To fully understand the contemporary meaning and applications of bicycle tourism, it is important to recognize the historical lineage and significance of the bicycle, primarily as a mode of personal transport globally. The bicycle has a crucial place as part of a revolution in transport and travel; it led to greater personal mobility for the mass of the population, and in the process created, over time, a phenomenon known as bicycle culture (i.e., positioning the bicycle as a central part of everyday life in society).

As a consequence of this liberation in personal mobility, the bicycle has assumed greater societal and personal benefits, not the least as the focus for [Page 148]leisure and tourism experiences. In the following discussion, bicycle tourism is defined and characterized, including ...