MOUNTING—PREPARATORY POSITION.
MOUNTING—PREPARATORY POSITION.
Too great inclination of the machine will spoil the mount, and insufficient inclination will have the same effect. The front wheel must be held in line with the frame, and any wrong tendency corrected by the handle-bars after the weight is raised on the pedal, and the machine is upright.
Many good tires are ruined by ineffectual efforts to mount. The machine is pulled against the tire, and it is hard to understand why the tires are not torn off or ripped to pieces. The light wheels are not made to stand such usage; and it is a mistake to subject a new wheel to it. The rubber is pulled sideways (a proper way to pull a tire off), and the novice is fortunate if the bicycle is not all pulled out of true by being strained in directions not calculated to resist wear and strain. A twenty-pound wheel may be pulled out of true and so bent and untwisted by ineffectual mounting efforts that it cannot be restored without labor that amounts to practically rebuilding the bicycle.
In turning a bicycle, always lean in the direction the machine is inclined. Lean in the direction you want to go, and very little correction will be needed from the handle-bars. In turning, lean with the wheel, and meet it with the handle-bars. Meeting the machine is done continually, and is done by swinging the front wheel to meet the inclination of the bicycle on whichever side it has a tendency to fall. Bringing up is done by pulling the wheel around a little further quickly, and very quickly back again. The frame is lifted by the front wheel. This is explained in the principles of bicycle construction.When an obstacle, as a car track or rut in the road, is met, the obstacle must be crossed squarely; or if obliged to make a different angle, the angle should be met with the front wheel at the instant of contact, and a proper balance maintained with the pedals.
To stop and stand still, pedal slowly until the machine is almost ready to stop; then “catch the pedals half way,” that is, stand on them, rising from the saddle, having the pedals at equal heights, and alternate the pressure. Hold the saddle firmly, pressing against both sides to feel the balance and to hold the balance by means of the saddle between the pedals with the weight on the feet.
As you catch the pedals, give the front wheel a sudden twist towards the back pedal, which will prevent the bicycle from falling on that side; then control the balance by the weight on the other pedal, and if necessary restore balance by a quick twist of the front wheel. The best way to practise this is to stop near a smooth wall, and use that to assist to steady the balance.
Two people can stop and stand still in this way, crossing hands as in skating, gripping the inner handles of the bicycles, and stopping by holding the pedals and controlling the front wheels by the handles, using the outer hand. This makes a very pretty and effective pause.
CORRECT MOUNTING POSITION.
CORRECT MOUNTING POSITION.
Numbness undoubtedly comes from interrupted circulation, caused either by the clothing or the method of working. Numbness of the hands and fingers may be traced generally to tight clothing,and after all surface pressure is removed may safely be attributed to a too tight gripping of the handles. A large soft glove often aids to prevent numbness of the fingers; if gloves are not worn, the hand is apt to grasp too closely. Change of position, too, will tend to counteract numbness. It is not well to work too long at a time without a rest, if there is any tendency of this kind. Walk up hill or on the level to restore the circulation.
Numbness of the foot can be caused by surface pressure, the shoes, or the saddle. Sitting too close to the saddle while working, instead of carrying the weight on the pedals, is apt to produce numbness of the feet. Garters or belts will have the same effect, and must be watched and regulated. A shoe adapted for walking is not at all suitable for serious bicycle exercise; the strains and pressure all come in the wrong places, and confine and numb the feet. Free ankle movement is imperative, and freedom for the lower muscles of the calf of the leg; room for the feet, and especially for the toes to spread and to assist in pressing the pedal. The sole of the shoe should be stiff, to prevent bruises from the pedals or from irregularities on the ground.
Concussion and a consequent vibratory movement of the bicycle are impossible to avoid, but they need not affect the wheeler injuriously. Numbness is sometimes due to a condition of the nerves of the parts affected by the vibratory movement. To prevent this condition of affairs, never wheel with the weight on the hands, nor grip the handles of the handle-bars too tight. Rest the hands lightly on thehandles, and be prepared to squeeze hard when necessary. Study the best position and most convenient height for the hands when the machine is best under control, and the jar and vibration are not perceived. All joints of wrist, elbow, and shoulder should transmit any motion, not locate it, by being fixed or rigid at any point.
