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This video of Joe Biden prompted me to take a look at Presidents and their relationships with bikes. This thread will go in reverse order for each President back to the invention of the bicycle. https://twitter.com/JTHVerhovek/status/1292130789052887041
First up is Trump. His relationship to bikes is about as good as his response to a global pandemic. Here he is mocking Secretary of State John Kerry after sustaining an injury in a bicycle crash.
According to an article at the time, Trump stated that the last time that he had ridden a bike was when he was 7 or 8 years old. https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-criticizes-john-kerry-for-cycling-2015-6
As the article states, Trump tried to make a stage race called the Tour de Trump happen from 89 to 91, which ultimately failed due to his financial troubles. Here he is holding a Huffy.
Here he is in front of a Litespeed making a hand gesture that says, "Keep that thing away from me." He was actually praising Litespeed for manufacturing in the U.S.
Next up is Obama. He was photographed a bunch of times riding bikes, usually with the entire family. Here's a nice one with Sasha on a trail a bike in 2008.
Obama's bike riding caused one of the biggest scandals of his Presidency: Helmetgate.
Next up George W. Bush. He's super into mountain biking. Here he is riding some single track on his ranch in Crawford, TX. He hosts an annual Warrior 100k to benefit wounded Veterans.
He even had some Peloton One socks for his bike riding in the White House. Picture source and interesting description of biking while he was President is here: https://bikeportland.org/2011/11/28/local-fitting-pro-shares-memories-of-rides-with-george-w-bush-62653
Next up: Bill Clinton. There's several pictures of Clinton on a bike. Here's one of him riding a bike indoors.
There's several pictures of Bill riding with Hillary.
No word on whether he was using EPO in any of the above pictures.
Next up is George H. Bush. Here's George and Barbara riding bikes in China where he received the nickname of the bicycle riding envoy in the 70s. Source: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/09usofficials/2009-05/31/content_7956346.htm
As President, China presented him with a bicycle as a gift during a visit in 1989. Same source as above.
Here's Bush hauling the grandkids around by bike at Kennebunkport. Source: https://downeast.com/features/the-bushes-at-kennebunkport/
Next up is Ronald Reagan. It appears he rode bikes a lot during his Hollywood days. Here is piloting a tandem.
Nancy got in on the tandem fun later with their son Ron on the White House grounds in 1981. Source: Reagan Library.
It looks like most of Reagan's bike pictures were in the care-free days when a person could ride a bike while smoking a pipe because you didn't have to worry about cars so much.
Next up Jimmy Carter. Here's the Carter family on a ride. Source: Carter Presidential Library.
Here's another shot later in life.
Here's a brief snippet of President Carter arriving to an event by bike at the age of 85. He's 95 now and I hope he's still getting around on his bike.
Next up is Gerald Ford. He doesn't appear to have been a bike rider. This is probably because Alexandria, VA hadn't installed a connected and protected network of bike lanes during his 20 years living in the city. He had to settle for using an exercise bike instead.
Things could have been much different for President Ford with a bike network. Here he is as a youngster on a bike.
Next up is Richard Nixon. Here is with his wife Pat and their baby daughter biking to see the cherry blossoms.
Next up is Lyndon Johnson. It doesn't look like he rode bikes. The best he's got is that the Mount Vernon Trail passes through Lady Bird Johnson Park and also has a connection to LBJ Memorial Grove.
Lady Bird Johnson did help revitalize an area of Austin including the creation of a hike and bike trail. https://austin.towers.net/a-history-of-austins-famous-hike-and-bike-trail-which-wasnt-always-green/
Next up is JFK who once said “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
Jackie O continued taking the kids riding after JFK's death. JFK Jr frequently rode bikes in NYC before his untimely death.
Next is Dwight Eisenhower. Despite Ike's nickname being just one letter short of bike, the only thing I could find was Ike helping his grandson ride a bike.
Next is Harry Truman. Truman once photographed walking past a bike.
That's close to about it for Truman although is purported to have said "I like riding bicycle built for two - by myself."
Next up is Franklin Roosevelt. FDR once smiled at two children with bikes.
Afflicted with polio at a young age and hiding his use of a wheelchair for much of his life it's uncertain what his ability to ride bike would have been without today's awesome adaptive bikes.
Next is Herbert Hoover. He wrote in his memoirs: "I managed to buy a second-hand ‘high’ bicycle. I got the better of it with many bumps. Soon the new ‘safety’ bicycles arrived with ‘cushion’ tires – and one of those absorbed several months of my salary.”
