second part of our brief history of the bicycle, we explore how the bicycle democratised mobility, advanced the cause of emancipation, became a cult object and ... anything else in the world. “I’m delighted every time I see a woman ride past on a bicycle. It gives her a feeling of self-confidence and independence as soon ... The Emir of Kabul goes a step further, equipping his entire harem with bicycles. Starting in the 1890s, the two-wheeler becomes a fashionable must-have