Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Bicycles: Riding Out In The Open
Caption: Early bicycle before pedals
Do you have a bicycle? Many children do. You may have started with a tricycle. Next you may have gotten a bike with training wheels. Then you may have advanced to a bike without training wheels, and you pedaled all over the place at different speeds. No matter what model or style of bike, riding a bike helps you get where you are going. Riding a bike is a lot faster than walking. Gas is not needed. Repairs do not cost a lot of money. A bike is easy to park and is never held up in traffic. It also does not give off fumes. It is great for the environment.
The bicycle is a simple invention. The first bicycle did not have pedals or brakes. It was powered by the rider's feet. It had iron wheels. No one can agree on who invented the first pedal bicycle. Kirkpatrick Macmillan is given credit by some. He was a blacksmith. In 1839, Macmillan invented what may have been the first pedal bicycle. There were two wheels. The back wheel was larger than the front. The pedals were connected to the rear wheel with connecting rods. The seat was a piece of wood. The bicycle weighed fifty-seven pounds.
