If a person thinks about the Overlord operation in the Second World War, he probably imagines soldiers, ships, tanks, guns and so on. Very rarely would he come across bikes on battlefields, and they were indeed because armies have been using the most advanced technologies close at hand in modern wars.

Britain paratroopers landed with folding bikes beyond Germany lines in the D day. They weighted about ten and a half kilograms plus guns, military uniforms and additional equipment. Imagine how strong they were. The Airborne Folding Paratrooper Bicycle was the chosen bike model to produce sixty thousand of these bikes between 1942 and 1945. They participated at least in the D day and in the Arnhem battles, and were used by British and Canadian soldiers.

Why did they used bicycles in such important days? Bikes are ideal vehicles to cover large distances without being identified. Thus, they contributed to win these battles. In some occasions, bicycles were abandoned in the middle of nowhere when soldiers considered them nuisances. Once paratroopers landed, special bike supports allowed guns to be attached and even fired in seconds.

The Canadian 9^th Brigade Infantry landed directly riding bikes. Canadian soldiers had successfully used them in the Sicily invasion in 1943. Indeed, British and Canadian soldiers were not the only armies that used bikes in the Second World War. Japanese servicemen advanced long distances in Malaysia with heavy loads thank to bicycles in 1942. German soldiers used them in Poland back in 1939. However, nazi soldiers bound bikes with ropes to motor vehicles in order to tow them without making effort.

All in all, the Normandy invasion was the operation in which bicycles were used in a massive scale. A lot of these bikes were abandoned in battlefields in France and Norway, and you can find them in museums and private collections.

The Wright brothers are world-widely known as the aviation pioneers in America, generally credited with inventing, building and flying the world’s first successful motor-operated airplane. Thus, initiating the race to conquer the skies. What most people, even most bikers, do not know is that Orville and Wilbur delved into the passionate area of bikes.

They opened a bike shop in 1892. The business was called Wright Cycle Exchange and located in 1005 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio, USA. Here, they repaired and sold first and second-hand bicycles. Thanks to being extremely restless and technology passionate, they expanded their business and created a bike factory in 22 South Williams Street, Dayton, in 1894. The Wright Bicycle Company saw the birth of the opulent Van Cleve bicycle, named in honor of their great-great-grandmother, as well as the more available St. Clair. They built about 300 bicycles per year with prices between $42.5 and $65. Furthermore, those bikes experienced technical improvement due to the technological advancement of the Wright brothers. For example, they implemented sophisticated backpedal brakes or a special lubrication system because of the Dayton streets dust.

However, their interest in the bicycle world diminished little by little and it changed to follow the primary feature of birds: The flying capacity. Some points made it available. On the one hand, Orville and Wilbur competed in a saturated market in which brands allowed little space to craftsmen. Dayton saw Wright rivals like George P. Huffman who created the Dayton Special or the Dayton Racer. These both resulted in the legendary Huffy Bikes. On the other hand, the Wright brothers continued following their interests and variability. Hence, they moved forward to the next step.

The bicycle birth had an impact on both women and men. Both genres benefited from it, but women did it more intensively. The American magazine Munsey wrote this in 1896:

“To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of devices they new in their work and in their play. To women, it was a steed upon which they rode into a new world.”

Such was the consciousness awakening of women’s empowerment. This new vehicle allowed them to acquire independence and did not need men for some trips. Some have argued that this invention constituted the most important technology which has been helping women through centuries. Indeed, Susan B. Anthony said in 1896:

“ Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”

I talked about the history of the bicycle with the draisine at the beginning, but it did not reach real popularity until the invention of the chain and the use of rubber in the second half of the 19th century. The life for women at that time was tremendously unfair. They spent their time inside home, tea houses or social parties. The bike democratization was a ray of sunlight. Not surprisingly Frances Williard (president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, an important American suffragist organizations in the 19th century) experienced a freedom feeling which made her a reference activist while riding a bike at the age of 53. Even more, she dedicated a whole book to the bicycle.

Probably the clearer change the bike caused was the use of trousers since women had been using skirt and other garment. Thus, baggy pants popularized to make pedaling easier and more comfortable. Both men and women criticized the new behaviors without realizing the changes were going to be permanent.

A bicycle is much more than a machine for transportation. It has been used in a variety of ways since it was invented. The ancient prototypes were used mainly for sports and bourgeoisie entertainment, but bike history is much more than this. Today I am going to write about bikes and wars.

Bicycles were initially used back in the Franco-Prussian War (1870 – 71) when the French troops were the first to use them on the war field. Imagine how uncomfortable was ride high-wheel bikes on dirt roads and mud paths. Some 30 years after, the British experienced with the bicycles during the Anglo-Boer War (1899 – 1902) in South Africa. Contenders looked for mobility.

During the First World War, the Belgian, German, Italian, British and French armies used bikes with unequal success. The Italians were who most employed them. Their elite light infantry Bersaglieri regiments made used of them in order to improve mobile tactics and flashy incursions. In addition, scouts and messengers were among the top bicycle users. Soldiers could attach rifles down the tube or swung across their back. The British bikes were manufactured by Birmingham Small Arms Company which was a major British arms and ammunition producer since the Crimean War (1854 – 1856). Millions died in the Great War and among the casualties were 15 cyclists who rode in the Tour de France in 1914.

Bicycles were used again in the Second World War. British and American paratroopers realised bikes offer advantages for reconnaissance. On the other side, Japanese dealt with rubber shortages and rode the rims without tyres on rough jungle rails.

The bicycle simpleness made transportation quick and reliable. Even in 2008 the Australian Military used it in East Timor to improve flexibility of field patrols. The unit was the Bicycle Infantry Mounted Patrol.