Peddling through history - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

A different generation remembers the tune, "Bicycle Built for Two." These days, many bicycles are built for speed, not for courting.

It all began on this day in 1819. W. K. Clarkson, Jr. of New York got the first US patent on something called a "velocipede."

Twenty years later, the first bicycle, which had two wheels, a seat, steering and pedals, was produced by Kirkpatrick MacMillan in 1839.