By Thomas Saccente, Times Record / tsaccente@swtimes.com

How the bicycle began and evolved through the centuries was the centerpiece of an event at the Clayton House Sunday.

The Clayton House held its first Clayton Conversations program of the year at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, an event titled, "Bicycling Yesterday & Today."

Cris Slaymaker, a representative of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock, discussed how the first confirmed ancestor of the bicycle, the Draisienne, was invented by Baron Karl Von Drais of Germany in 1817. It was made out of wood, had two wheels of equal size and could be steered, but had no pedals. From there, the concept evolved in Europe until 1865, when another form of the bicycle, one with pedals called the velocipede, was brought to America by Pierre Lallement of France.

In addition to further innovations in the bicycle's design, as well as the invention's perception by the public, Slaymaker also discussed the bicycle's impact on women's lives.

"Up until around 1900, even into the 1880s, 1890s and 1900s, we see women's clothing start to get a lot looser, we see skirts getting shorter, you see corsets becoming less confining and part of what's driving that is wanting to ride bicycles because if any of you have ever tried riding a bicycle in a dress, it can be done, (but) it could also be a little bit hazardous," Slaymaker said. "... The bicycle's the first time a woman's like, 'I'm going to go see my friend,' and you don't have to have a male chaperone to go ride your bike, you don't have somebody go saddle your horse. You can just hop on your bicycle and go, so it's a huge thing for freedom."

Josh Carroll, an ambassador for Phat Tire Bike Shop in Fort Smith, discussed modern bicycles and which types of bicycles are available today. Afterward, Drew Linder, the chairman of Fort Smith'sTrails and Greenways committee, talked about existing and proposed trails in Fort Smith, as well as some of the benefits trails can bring to an area.

Prior to the discussion, guests could enjoy a variety of refreshments, as well as a collection of bicycles and unicycles that wereloaned from the Winters family, who owned the Quin Winters Bike Shop that opened in Fort Smith in the 1930s. They also had the opportunity to hear music performed by three students from the Community School of the Arts, with Ashley Gipson and Matthew Nelson playing cellos and Emily Bieker playing the violin.

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Clayton Conversations details evolution of bicycle - Times Record