Transportation Orientation?

I'm bicycual. Victoria is quite a compact little city with much of its residential area within a half-hour's bike ride of the downtown. One day soon we'll take a tour down the Galloping Goose Trail that winds its way around and through Victoria and is used by an increasing number of two-wheeled commuters.

It's hard to believe that bicycles were invented about the same time that Victoria was coming into being (mid-nineteenth century). The silhouette above is my bicycle - a modern 21-speed model with hydraulic front shock absorbers that provides me with both transportation and exercise. Below is the first true bicycle in that it had two wheels, a handlebar for steering, and pedals. It was called a velocipede or "boneshaker." This one dates from 1868.
During the next 20 years many inventors worked to improve the bicycle and by 1887 they had developed something very like what I ride today, called a "safety bicycle" (below) because it was relatively stable in comparison with earlier models. The photos and information above are from the Owls Head Transportation Museum and pictures and information about other early bicycles can be found in the bicycle section of their website.