Pedal power has fueled travel, fitness, and machinery for centuries.
Beyond the bike, inventors have dreamed up a weird and wonderful world of human-powered creations.
One of the first variations was the classic penny-farthing.
The vehicle’s massive front wheel was engineered to help riders travel farther with each pedal stroke while its smaller rear wheel absorbed the impact of rocky roads.
The penny-farthing was wildly popular across the world from the 1870s until bicycle riders were won over by the modern-style bicycle in the late 1880s.
Since then, inventors have built on the design with unicycles, pedalos, quadracycles, velocars and many more.
In the early 20th century, it was not enough to propel oneself on the ground.
Inventors wanted to take pedal power to the skies.
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Early attempts to build a pedal-powered aeroplane failed because of the impossibility of getting the necessary ratio of power to weight.
But on November 9, 1961, Derek Piggott made the first officially authenticated take-off and landing of a human-powered aircraft in the Southampton Universitys Man-Powered Aircraft. His best effort of 40 flights was 650 metres.
Here are photos of local people getting a little creative—and unorthodox—with their feet; although, perhaps nothing as extreme as literally taking flight!
