Presidents on Bikes: A trip down memory lane

• Posted on 31 December 2020
• By Geoffrey D Smith
• Posted in bicycles, capitol, critical mass, government, president on bicycle, presidents
• 2

The character of a United States President can be judged by whether he/she rides a bicycle. See how they measure up...

On the eve of the unthinkable assault on the halls of congress today, and while I watch the congress count and argue about the electoral votes, I thought I'd look back on current and past presidents going back to when I first understood what a president is -- the early 1960s. Here are my findings...

Joe Biden

A total jock. Champion of social distancing and mask-wearing. Plays with his dogs a lot:

'The Donald' Trump

He is quoted as having said that he will never ride a bicycle. Here he is pictured with a Litespeed bicycle that is made in the USA, a fact that he very likely takes credit for. He does play golf a lot, but not sure if we walks the full 18 holes or rides a golf cart:

Barack Obama

Also a great basketball player. Hawaiian by birth, it is likely that he also surfs:

George W. Bush (the son)

A fun-loving guy from Texas (most recently) who likes to ride his bike on his cowboy ranch. He is also really into baseball:

Bill Clinton

Bill somehow got permission to ride his bike inside a government office building. When not riding, he likes to blow his saxophone:

George H. W. Bush (the dad)

It is quite possible that he did some other bicycling while under an assumed identity while he headed up the CIA, but I found this photo with him and his wife Barbara. He also flew airplanes off of Navy aircraft carriers in WWII and got shot down:

Jimmy Carter

It is remarkable that he could find time to ride his bike given his work raising peanuts and building homes for low-income families. Ask a busy person they say! Here we see Jimmy and Rosalynn in Yangshuo, China:

Gerald Ford

Gerald was an early adopter of the bicycle, as shown here in this pic of him astride a cool ride in 1915:

Ronald Reagan

Known for his gun-slinging, swimming and football playing, he was also a fit cyclist as shown here. He also acted, and did commercials for the Borax company:

LBJ

The big man who gave us The Great Society -- Wilderness Act, Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, Civil Rights Acts, Voting Rights Act, Economic Opportunity Act, and so on -- also rode horses. I couldn't find a pic of him on a bike. But I'll take the horse:

JFK

Johnny we hardly knew ye, but I caught Jackie riding a bike. John liked to sail, and captained a PT boat in WWII:

Anyway, this was an interesting trip down memory lane, which I took while watching history unfold on the internet. It is now 3:30 am in Washington DC and they have just finished counting the electoral votes, declaring Joe Biden to be the 46th President of the United States.

Cannot wait for January 20. Let's do a bicycle critical mass at the Capitol!

God Bless America