SCOTCH MYTHS

Following the route of the first long-distance bike ride (allegedly), Rob Ainsley pedals from Dumfries to Glasgow to find the truth about Kirkpatrick Macmillan, ‘inventor of the bicycle’

I’m riding a legendary route – Dumfries to Glasgow. It was the ‘world’s first long-distance bike ride’, by Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan, ‘inventor of the bicycle [in 1842]’. Except… he never rode the route. And his bicycle probably never existed. But facts shouldn’t get in the way of a good story – ask any anti-cycling newspaper columnist. Macmillan (1812–1878) features in many a 20thcentury history of bicycles as a pedalling equivalent of phone trailblazer Alexander Graham Bell or TV pioneer John Logie Baird. However, unlike those two other Scots, most statements about Macmillan’s inventions are largely cobblers. The story goes that in circa 1839, Macmillan made a treadle (foot-lever)-powered, steerable, two-wheeled velocipede at his smithy in rural Dumfriesshire – the world’s first pedal bike. He rode it regularly to Dumfries,…

You're reading a preview of

Cycling Plus (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.