UVM professor Luis Vivanco explores the fascinating early history of the bicycle in Vermont, an invention that generated widespread curiosity when it arrived here in the 1880s. Over the next decade, enthusiasm exploded statewide as bicycles became safer, women took to the wheel, roads improved, and retailers developed novel advertising techniques to draw in buyers.

Bio: Luis Vivanco is professor of Anthropology and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Vermont. He studied Religion at Dartmouth and received his Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Princeton. He researches environmental social movements in Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, and the U.S.; the history of wildlife films, and urban bicycle use. Luis is recipient of UVM’s Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award, for excellence in teaching, mentoring, and an ability to inspire students for life-long learning.