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Cycling Paintings Gallery |
Liege-Bastogne
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Go Hard or Go Home
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Giro d'Italia, B&W
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Enter Gallery
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Gallery Description
The history of cycling goes back ages to the time. Cartwheels is reported to have been used in Mesopotamia about 4000 years ago. Chinese also used wheels with spokes over 6000 years ago. The history of cycles started when Baron von Drais of Baden invented a ‘running machine’, with 2 wheels but no pedals. One would have to get onto the cycle and walk. But it made walking faster!
Then came various modifications to this model of which the ‘penny-farthing’ design was the notable one, with the front wheel bigger than the back one. In 1885, John Kemp Starley invented the 'Rover' bicycle, in which the gears and cranks were attached the rear wheel that the front one, making it much more safer than the existing cycles. In 1888, John Boyd Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyres that could be called the safest and fastest ever. This widely increased the popularity of cycling.
The beginning of the nineteenth century saw cycling becoming more of a necessity than a past time. People started using cycles to move around in their community and they became popular even among women of the upper class. Cycling has gained popularity over the times as a sport, a past time, and also as an important means of transportation.
Cycling as a sport fascinated people during the late nineteenth century, and there were many amateur races and competitions. The first official race is said to have taken place in Paris in 1868. It was first introduced in Olympics in the year 1896 though it was omitted in the 1904 event. Currently cycling is one of the most favored games all over the world. Marathon cycling, Mountain biking and road races are most common competitions.
Our gallery of cycling paintings features some of the famous cyclists like Lance Amstrong and Greg Lemond, few of the beautiful cycling moments and also some models of cycles.
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Saturday, July, 5 th
2008
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