Portland Press Herald, Maine, Off Beat column.(Column)

Byline: Shannon Bryan

Aug. 25--The first time some snappy young chap cruised by on his newly invented velocipede, people probably scoffed. "Look at that man using pedals to propel himself forward on that two-wheeled land vehicle!" they might've said. "How ridiculous!" Locals may have laughed as he passed. Children may have gazed in semi-frightened wonder. And the cynics -- always eager to shoot a dream out of the sky -- perhaps felt compelled to shake their heads and mumble, "These pedal-driven whatchamajigs will never catch on." A few tweaks to the frame and a couple of rubber wheels later, and bicycles are as commonplace as pants. Likewise, I bet roller skates looked …