Today we're going to discuss the history of the bicycle. Now, many people think the bicycle was invented in the 19th century, but in fact, the first two-wheeled vehicle, called a draisine, appeared in 1817 in Germany. It had no pedals; riders pushed their feet against the ground. Later, in the 1860s, pedals were added to the front wheel in France, creating the velocipede. However, it was not until the 1880s that the chain-driven bicycle with equal-sized wheels became popular, thanks to the British inventor John Kemp Starley. This design, known as the safety bicycle, made cycling much safer and more accessible to the general public.