The tire of the wheel should not be hard, nor should the saddle be fitted with springs; and it should be so placed as to allow the rider to rise easily on the pedals for rough wheeling. These rules being observed, serious danger from this cause need not be apprehended.
Wheeling over cobble-stone pavement or over good Belgian blocks produces a marked vibration in the bicycle. It would be a satisfactory test for adjustment of position to be able to wheel over such a surface with comfort, feeling the vibration of the bicycle hardly at all.
The difficulty experienced in wheeling over rough surface is caused by lack of confidence and by general stiffness of all the muscles, which causes the full force of the vibration to be felt. In carrying the weight on the pedals, the vibration is less intensely felt. To grip the handles for rough surface riding is almost involuntary, but it is accompanied by acute discomfort from vibration. Pedal work only will meet this difficulty.
There are different methods of mounting. The pedal mount is usually the one first attempted on a drop-frame bicycle; the mount over the wheel on a diamond-frame.
MOUNTING—SECOND POSITION.
MOUNTING—SECOND POSITION.
The diamond-frame mount from the peg is made in this way: Standing directly behind the machine, the handles of the handle-bars are grasped firmly. One foot is placed on the peg, and the wheel inclined away from that foot; the foot on the ground gives a shove, and the bicycle moves off, carrying the weight on the peg; and the other foot swings forward to catch the pedal, which was a little behind the top of the circle on starting.
The drop-frame has several rather pretty pedal mounts and vaults. In one, the bars are held, and the machine is started. Watch the rhythm of the pedal, and as it passes the top of the stroke, incline the machine away from you, place the other foot on the pedal, swing the foot next the machine over in front, and catch the other pedal as it rises; then sit easily on the saddle. The vault is made after starting the machine, running or hurrying along, and springing from the ground to the saddle, using the handles to help. The pedals are found after being seated on the saddle; and the machine moves with the momentum given it in running before rising in the vault.
There is a mount from the pedal on the same side on which you are standing. Start the bicycle, and keep along with it, watching the pedals. As the pedal near you comes up and over the top of the curve, step on it with the outside foot, inclining the machine well away from you; at the same time the weight will carry the pedal around with you, and as it rises, the other pedal and the saddle can be found. The same mount may be made without starting themachine. Hold the machine inclined from you; place the outside foot against the pedal until it is at its furthest point away from you; hold the bicycle firmly, and step on, swinging the foot off the ground around to the other pedal, in front of the saddle, not behind it. On the diamond-frame, the same mount is made, only the foot is swung behind the saddle, not in front of it, as is possible on the drop-frame machine.
To stop the bicycle with another person on it, grasp the handle-bars, and take hold of the shoulder of the person propelling the bicycle, if necessary.
DISMOUNTING OVER THE WHEEL.
DISMOUNTING OVER THE WHEEL.
The matter of dress for bicycling is quite important from the hygienic standpoint.
Clothing should be most carefully selected, with the view to an equal distribution of weight and an even thickness of material; it should have no constricting, no tight bands anywhere, but should permit of absolute freedom of movement, and be warm enough to prevent chilling through too great radiation of heat, yet porous enough to allow of free evaporation.
All seasons of the year permit of cycling; the bicyclist therefore has opportunity for much variety in dress. The essentials are knickerbockers, shirt-waist, stockings, shoes, gaiters, sweater, coat, no skirt, or skirt with length decided by individual preference, hat and gloves.
The knickerbockers should be very carefully cut; smooth and tight just over the top of the hips, and fitting easily below; not fulled or gathered; full at the knees, and boxed or finished with a band and button and button-hole; nothing elastic on any account. The stockings should be worn folded on the boxed part of the knickerbockers, below the knees, and rolled down and held by the band of the knickerbockers, being fastened below. This arrangementdoes away with garters, which compress surface circulation, or pull if attached at the waist, causing pressure where they pull, and are most objectionable for many reasons. The knickerbockers should be made of cloth or woollen material.
The shirt-waist should have wristbands or sleeves finished to open a little way, and button; the neck finished with a band, with a detachable collar of the same material. The body of the waist should be shaped to the figure at the sides and back, gathered slightly in the front, and finished at the waist-line without a band, and may be of the same material as the rest of the suit. The knickerbockers should button to this waist, the places for the buttons being reinforced. The stockings should preferably be of wool, and of a seasonable weight.
