4ucycling

The bicycle was invented in Mannheim over 200 years ago: the draisine, a velocipede. Since then the bicycle has experienced a revolution, also with regard to social development. It all started with the eruption of a volcano: the climate changed; harvests failed and many horses – which in those days were not only used in farming but also served as a means of transport for people and goods – starved to death. Without these animals life became even more difficult than it already was. Then Karl Freiherr von Drais had an idea: In 1817 he invented the draisine, which was supposed to replace the horse but was so expensive that the majority of the population were unable to afford one. For a long while after the invention of the velocipede nothing much changed. Not until the beginning of the 1860s, when Pierre Michaux began developing bicycles with pedals. Michaux presented his invention in Paris at The International Exposition of 1867. It was an out-and-out success. Only the well-to-do bourgeo...

And then everything’s in motion, at least officially. Sometimes, the order allows for a few more minutes of waiting at home, to go back into my own little world for a little while – only to be brutally ripped out of dozing off by the dispatchers. But then, at the latest, you dive back in: into the maze, the chaos, the wilderness of the (big) city traffic. Your bag on your shoulder, your lock stowed in place, your helmet strapped on, and the post is off – no, I don’t like to be called a postman. The first pick-up brings me right into the city centre. I should take it easy, something else could come my way, and as long as the order hasn’t been placed as ‘urgent’ (called express, VIP, rush or something like that in the professional jargon), there’s no reason to burn out already right at the start of the day. So I swim quietly along in the morning traffic toward the centre, enjoy the first sunbeams and notice how my head switches from tiredness and hangover mode to concentration, focus a...