Have you ever wondered about the history behind your beloved two-wheeled pastime? Though it may be little-known to most cyclists today, in 1815, a volcano erupted on an island in Indonesia. Despite its distance from the U.S., the massive explosion released so much ash and gas into the atmosphere that the reduction in sunlight killed crops in multiple countries, resulting in flooding, drought and starvation.

Food was scarce for animals as well as people. The sudden shortage of horses, given that they were the main means of transportation in history to this point, led German inventory Karl von Drais to create the first widespread form of horseless transport, a “running machine.”