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Bicycle racing is a popular American and European sport. In the United States it is largely confined to enthusiastic amateurs, while abroad professional and amateur competitions flourish. In some areas of Eastern United States midget teams have been organized to interest youngsters 8 to 14 in the sport.

The idea of a self-propelled vehicle on wheels has intrigued mankind through many centuries, but it did not take definite form until 1690, when a two-wheeled contrivance made its appearance on the streets of Paris. The originator was M. de Sivrac, a Frenchman. The machine consisted of two wooden wheels, with upright posts on the sides of the wheels, such posts being joined together by a crossbar. M. de Sivrac made one cardinal error, which condemned his device to oblivion. He forgot the need for pedals. Locomotion came about only when someone straddled the crossbar and then pushed the machine along by grounding the feet. The "rider" had to push the contraption along, instead of getting a ride. The invention quickly disappeared, and there were no further bicycle experiments of public knowledge until 1785, when another Frenchman, to fame unknown, launched a somewhat similar machine upon an abbreviated career. The machine also had to be pushed. But the new inventor put the front wheel on a pivot, which permitted steering independently of the back wheel. The French of that era examined the creation, expressed doubt that a man ever could keep a two-wheeled machine in motion, in any fashion whatsoever and still maintain balance, and that "bike" also disappeared.

In 1789 a three-wheeled contrivance was created by two Frenchmen-Blanchard and Magurier. Comment concerning it appeared in the "Journal de Paris" on July 27, 1789. The newspaper, to distinguish the two different types, called the two-wheeler a "bicycle" and the three-wheeler a "tri-cycle." Cycle is a term used in astronomy and means circle; "bi" means two or twice and "tri" three, or thrice.
Dennis Johnson of England gained a patent on a three-wheeler in 1818. This also was propelled by shoving the feet along the ground. Johnson disposed of quite a few models but just when business was growing very brisk it was found that the pushing action caused varicose veins and the Johnson models promptly went out of favor.

In the same year-1818-Baron de Saverbrum of France produced a model which was the original of the later-day high-wheel bicycle. He made the front wheel much higher than the rear. He continued to increase the height of the front wheel and decrease the rear, until his final offering was a bike with a front wheel 64 inches tall and the rear only 12 inches high. It worked on the gear-rope principle, the rider pulling the rope. It wasn't popular because a man had to be an acrobat to keep it in motion. Too many riders were hurt in spills.

In 1821, Louis Gompertz of England perfected a different type gear rope, which, fundamentally, is the bicycle chain of today. And so, the great forward step was made. The next was in 1834, when Kirkpatrick McMillan, a blacksmith in Scotland, invented pedals with connecting rods. Later he constructed a tricycle, which had a gear shift, as well as pedals.

About 1865, Pierre Lallement, a Frenchman, brought forth a two-wheel bike, had it patented and took it to the United States in 1866. It was a "high-wheeler," made only of wood except for the tires, which were covered with iron. The Americans who tried to ride it in those days called it the "bone-shaker." Sales were few and Lallement soon was out of business.

However, by this time, the men with inventive minds conceded that the bicycle was something that belonged to a not very distant future. They concentrated on improving the bicycle to a point where it would be practical and, finally, indispensable. Hard rubber tires replaced the wooden and iron ones in 1868. Wire spokes were substituted for wood in 1869. The bike gained in popularity. A sewing machine company, which produced high wheels as a sideline, was profiting handsomely. As the years passed, experiments made with the high-wheeler provoked many improvements, and the bicycle became definitely a part of life in the United States and Europe through the 1880's.

In 1883, H. L. Cortis decided to set the first bicycle record-and did. Riding continuously for 24 hours, he covered 200 miles and 300 yardsless than 9 miles an hour.