En route to freedom

En route to freedom

27 March 2023
Article
From the exhibition

For many people, the moment you can balance enough to ride a bike without training wheels is a real milestone. There are actually more bicycles in the Netherlands today than there are people. The basic look of a bike dates back to several inventions made during the 19th century. There was a major breakthrough in 1885, for instance, when John Kemp Starley unveiled his ‘Rover Safety Bicycle’ – a machine with two equally sized wheels and powered by a chain connected to a sprocket on the back wheel. Bicycles became even more popular after 1888, when John Boyd Dunlop patented the inflatable rubber tyre. The Rover Safety had no crossbar and low pedals, which meant women too could ride them without having to lift their skirts or risk revealing their undergarments. Because of this, cycling was increasingly seen as a suitable activity for women and went on to play a significant role in female emancipation. Between 1880 and 1920, the bicycle evolved across Europe from a luxury item to a form of transport available to everyone. In other countries, it tended to be associated after the turn of the century with the working class. Queen Wilhelmina’s penchant for cycling meant that in the Netherlands, by contrast, bikes continued to be used by all levels of society. They have been seen as ‘typically Dutch’ ever since.