Celebrate the 200th Birthday of the Bicycle

The bicycle turns 200 this year.

Celebrate this milestone on two wheels. If you aren’t a cyclist, now is the time to think about riding.

• Rent a bike and go for a cruise on the greenway. (Try UnderDog Bikes or Roanoke Mountain Adventures.)
• Hit the trail; the region is home to some of the best dirt tracks in the nation.
• Join a group or club.

You can also learn more about bicycles in a new book “Bicycles (Made by Hand Book 2)” by Patricia Lakin. It features Roanoke’s Aaron Dykstra and his history as a bike craftsman.

Here’s a description of the book: “Aaron Dykstra of Six-Eleven Bicycles in Roanoke, Virginia, got his first job at a small local bike shop when he was fifteen and he spent the majority of his teen years riding and racing bikes. After a stint in the air force, Aaron realized his true passion was on land: making these beautiful machines. This book gives kids a detailed peek into Aaron’s process making steel bike frames with his own hands. Charts, infographics, and bold photographs make this a perfect book for anyone who’s curious about how a bicycle is made. This book also features a brief history of cycling, a timeline, and resources to inspire kids to make their own objects by hand.”

If you shop online, don’t forget to use Amazon Smile and a portion of sales will benefit the Roanoke Outside Foundation, too.