This book is by journalist Gordon Irving and tells the story of Kirkpatrick Macmillian, Inventor of the Bicycle.
He built the first pedal cycle and road on it to Glasgow at eight miles an hour and got fined 5 shillings for speeding
He was also a blacksmith and he even used to pull out people’s teeth. It is an extraordinary real story of a person who was ’scorned’ and who ‘frightened kids’ on his two wheelled bicycle!
I bought this book from the Cyclejumble I went to recently at Ripley. The book comes with lots of photographs.
However, I don’t think people really know who the bicycle inventor really was. .There seems to be so much controversy. Maybe it was him, but who knows?
yeah Gordon Irving is a great guy. I wonder if he is still alive. I use to live next to him in Whitinghame Court in Glasgow, Scotland….
I was surprised to hear that it is actually the scottish who invented the bicycle !
Belgians (I am belgian, cycle a lot)….
regads. Nice review.
I saw a website called the Glasgow Story, it had him as a contributor.. not sure if that means he is still alive though!
Well, it’s a small world isn’t it if you lived next to him isn’t it? What an interesting neighbour to have. I wish my neighbours were interested in bicycles. Most have 4×4s or porsches.
I think that there always has been controversery about who invented the bicycle. I was told that the the French like to think that they invented it!..So I was surprised that the Scots think they did. I had to read it. The Scots are notoriously good at inventing things though.