Different kinds of rads (cycle) we have seen in Dusseldorf

I think I have been living in an insular world, but I didn’t realize there were so many different kinds of cycles which people use for getting from one place to another as I have seen ever since we got here…

Sure who has not seen the two wheeled bicycle – children start with trainer wheels and then you move on to 16”, 20”, 24” 26 or even 28” wheels.

But the children here start learning on yet another bicycle called the ‘laufrad’ or literally translated a running bicycle. This looks just like a bicycle you have seen except that the wheel diameters are no more than 6 or 8” and they don’t have any pedals. The kids move them forward by pushing their leg against the ground and propelling the bike forward and they will be wearing their helmet and all. Looks like watching their parents’ bike all the time, they want regular bicycles and hence a miniature one just for them…

You must have of course seen the scooters we used to propel ourselves along as a child and these days it has become popular with adults too with the Razor brand introducing it as a cool gadget…


But I had not seen adult scooter with almost 10” or more wheel diameters, till I saw someone going to work on one of these one morning during my usual walk in the park with Socks..

But my biggest shock came one day while I was driving and waiting at a traffic signal for the light to turn green. Someone crossed the road on the pedestrian crossing in front of my car on a unicycle. He reached the end of the road and then grabbed the traffic light pole and stood parallel to my car. When my light turned green, he began riding his unicycle parallel to me on the bike path beside the road…


We found unicycles are very popular here, when we went to watch the METRO sponsored Marathon in Duesseldorf this year. 30 mts before the start of the Marathon, bicyclists were allowed to begin, then 15 mts later unicyclists were allowed to begin and then finally the runners…Hats off to the unicyclists for sitting upright in the saddle – a virtual balancing act and riding for 42 kms…