The Race of the Dandy Horse

Did you know …

That one of the earliest forms of the bicycle, called a velocipede or a “Dandy Horse,” was invented for the purpose of jousting? It’s true!

The Dandy Horse was invented in the early 19th century by the German baron Karl von Drais. Drais was an avid horseman (that is to say, he rode regular horses, not yet dandy horses), but found that any horse much larger than a Shetland pony was too tall for effective jousting. Drais designed the velocipe as a means of comfortably achieving adequate velocity while maintaining maneuverability and remaining at the appropriate height for jousting.

It occurs to me that I may have not been specific enough above. If you're picturing the Baron von Drais speeding across a field holding a lance, you have been mislead; Drais’ understanding of “jousting” was fairly unconventional. Instead of trying to knock another man off of a horse (or dandy horse) with a stick, the Baron would “joust” by speeding along with his right pointer finger outstretched, with the intention of thrusting it into the bottoms of unsuspecting walkers. This behavior landed Drais in quite a bit of legal trouble, got him banned from county fairs across Europe, and gave him an index finger so often broken and re-healed that it looked more like a miniature bolt of lightning than a human digit, but he never quit. He was a true sportsman.