A Visit to Edinburgh

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)