Local Cycling History – A Conversation about Charles Metz

And now for something completely different; a video post.  Here’s a brief interview excerpt I did a few weeks ago for Seven Cycles.  Jesse Cates, a grad student at Brandeis University, is working on a project for the CyberArts Festival in Waltham, MA.

The complete interview covered a number of topics, focusing on a bit of the history of local Massachusetts manufacturing, contemporary cycling culture, and the intersection of art and bikes.  In this excerpt we talk about one of the earliest bike builders in the United States:  Charles Metz.  He was a local bike builder—based in Waltham, MA—and a bike racer in the late 1800s.  He was also the inventor of the American motorcycle.