Top 10 Origins of Cycling Sports I want to Remind You

Posted by tan xiao yan on

Nowadays, cycling is more and more popular, becoming a fashion. And there is an increasingly hot number of people attend it. But do you really know about cycling? How many origins of riding you have learned? Here are top 10 origins of cycling I want to remind you.

1.Origin of Bicycle

It is well recognized that where there is no bicycle, there is no cycling. No bike, no cycling. The bike is an indispensable part of cycling. But do you know who invented the bike? When did bicycle appear?

Can you imagine that the first bike was made by a comet? In 1790, French Comte de Sivrace invented the first bike. It was made from wood. And it was a really simple one without start-up driver and steering gear. Consequently, only by foot-power, users can move it up. If you wanted to change direction, you had no choice but to stop to do it. Simple and crude as it was, it received an excellent response at that time.



2.Original Country

Having bikes, cycling appeared subsequently. From history, it was said that riding derived from Europe. And cycling acting as a sport officially began on May 31, 1868, France. It began with a 1,200-meter race which was held in St Cloud Park, France. And its starting point was the fountains while the terminal point was the entrance of Saint-Cloud Park (near Paris). The champion of the race was an 18-year-old expatriate Englishman, who was from Pairs and called Jame Moore.

3.Original Equipment

As we all, know, much equipment consists of cycling, such as a tire, brake, wheel, gear and so on. Here, I would like to introduce the first rubber tires and inflatable tire.

In 1869, rubber tires were first introduced for bicycles. That innovation was a spacious milestone in cycling development. And it contributed to bikes' production and sale very much.

As for inflatable or pneumatic tires, it was said that it was invented by John Boyd Dunlop. But hid original purpose was not so great. He just wanted to develop inflatable tires for his son's bicycle. But much to his surprise, the tires arouse brilliant enthusiasm. It received great reception and was put into mass production, hitting the market.



4.Original Clothes

We know that, with safety appearing, cycling became available. But before long, people were racing and most cycling clothing was wool-made. This kind of clothing was just like a saggy sack, soaking up water fully and drying quickly. Scratchy as it was, it was more comfortable than cotton.

The first outstanding innovation occurred in the 1840s. An Italian tailor, Armando Castelli, turned clothing manufacture and developed silk jerseys. What Castelli did can help racers ride faster and farther. The silk jersey practiced not only functional values but aesthetic values. It was light and cool. Besides, taking ink turned users mobile advertisements, which was a side-benefit. And it proved to be constructive to the progress of professional cycling.

5.Original Races

With cycling developing rapidly, it had a plenty of types of races, including BMX race, road race, mountain race, city-to-city race and so on. But do you know when did the first race happen? Let me tell you some information.

The first road race (1869)

According to the information above, we know that rubber tires were developed in 1869. Rubber tires' appearance has changed the development and market of bikes a lot. At the same year, the first official bicycle road race came out. The competition was a journey from Pairs to Rouen. And it had a distance about 113km. Do you remember the name Jame Moore, which appeared in the front of the passage? Yeah, he was the winner of the first road race. Amazing!

The first city-to-city race (1869)

The first city-to-city cycling race was held on November 7, 1869. Its route was also from Paris to Rouen. After riding about 135km or 84 miles, what shocked us much should be that Jame Moore was the champion again. In order to finish the journey, Moore used 10 hours 25 minutes in total, including the time he spent in walking his bicycle up the steeper hills.



The first BMX race (1956)

Regarded as a mimicking of motocross, BMX originated from the time motocross stunts copies' appearing. At that time, children were fond of using bikes to duplicate the motocross stunts. In short, BMX stemmed from that phenomenon. So what was BMX race? Racers would perform a series of stunts, tricks, and jumps during the race or in freestyle. And the first BMX race was organized in the year of 1956. It was so new and attractive at that time, so many people took part in it. But what was a pity is that BMX race had stopped for a period of time. Not until 70's, the race did catch on.

6.Original Olympics

Cycling was spread wider and wider and got much attention from all over the world. As riding arouse more and more influence, some people would call on to add cycling into Olympics. Out of the concept, we can see cycling appearing in the Olympics Games now.

