WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:12.320
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Christy van
Iragon and I'm Bruce gulland Spotlight uses a

2
00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:22.160
special English method of broadcasting. It
is easier for people to understand no matter

3
00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:45.840
where in the world they live.
A busy city street cars and trucks pass

4
00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:54.679
quickly. A few people wait to
cross, but then all traffic stops.

5
00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:03.719
Suddenly, hundreds of people riding too
wheeled bicycles fill the streets. They are

6
00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:14.200
all riding together. After many minutes, the bicycles have all passed by.

7
00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:23.439
The traffic starts again. What just
happened? This was a critical mass.

8
00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:34.560
A critical mass is any large group
of people riding bicycles together for one purpose.

9
00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:44.719
In China, the idea of a
critical mass started for safety. Bicycle

10
00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:53.040
riders would stop at street crossings.
They would wait until more bicycle riders stopped.

11
00:01:53.239 --> 00:02:04.120
Two Soon a large number of bicycle
riders gathered. Then they all crossed

12
00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:13.360
the street together. They believed this
kept them safe. It is difficult for

13
00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:21.919
one bicycle rider to cross a busy
street alone, but it is easy for

14
00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:30.120
car drivers to see a large group
of bicycle riders. Today, there are

15
00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:37.759
critical mass bicycle rides all over the
world. Sometimes they are a kind of

16
00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:46.719
protest, but sometimes they are just
to show the importance of bicycles. Bicycles

17
00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:54.960
are important for transportation around the world, but how did they become so important.

18
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:13.599
Today's spotlight is on the history of
the bicycle. No one person invented

19
00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:23.159
the bicycle. Instead, many people
worked together over time. Experts say that

20
00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:31.000
the first plans came from Leonardo da
Vinci. This famous inventor and artist wrote

21
00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:40.159
plans for a modern bicycle hundreds of
years ago, but inventors did not create

22
00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:50.919
the first working bicycle until the early
eighteen hundreds. The first bicycle had wheels,

23
00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:57.840
but it did not have pedals.
To move the wheels, the rider

24
00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:06.120
pushed the bicycle forward by pushing his
feet against the ground. People called these

25
00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:15.439
bicycles push bikes. In the eighteen
fifties and sixties, French inventors changed the

26
00:04:15.600 --> 00:04:25.480
design of the bicycle. They made
the front wheel larger and they put pedals

27
00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:32.040
on it. Riders used their feet
on the pedals to push the bicycle forward.

28
00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:42.319
They made this bicycle with a heavy
steel frame, and they made the

29
00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:51.439
wheels out of wood and iron.
People called this bicycle the bone shaker.

30
00:04:54.560 --> 00:05:02.040
On the stone streets of that time, the bicycle took the rider very hard.

31
00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:12.839
It was a painful ride. Over
the next ten years, inventors changed

32
00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:19.519
the design of the bicycle even more. They made the front wheel even larger.

33
00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:29.600
This increased its speed. They also
added rubber tires on the wheels.

34
00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:40.759
People called this bicycle the ordinary,
but these kinds of bicycles were difficult to

35
00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:47.680
ride. They were difficult to push
forward, and it was difficult to change

36
00:05:47.800 --> 00:06:03.879
directions while riding. In eighteen eighty
five, JK. Starlely invented the first

37
00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:15.160
modern bicycle. It looked very similar
to the bicycle's people ride today. Starlely

38
00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:23.319
put similar sized wheels on the front
and back of the bicycle. He also

39
00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:31.160
added a thin metal chain that worked
between the pedals and the wheels. The

40
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:41.360
chain let bicycle riders use the back
wheel to change directions. He also added

41
00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:49.759
a better seat. Starley's bicycle design
was a large improvement from the old kind

42
00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:58.800
of bicycles, but it was still
difficult to ride a Starlely bicycle. It

43
00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:04.839
did not offer for a very smooth
ride. But in the eighteen nineties,

44
00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:14.120
inventors made more improvements to the bicycle. They used better rubber for the wheels.

45
00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:21.399
They developed good breaks to stop the
bicycle. It was not long before

46
00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:31.000
people all around the world used bicycles
for sport and play. People also started

47
00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:40.959
using bicycles as their main form of
transport. Bicycles helped people get from place

48
00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:49.839
to place easier. Riding a bicycle
is faster than walking. People also say

49
00:07:50.240 --> 00:08:01.040
that making bicycles helped scientists and inventors
make better machines. In fact, famous

50
00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:09.800
inventors like Henry Ford and the Right
Brothers used bicycle technology to create cars and

51
00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:26.079
airplanes. Bicycles also had large effects
on societies around the world. For example,

52
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:35.159
the bicycle changed life for women in
many ways. Before bicycles were invented

53
00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:45.919
in Western countries, women usually wore
large, close fitting dresses, But when

54
00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:56.519
women started riding bicycles, they started
wearing different clothes. They wore trousers like

55
00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:03.799
men usually wear. They also stopped
wearing such close fitting shirts or tops.

56
00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:15.200
Bicycles also made it possible for women
to get around more. Some experts say

57
00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:22.360
that bicycles made women feel more independent. They made more women desire and demand

58
00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:33.440
freedom and respect. Bicycles also changed
the lives of people in cities. They

59
00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:41.279
helped reduce crowding in cities. People
could live outside the city, then they

60
00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:50.320
could ride bicycles into the city to
work. Bicycles also made it easier for

61
00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:58.960
men and women to meet and marry. It expanded families because men and women

62
00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:16.360
could meet people who lived outside their
small towns. Many things have changed since

63
00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:24.120
the first bicycle. More people use
cars, buses, and trucks for transport

64
00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:35.240
now, but inventors have made great
improvements to the bicycle. Today's bicycles are

65
00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:41.480
easy to ride, they are much
more comfortable, and they can go very

66
00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:50.240
fast. Bicycles continue to be a
popular form of transportation in many parts of

67
00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:58.000
the world. In fact, in
many places, bicycles are still the main

68
00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:07.240
form of transportation. There are many
good reasons to ride a bicycle. Bicycles

69
00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:16.120
do not damage the environment like cars
do. Riding bicycles is good for your

70
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:24.759
health. Also, riding a bicycle
costs less money than driving a car.

71
00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:35.320
You do not need gas to ride
a bicycle, and bicycles cost less money

72
00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:43.120
to fix. Imagine what your city
would look like if everyone used a bicycle

73
00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:52.320
to get around instead of a car
or bus. There are some cities in

74
00:11:52.360 --> 00:12:01.360
the world that do look like this. Many cities in China and another contain

75
00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:09.919
more bicycles than cars. But in
many cities around the world, people do

76
00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:18.799
not respect bicycle riders. In fact, in many modern cities, it can

77
00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:26.840
be very dangerous to ride a bicycle. Many people die every year in bicycle

78
00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:37.240
and car accidents. This is one
reason why people ride their bicycles in a

79
00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:48.360
critical mass. They want people to
recognize bicycle riders. They want people to

80
00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:56.519
learn to watch for them on the
road. They want people to understand that

81
00:12:56.720 --> 00:13:24.200
bicycles are still an important form of
transportation today. The writer of this program

82
00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:31.000
was Sarah DeCosta. The producer was
Luke Hailey. The voices you heard were

83
00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:35.320
from the United Kingdom and at the
United States. You can listen to this

84
00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:45.120
program again and read it on the
internet at www dot Radio English dot net.

85
00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:52.440
This program is called History of the
Bicycle. We hope you can join

86
00:13:52.639 --> 00:14:07.000
us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,