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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 10 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Cycling
| Europe has a fairly large amount of cycling infrastructure, which is lagging somewhat on this side of the Atlantic. What is the largest/longest network of bicycle trails and greenways in North America? | Bicycling History
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La Route Verte. La Route Verte is a long set of trails (almost 2,500 miles) that generally follows the St. Lawrence Seaway through the Province of Quebec. The Allegheny Passage runs from the Pittsburgh area to the Maryland border, where the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal greenway picks up and goes the rest of the way to Washington, DC. Altogether it is only just over 400 miles. The Will Skelton Greenway is in my hometown of Knoxville, TN, and is only 3.6 or so miles long. The Kodak American Greenway Program is actually an organization that awards grants for the purpose of constructing greenway trails, but is not a greenway itself.
| Who was the first man to win all three of the major cycling tours (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a Espana)? | Bicycling History
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Jacques Anquetil. Jacques again! Eddy and Bernard each repeated the feat, with Eddy winning the most times (11) of any of them. Marco won in both France and Italy (in the same year), but never won the Spanish tour.
| Who invented the first working (and marketed) derailleur for chain-driven bicycles? | Bicycling History
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Paul de Vivie. Paul's derailleur worked at the crank using multiple chain rings. Later bicycles worked at the rear hub. Most of today's geared bikes have a derailleur in both locations. The Campagnolo, Shimano, and SRAM companies all manufacture derailleurs today. There is no Jacob Sram, though. SRAM was made up from letters from the names of three company founders (Scott, Ray, and sAM).
| A major tire company's namesake was a veterinarian who developed a pneumatic tire for his son's racing tricycle to replace the solid wooden wheels then in use. What was his name? | Bicycling History
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Dunlop. Dunlop's son was able to win his first race on the new tires.
Goodyear invented the vulcanization process to stabilize rubber. Edouard and Andre Michelin developed the first removable pneumatic tire that didn't have to be glued to the wheel's rim. Bridgestone is a Japanese company named after its founder Ishibashi (in Japanese, 'ishi' is 'stone' and 'bashi' is 'bridge').
| The 'high wheel', or 'ordinary' bicycle, which used a large front wheel and a small rear wheel, was also known as what? | Bicycling History
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Penny-Farthing. The Penny-Farthing got its name because the difference in size of the wheels is similar to the difference in size between the old British penny and farthing (quarter penny) coins. These bikes were replaced by bicycles using chains to drive the rear wheel.
| The first true bicycle was the 'velocipede' (aka, 'boneshaker') and it was invented in the 1860s. What was the country of origin for this first bicycle? | Bicycling History
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France. The Michaux company was the first known manufacturer of the 'boneshaker' bicycle. It was the first to be propelled using pedals. 'Velocipede' is Latin for 'Fleet Foot'. Previous two wheeled devices required the rider to push off of the ground with their feet.
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