From the historical record, 1896 was a grand year for cycling development. What was that? In 1896, it marked the first time that competitive cycling showed up in the Olympics Games.

In that Olympics Games, there were several races, including track cycling, 10,000-meter race, 100,000-meter race, road race and 12-hour race. Indeed, there were only two people competing in the 12-hour race. As for the result of the Olympics, Greece got the gold medal in the road race while France was championed for 10-km and 100-km races. And Austria took the first prize of the 12-hour race.



At the Olympics Games in 1896, cycling events were little. There was no mountain biking. Until 1996, the Atlanta Summer Olympics, mountain cycling was the first time to be introduced. Besides, at the Olympics, both women's cross country and the men's received great success.

For the women's race, the woman Paula Pezzo from Italy was the winner. Canadian Alison Sydor got the silver medal followed by Susan DeMattei from the USA.

In the men's, the gold, silver and bronze medals went to Netherlands' Bart Brentjens, Switzerland's' Thomas Frischknecht and Miguel Martinez from France respectively.

7.Original Biking Around the World

Bike act as a simple and environmental-friendly traffic tool. Some adventurous cyclists choose to travel around the world with a bicycle. Do you believe it? But I must say that it existed truly.

Biking around the world 1

The first world travel by bike was created by American immigrant Thomas Stevens. He only used the Penny-Farthing bicycle to make it. Are you shocked at it? He started his tour in San Francisco, on April 22, 1884. After more than three years, he returned back in the same place. What Steven had done contributed to the establishment of the Raleigh Cycling, which was a milestone in bicycle history.

Biking around the world 2

The second time of that success was created by a woman, Annie Londondery. Having accepted a wager, she started her tour in Boston. And she was asked to do it under 15 months. The purpose of the wager was to confirm whether women were able to complete it. At last, Annie showed the strong power of women, being a remarked symbol in history.



Biking around the world 3

The third time touring around the globe could describe as a romantic love story. Because it was made by a loving couple, Veronica, and Colin from England. The couple started their travel in 1974 with two-seater bike. And after traveling around 18,020 miles, they returned on August 27th, 1975. Doing that, they were the first couple to cycle all over the world.

8.Origin of Children Biking

In 1920, out of the depression of the industry, it was urgent for companies to develop a new appealing product to get into the market. Under that circumstance occurred the kids' bikes. People regarded children bikes as a powerful anger to hit the market again and build a prosperous market.

In modern times, it seems easy and natural for kids to hop on their bicycles. But before the 1920's, riding bikes was the strict sports activity only for adults. However, nowadays, almost every kid in the west own a bike and cycle around happily during the summers. So we must say that the idea of kids bikes was terribly brilliant and beneficial.

9.Origin of Mountain Biking

With the popularization of cycling sports, it was apparent that mountain biking would come into sight as soon as possible. In 1970, Charlie Kelly and Gary Fisher figured out an idea bike built for the hard-core terrain. In that time, the general outline of mountain bikes came out. Designed with heavy-duty wheels, the bike could climb steep inclines, cycle over logs, rocks, dirt roads and so on. Also with a suspension system, it can pass over precipitous mountains easier.



Today, mountain cycling is also well received. But it belongs to an extreme sports activity. So mountain riders should care about their safety, especially during the exciting tour. And before going, they check their route twice to wipe out every possible big danger.

10.Original Law of Helmet

We all acknowledge that the helmet is the dispensable part of cycling. The helmet is so vital for cyclist’s safety. But do you know when people should wear helmet officially? In 1989, out of the serious injuries and deaths connected with bicycle accidents, the Australian government passed the world’s first helmet laws. It ordered that every rider should wear a helmet during the riding trip. And then, many countries followed it, largely reducing the cycling misfortunes. But needed wearing helmets, the number of cycling people was little less. It might not be the best and satisfying way. But nowadays, I think the helmet is the spiritual thing for each rider.



Top 10 origins of cycling sports I want to remind you are all above. I do hope that this information can help you understand cycling better. Go cycling, enjoy cycling.