Cycling takes off?  I\’ll bet Orville and Wilbur would have loved it. But at Kitty Hawk it was probably beyond all imagining.

The Gossamer Albatross, you might say, brought things full circle. The Wright brothers were bicycle mechanics; and they built, and flew, the first successful heavier-than-air flying machine. The Gossamer Albatross, which took off some 76 years later, was pedal powered. Thus cycling took to the air.

It\’s staggering for me to think of putting out 300 watts at all, never mind keeping it up for well over two hours. And with a weight of 220 pounds! That must have been one tremendously strong cyclist.

How might I fare trying to take cycling to the air? I probably wouldn\’t be able to get the unloaded Gossamer Albatross off the ground. I have no idea how many watts I can produce, but I\’m quite certain it\’s not any 300. Even supposing I could effect a take-off, how long could I remain aloft? Would I be able to deal with headwinds? They\’re hard enough on the ground; would they be worse while flying? And — perish the thought! — what if I were to suffer a bird strike? I\’m no Sully, after all.

Cycling takes off? I think I\’d better continue to keep my wheels on the ground.