Presidents on Bikes

[Judd]

Many on the forum have been on one of my Presidential History Bike Rides and know I love both historical trivia and bikes. After seeing Biden riding a bike in Rehoboth on Saturday, I started looking into Presidents and their relationship with bikes.

I put together a thread on Twitter that’s gotten a lot of attention by bike Twitter and thankfully hasn’t quite caught the attention of the MAGA and neo-Nazi crowd yet. This was quick google research without a lot of validation so buyer beware. I know if two errors: I erroneously stated FDR suffered from polio in childhood. It actually occurred during adulthood. Also the picture of JFK on a bike was photoshopped. It’s actually Sean Connery with JFK’s head.

https://twitter.com/juddlumberjack/status/1292253593685446659?s=21

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Topic

[drevil]

I’m sad that you didn’t include George Washington and how he invented the Mt Vernon trail so he could bike from home to do laps at Hains Point. Otherwise, I love it man, thank you for doing the research.

[mstone]

@drevil 202010 wrote:

I’m sad that you didn’t include George Washington and how he invented the Mt Vernon trail so he could bike from home to do laps at Hains Point. Otherwise, I love it man, thank you for doing the research.

“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet” — Abraham Lincoln

[Judd]

@drevil 202010 wrote:

I’m sad that you didn’t include George Washington and how he invented the Mt Vernon trail so he could bike from home to do laps at Hains Point. Otherwise, I love it man, thank you for doing the research.

This is absolutely true.

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[komorebi]

Great Twitter thread, Judd! I enjoyed that.

FYI, I don’t know if Gerald Ford rode a bike while living in Alexandria, but his kids biked around the neighborhood and had fond memories of doing so: https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=29392.

[Emm]

That thread is amazing. Great work Judd. I learned alot, and it was a ton of fun to read!!!

[Judd]

@komorebi 202015 wrote:

Great Twitter thread, Judd! I enjoyed that.

FYI, I don’t know if Gerald Ford rode a bike while living in Alexandria, but his kids biked around the neighborhood and had fond memories of doing so: https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=29392.

Sweet! I tacked this on to the thread. Interesting to read that he and Nixon lived in Park Fairfax. I’ll have to see if there’s enough online to do an Alexandria Presidential Homes bike ride.

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[Starduster]

@Judd 202009 wrote:

Many on the forum have been on one of my Presidential History Bike Rides and know I love both historical trivia and bikes. After seeing Biden riding a bike in Rehoboth on Saturday, I started looking into Presidents and their relationship with bikes.

I put together a thread on Twitter that’s gotten a lot of attention by bike Twitter and thankfully hasn’t quite caught the attention of the MAGA and neo-Nazi crowd yet. This was quick google research without a lot of validation so buyer beware. I know if two errors: I erroneously stated FDR suffered from polio in childhood. It actually occurred during adulthood. Also the picture of JFK on a bike was photoshopped. It’s actually Sean Connery with JFK’s head.

https://twitter.com/juddlumberjack/status/1292253593685446659?s=21

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Judd: There is one more picture from George W.’s time as President- riding with Lance, before Armstrong fell from grace. I believe 2005. [ATTACH=CONFIG]21617[/ATTACH] Of course there was a Texas connection, besides the bike…

Some of us remember that Mike Hamannwright from Revolution Cycles wound up being the bicycling outfitter to the President during those years.

[Steve O]

@komorebi 202015 wrote:

Great Twitter thread, Judd! I enjoyed that.

FYI, I don’t know if Gerald Ford rode a bike while living in Alexandria, but his kids biked around the neighborhood and had fond memories of doing so: https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=29392.

And during Freezing Saddles 2014 Best FS Game Ever – Find the Founding Fathers, I actually rode out to his house on a cold, dark night.

[kwarkentien]

@Steve O 202020 wrote:

And during Freezing Saddles 2014 Best FS Game Ever – Find the Founding Fathers, I actually rode out to his house on a cold, dark night.

Which one? He lived in Parkfairfax on Mount Eagle Place early in his career as a member of the House and then he lived on Crown View Drive off Janneys Lane up until he became President.

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[Steve O]

@kwarkentien 202021 wrote:

Which one? He lived in Parkfairfax on Mount Eagle Place early in his career as a member of the House and then he lived on Crown View Drive off Janneys Lane up until he became President.

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Click on the link to find out

[Henry]

And Ford would have supported the bike lanes on Seminary Road, no doubt.

[n18]

You missed a spot:

[IMG]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/333c1271c2393e4d5375c5f38ce5fedd5ad275a2/c=0-122-2400-1478/local/-/media/2016/07/11/INGroup/Indianapolis/636038462435150798-Pence-and-Cops-cycling-for-Survivors-jrw11.JPG?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp[/IMG]

Edit: Apparently he is an avid cyclist, doing 250 Miles on a single speed bike at one time according to this article, but I didn’t see that translates into a push for more cycling infrastructure in the last 3.5 years, unless I missed something. Most of the improvements that we have seen appeared on the state/local level.

[Fairlington124]

@Judd 202018 wrote:

Sweet! I tacked this on to the thread. Interesting to read that he and Nixon lived in Park Fairfax. I’ll have to see if there’s enough online to do an Alexandria Presidential Homes bike ride.

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Not the best place to live as a rider, unless the super-steep Valley Drive hill is your thing.

Maybe Nixon’s “I have never been a quitter” line was coined after pedaling his way to the top…

[Emm]

@Fairlington124 202025 wrote:

Not the best place to live as a rider, unless the super-steep Valley Drive hill is your thing.

Maybe Nixon’s “I have never been a quitter” line was coined after pedaling his way to the top…

Valley Drive is the easy one. Martha Custis and Gunston are the painful ones (Preston can be fun too, but it’s shorter). I lived on Valley for a few years and loved it. The neighborhood is also super bike friendly.

[kwarkentien]

@Emm 202026 wrote:

Valley Drive is the easy one. Martha Custis and Gunston are the painful ones (Preston can be fun too, but it’s shorter). I lived on Valley for a few years and loved it. The neighborhood is also super bike friendly.

Agreed. Compared to Martha Custis and Preston, Valley is a just a little bump in the road.

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[Author]

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