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In 1866, Congress created the first peacetime all-black Army regiments-the Buffalo Soldiers. There were four regiments in all and members of the 25th Infantry stationed at Fort Missoula became the Bicycle Corps. Bicycling caught the eye of the US military in the late 1800s. In 1896, Fort Missoula's Lieutenant James Moss, a white officer (African American regiments were historically commanded by white officers), was granted permission to establish a Bicycle Corps with soldiers from the 25th Infantry. Their job was to test the bicycle for possible military applications. What resulted was a journey of epic proportions. After shakedown rides to Lake McDonald (126 miles) and Yellowstone National Park (800 miles) in 1896, the men rolled out of Fort Missoula on June 14, 1897 at 5:30 in the morning. Forty-one days and 1900 miles later, they pedaled into their destination, St. Louis. - See more at: http://wabikes.org/2014/02/10/black-history-bike-history/?goback=%2Egde_91090_member_5839075474793316352#sthash.YrfHxVJ4.dpuf

July 12, 2015 - Washington, D.C. A new exhibit about the role of bicycles in American liberation has opened and it's not to be missed. Bicycles=Liberation at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., is part of the museum's Object Project series that explores the relationship between people, innovative things and social change.

The Marginalization of Bicyclists Dan Gutierrez, who helped write this article, took the video from which these snapshots are taken. In the left photo, Dan's colleague Brian DeSousa is riding close to the curb in the right-hand lane of a multilane arterial. That position invites motorists to pass him within the lane, and sure enough, one does. On the right Brian is in a lane control position, which tells motorists they need to change lanes to pass. How the car lane paradigm eroded our lane rights and what we can do to restore them Not long ago I was riding in the middle of the right-hand (slow) lane on a 4-lane urban street with parallel parking and a 25 mph speed limit. I had just stopped at a 4-way stop when the young male driver of a powerful car in the left lane yelled at me, "You aint no f***ing car man, get on the sidewalk." He then sped away, cutting it close as he changed lanes right in front of me in an attempt, I suppose, to teach me a lesson. That guy stated in a profane way the world view of most people today: If you can't keep up, stay out of the way. My being in the right-hand lane and therefore "in his way" violated his sense that roads in general and travel lanes in particular are only for cars, a viewpoint that I call the car lane paradigm. The car lane paradigm conflicts with the fact that in every state of the union, bicyclists have the same rights and duties as drivers of vehicles. So which is it? Do bicyclists have the same right to use travel lanes as other drivers or not? Before lanes existed, bicyclists simply acted like other drivers. But now that travel lanes are common, most people grow up with the car lane paradigm with bicyclists relegated to the margins of the road. This article goes into the history of how the car lane paradigm came to be and what we can do about it now. Reading this is going to take a while, so here is an outline of where we're going: 1897: In the beginning, bicycles were vehicles and bicyclists were drivers

In 2002 the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated a historical marker to the career of this famous American bicycle racer. The plaque is located at 1103 State Street in the City of Erie and reads: "A champion racer during the bicycle craze that swept the United States in the 1890s. After racing locally for several years, he competed against bicyclists from other states and nations in major contests between 1896 and 1906; foremost among these were the six-day team races at the old Madison Square Garden in New York. Maya lived here as a boy above his family's business, which he later managed on his return to Erie in 1907." Otto Maya was an American cyclist from Erie, Pennsylvania who during his life time witnessed the development of the bicycle as both a business and recreational means of transportation. He as well experienced the immense popularity of bicycle racing in the 1890s where spectators by the thousands would flock to the wooden cycling track to witness the speed, thrills and spills of cycle racing. Otto was born in 1876 and started racing professionally when he was eighteen years old in 1894. Between 1899 and 1902 Otto Maya raced in 6 six-day races, always capturing a podium placing. He won three six-day races: in Boston at the Revere Beach Cycle Track in 1901 partnered with James B. Bowler and as well in Boston at the Park Street Garden in 1902 with Floyd McFarland. He also was victorious in Philadelphia in 1902 partnered with Howard Freeman. Otto placed second in the first team six-day bicycle race in 1899 at Madison Square Garden New York, partnered with the Canadian cycling star Archie McEachern. In December 1901 at the Madison Square Garden six-day race in New York Otto was partnered with fellow Pennsylvanian Lester Wilson and they worked well together coming in second place. The last six-day race that we have information of Otto participating in was the 4th New York Madison Square Garden six-day race, partnered again with Floyd Mc

In July 2008, I was in Atlanta trying to learn how to be an anthropologist of bicycling. Looking for clues, I went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, and I found myself overwhelmed by the power of Dr. King's words. He summarized our American situation, argued for hope, and it all sang with truth. I stumbled around the exhibit, blinded by tears, knowing the horrible conclusion awaiting me at the end. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. I had of course heard Dr. King's speeches before this, but I thought of him as a figure in history. I knew that Dr. King fought tirelessly to secure African American equality, but I didn't understand that through this he sought to show us the connections between racial injustice and all injustice. A spiritual leader as well as a cosmopolitan intellectual, he drew on the ideas of Hegel and Gandhi and urged understanding between groups divided by hate and ignorance. His words hit me so hard on that day; they came alive and filled my heart. Now, in order to answer the question, "Where do we go from here?" which is our theme, we must first honestly recognize where we are now.

This video is all about the dutch history before and after their automobile peak time.

A little recap of the Netherlands's history from a BBC perspective.