the
world one-hour record in the early 1990s.
I was struck by the size of the chainring and the fastening system used
for his shoes (single bolt through a modified sole).
(Old Faithful. More
about the bike – and it’s amazing rider – here)