Sadly no Hoover bike picture. As biographer Kenneth Whyte notes, “This single purchase expanded his freedom and independence immeasurably." It was one of the few possessions he took with him to Stanford. Source: https://www.facebook.com/HerbertHooverNHS/posts/4085973844776507
Next is Calvin Coolidge. He couldn't have been that cool, because the only mention of Coolidge and bikes I could find is that Pure Cycles named a fixie after him. https://www.purecycles.com/blogs/bicycle-news/12833741-introducing-the-coolidge
Next is Warren G. Harding. Often voted the worst President in history, he was at least riding his bike to check out Daytona Beach in 1905.
During this campaign parade in Indiana, the all powerful bike lobby came out in force for the Harding/Coolidge ticket.
Though his presidency lasted just two short years from 1921 to 1923, he did have time to greet a group of Boy Scouts at the White House who were biking cross country. Source: Library of Congress
Next is Woodrow Wilson. Somehow he escaped being photographed on a bike, because Woodrow Wilson rode bikes a lot. The only image I could find is this political cartoon.
Wilson's younger brother Joseph was way into highwheel racing and ended a letter to Wilson with “Hurrah!!!! For the bicycle.” He also sued the State of North Carolina to get bikes access to a local turnpike.
Joseph tried to get Wilson into bikes writing him: “My bicycle tells me to tell you,” prodded Josie shortly after purchasing his mount, “that it is waiting anxiously for you to mount it next summer as you said you would.” Wilson did not start until invention of the safety bike.
WIlson suffered multiple strokes throughout his life starting at the age of 39. After this first stroke Wilson took a bicycle tour of England to regain strength and would use bikes as a form of recovery of subsequent strokes. Wilson took many bike tours before becoming President.
Sadly, he stopped riding while President. He once was involved in a crash with a boy on a bike in Pennsylvania Ave and while negotiating the end of World War I stated that the “dream of his lifetime” would be to cycle through France once he had left office.
Source and more interesting information for Woodrow Wilson on bikes is from Adventure Cycling: Source: https://www.adventurecycling.org/blog/woodrow-wilson-cyclist/
Next is William Taft. This is the only known photo of Taft having anything to do with bicycles. Source: DCist
Next is Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy formed the "Scorcher Squad" in 1895 while police commissioner in New York. The squad was formed as a way to better chase down carriages and automobiles. Source: http://cliffhanger76.tripod.com/bikewest/bikecops/index.html
Next is William McKinley. McKinley had his very own campaign button of him riding a bike to the White House with silver and gold wheels, back in the days when we were arguing about fiat currency.
McKinley doesn't appear to have ridden a bike himself but supported the growing number of wheelmen. In 1896 a group of wheelmen rode to Canton, OH and presented him with a bike. He received the endorsement of the National Wheelmen's Club. Source: http://centerlinerule.blogspot.com/2013/12/bicycling-and-presidency-part-3.html
Next is Grover Cleveland. Bikes were coming into utilitarian uses during his Presidency. It doesn't appear he rode one, however during his term the 25th Infantry started a bike unit. This all black unit was totally bad ass and rode from Missoula, MT to St. Louis during a test.
PBS produced a great video about this trip. https://www.pbs.org/video/montanapbs-presents-bicycle-corps-americas-black-army-on-wheels/
Next is Benjamin Harrison who after his presidency on a hunting trip allgedly remarked how it was "disgraceful in ladies to ride bicycles," and that the times he most wished he had his gun "was when he saw a woman riding a wheel and chewing gum."
Harrison's closest friends commented that he would never say such things, but his hunting companions at the time stood their ground, stating that the conversation took place and that the ex-President spoke without reservation. Source: http://centerlinerule.blogspot.com/2013/12/bicycling-and-presidency-part-3.html
We've probably reached the end of the line on Presidential bicycle history. The Penny Farthing was invented in 1871 in England and the safety bicycle emerged in the 1880's.
I tried to make attribution for images when it appeared that there was a copyright owner and provide attribution when appropriate. It's possible that I made mistakes and the internet makes it difficult to determine ownership.
This information was all obtained through an evening of googling and the validity of anything above should be considered through that lens. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did researching it.
Additional information on Eisenhower based on a reply: https://twitter.com/JuddLumberjack/status/1292454080779030528?s=20
Article about the Carters Gavin bikes stolen in 2009. Love that they kept bikes at work to take a break and pedal around. https://twitter.com/dorieturnernolt/status/1292471994974441477?s=21 https://twitter.com/dorieturnernolt/status/1292471994974441477
A commenter shared this picture of Reagan with Greg LeMond. https://twitter.com/SaltmeadowGroup/status/1292544501227991042?s=20
If you've enjoyed this thread and would like to express appreciation with some cash, my two favorite bike groups are @PhoenixBikes and @ECGreenway. Phoenix teaches kids to be leaders through bike mechanic skills and East Coast Greenway works towards a 3,000 mile trail in the US.
