The bike has been voted the best technological invention of the last 200 years in a poll. Cycles even beat things like computers and the internet in the survey to find the most useful innovation since 1800. (bbc.co.uk ,May 05)
Cycling reduces the risk of serious conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and the most common form of diabetes.
Cycling burns approximately 300 calories an hour.
A 15-minute bike ride to and from work five times a week burns off the equivalent of 11 pounds of fat in a year.
Cycling at least 20 miles a week cuts in half your risk of heart disease compared to non-cyclists who take no exercise, according to the British Heart Foundation. The British Medical Association also recommends that you cycle daily.
The first bike was invented by a man called Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun in 1818 and was made totally of wood.
But the man who really helped the bike take off was James Starley, who invented the famous Penny-Farthing in 1870.
The penny farthing was named after the smallest and largest copper currency available at the time.