The combination of knickerbockers, shirt-waist, and stockings forms the essential part of a cycling costume. A union under-garment may be worn and the knickerbocker suit; over this a coat and a skirt if desired, with a sweater for an extra wrap.
Bicycling is warm work, and the clothing should always be rather light in weight. For touring it must all be carried on the wheel, and yet be heavy enough for comfort when not exercising, and not too heavy for work, and should, moreover, allow of adjustment for changes in temperature or for any required change in distribution. To this end, all the clothing should be of one color or of colors that look well together. The knickerbockers, waist, and skirt should match; then if the coat is removed, the costume looks complete. An outfit might consist oftwo suits complete, of different weights; sweaters of different weights; wool stockings, heavy and light, that will roll below the knee without being either bulky or tight.
MOUNTING OVER THE WHEEL FROM PEG.
MOUNTING OVER THE WHEEL FROM PEG.
The knickerbockers are better fastened with a button, the button being in just the right place, than with a strap and buckle, which is liable to be pulled too tight at times.
The shoes should be low, made of thin leather, laced well down toward the toe, with light uppers, and soles stiff yet flexible, and made with grooves to take the pedals and prevent slipping. Blocks or cleats on the soles to fit the pedals are sometimes preferred, but are hardly so good for general work.
The gaiters may be made of almost any suitable material, leather, canvas, or woollen, to match or contrast with the rest of the costume. They should fit easily around the ankle and over the instep, and should never, on any account, extend more than half way to the knee. The muscles of the calf of the leg must have room to work; and gaiters badly cut, or too tight or too long, would impede circulation and restrict muscular action.
The sweater should come well up around the neck, and pull down easily below the saddle; it is better too long than not long enough to cover the large muscular masses that have been at work, and may be turned up if in the way. It should slip on easily, and be soft and woolly, and not so cumbersome that the coat cannot slip on over it and be buttoned up to the throat.
The coat should be cut long-waisted, and easyacross the shoulders, single-breasted, and made to button close to the throat; the collar to roll and remain open, but so cut that it may be easily turned up to the ears. The sleeves should be finished with two buttons and button-holes, so that they may be turned up a little if desired.
There are occasions when a covert coat made of close cloth may be useful, when out in very cold weather or standing in the wind without shelter; but it cannot be generally recommended.
Pockets in any part of the dress should be made of woollen material. Cotton retains moisture, and a cotton pocket or a pocket lined with cotton may become damp and clammy and cold, acting almost like a damp compress. The fewer pockets, the better; but a number are often found convenient. Everything if possible should be carried on the wheel, not in the pockets. Metal condenses moisture and interrupts evaporation.
As the skirt should always open at the side, and fasten with several buttons, a convenient pocket may be placed in the placket-hole; a watch-pocket in the skirt is a good thing, but the watch is better carried on the wheel; and a pocket should be set aside for matches, where they may always be found quickly.
Collars and cuffs of linen or of celluloid, of silk or of the same material as the suit, may be used for touring; but soft neckwear should be worn if possible.
If a neck-muffler is worn, it should be of cashmere, not of silk.
Neatness is most important. Each article of dress should be carefully adjusted and fastened.Never use pins or put things carelessly together, hoping they will stay, but be sure that every article of dress fits and is securely fastened, and it will never need a thought after it is in place.
In warm weather gloves with one button are most comfortable; for cooler weather, four buttons, fastened about the wrists, keep the hands warm.
The adjustment of the covering of wrists and ankles makes the greatest difference in comfort in wheeling. In cold weather, hands and feet should be kept warm; in hot weather, it is comfortable to work with the cuffs turned back and wearing low shoes without gaiters. Indeed, in hot weather it is important not to encase the ankles in heavy boots or leggings, as these would ensure overheating.
The outfit may be completed with a number of hats—a light straw for summer, a soft felt for touring, and a small and becoming hat for the park. The hat should be chosen to stay on easily, and not pinned, but fastened under the hair with elastic, and the hair dressed to stand any amount of blowing about.
