As chief forester for the Grand Duke of Baden, Karl von Drais had miles of woodland paths to patrol. To ease his task, he put together a weird contraption with two wheels, a saddle and a steering tiller, propelled himself by pushing off with his legs and coasting. When he rode it into town, the citizens of Karlsruhe hooted and chased him off the streets. One hundred and fifty years later, the plight of the bicyclist is still dire. "People in pickup trucks throw beer cans at us," says Washington, D.C., Cyclist Ray...
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