From Monday 12 October, you’ll be able to hear me and three other cycling experts discuss the importance of the bicycle in an episode of The Forum on BBC World Service.
Bridget Kendall leads the discussion with social enterprise entrepreneur Sameer Hajee a leader of pedal power projects in developing countries, cycling infrastructure planner Reetta Keisanen who has helped make Helsinki a cycling city, philosopher Professor Mike Austin a expert in thinking on and about the bicycle, and me historian Dr Sheila Hanlon on the significance of cycling for women in Victorian and Edwardian eras.
“The Bicycle: Freedom Machine” explores the bicycle from all angles, from pedal power generated light and battery charging in African towns and as a form of transportation, to it’s more ephemeral connections to women’s emancipation and philosophy.
“The Bicycle: Freedom Machine airs on the BBC World Service at 01:06 GMT Monday 12 October, BBC World Service at 08:00 GMT Tuesday 13 October, and BBC World Service Australia 01:06 Wednesday 14 October.
You can also listen to a short clip from the show about the faux-medical theories devised in the 1890s to discourage women from cycling. The clip which addresses a number of imagined cycle-diseases including the infamous bicycle face.
Tune in to the BBC World Service to hear the full broadcast or listen to it as a podcast on The Forum site, www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004kln9
