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Keir

Keir is no more than a hamlet with a small Parish Church dating mainly from 1814. It was near here that Kirkpatrick MacMillan, inventor of the modern bicycle, was born in 1813. While his brothers all went on to become successful in their careers, Kirkpatrick was content to stay at home and ply the trade of a blacksmith.

Hobbyhorses, which relied on riders pushing themselves forward with their feet, had been around since the early part of the 19th century, but Kirkpatrick MacMillan’s bicycle was the first to incorporate revolving pedals. On 6th June 1842 he set out on a 70-mile ride to Glasgow on his bicycle, and was greeted by crowds when he arrived there. However, while passing through the Gorbals, he knocked down a young girl, and even though she wasn’t badly injured, he was fined five shillings by a Glasgow magistrate, the first recorded case of a cyclist being fined for a traffic offence. However, rumour has it that the magistrate offered to pay the fine out of his own pocket if Kirkpatrick would allow him to have a ride on the bicycle.