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Through Snow, Rain, or Shine: The Evolution Of The Bicycle

Robert Couse-Baker
/
Flickr

Some hardy souls bicycle in all weather, including the winter’s most frigid. The rest of us are just now getting our bicycles out of storage now that the weather is starting to warm up. And by high summer, there will be legions of riders on the paths and roads – commuting, riding for enjoyment, or even competing.

At the end of February the Wisconsin Historical Society opened an exhibit on the bicycle and the crucial part Wisconsin played in its history in this country. Material culture contributor Gianofer Fields sat down with Jeff Fitzgerald, the owner of Revolution Cycles in Madison to find out how the bike fits into modern life and how it has changed – or not:

Gianofer Fields studies material culture at UW-Madison and is the curator of "Radio Chipstone" - a project funded by the Chipstone Foundation, a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.

If you happen to be in Madison and want to know more about bicycling history in this state, the Wisconsin Historical Society has an exhibit on through October called Shifting Gears: A Cyclical History of Badger Bicycling.