The skirt should not reach more than half way below the knee, and the hem and all seams should be finished on the outside; then there will be nothing to catch or pull. The width around the bottom may be a matter of choice, but the skirt need not fall behind the pedal when furthest back, and should be cut full enough in the front to permit the knees to work easily. The top of the skirt should take the place of a waistband, following the curves of the figure, made to flare at the top of the waist, andfitted snugly over the hips and hanging from them. It may be worn with or without a belt.
The coat should be long enough to touch the saddle or hang an inch or two below it, to protect all the vital organs and as much of the working masses of muscle as possible.
The sweater may be worn for coolness or warmth. As an outside garment, it allows the air to pass through its mesh easily; worn under another garment, it is very warm, retaining the heat.
The color of a bicycle suit may be chosen for the kind of work to be done; its texture may be decided suitable if, a piece being held over the mouth, it is possible to inhale and exhale through it easily. The cloth should be firm enough to stand wear and rough usage; smooth enough to shed dust easily; and of a quality that will stand being wet without shrinking, and will turn the rain if caught in a shower. It should be firm, elastic, soft; have what is known as substance; be very light in weight and yet not clinging; and possessing all these qualities, the ideal cloth for bicycling should not be so expensive that it cannot be renewed easily.
Simplicity in detail for any garment made to work in is always commendable, and a bicycle dress must be simple to be suitable.
A corset, if one is worn, should not extend below the waist-line, and should have elastic side-lacing.
To choose what to wear when the weather is changeable is rather difficult; and the bicyclist starting early in the morning for an all-day outing must expect changes of temperature during the day.Starting, the coat may be folded on the handles, and the sweater worn; later, as the sun grows warmer, the sweater may be removed; at the noonday halt, the coat may be donned while lunching, as it usually seems chilly coming under cover; later in the afternoon the sweater is again of use; and before the evening is advanced, the coat worn over the sweater often proves acceptable.
For touring, only an extra change of underwear, with a change of neckwear, is needed to carry on the wheel.
To look well at all times when bicycling, it is necessary to remember the possible conditions that may be encountered, and to wear no garment that may prove incongruous.
When touring, of course, fresh toilettes may be indulged in at the expense of extra luggage. The chief pleasure of bicycling is independence and the joy of being free; yet a long trip without access to the conveniences and even the luxuries of civilization, should not be attempted. A trunk may be sent home as soon as it has been proved unnecessary, or sent ahead and met at intervals; but its non-arrival should never be allowed to disconcert the traveller.
It is an accepted fact that bicycling cannot be properly enjoyed unless the clothing is suitable. Of course, one can take a drop-frame bicycle, mount, and wheel slowly for a short distance, barring inconveniences, in ordinary dress; so can one swim a little if unexpectedly placed in the water. Bicycling requires the same freedom of movement that swimming does, and the dress must not hamper or hinder.
Suitably attired, with a bicycle of the latest model and most perfect construction, it matters little whether the residence be in town or country, for the largest city is soon left behind. The country, when the highway ceases to be passable, is easily traversable on the foot-trodden pathway beside it. Wherever the foot has trodden, the wheel may follow, if the path be well defined; and as the wheel can be carried easily, there is no limit but the limit of endurance in crossing country that cannot be wheeled over. But in order to cover distance without dismounting and within a time limit, where the speed attained is an element to be considered, good roads should be chosen.
The bicycle multiplies our power of advancing by five. One who can walk three miles in an hour can wheel fifteen miles on a bicycle, given all the conditions necessary to attain that speed for the period of an hour. The wonderful speed of the running and sprinting athlete is again multiplied by five, for a short time, in the contests where wheeling records are made.
While increasing the distance travelled the bicyclehas greatly decreased the time limit. A person travelling afoot at the rate of three miles an hour (the average walking gait) covers a mile in twenty minutes, and at the end of an hour is not more than three miles from the starting point. On a bicycle a mile is covered usually in four minutes or less. The average distance, owing to the varied resistance met, is not usually so great; and more power may be expended in the hour than is required to walk three miles in the same length of time. Six miles may be the record for an hour on a wheel, and yet the amount of work done be very great. Until the position is adjusted to suit individual requirements, the output of power to accomplish a certain distance, even though it be a short one, is necessarily great. Considerable study is necessary to work out the perfect individual adjustment of the bicycle, weight of clothing, and amount of practice requisite to easy, rhythmical movement; but that once attained, the world lies before you.
Bicycling trains and quickens the perceptions; it cultivates and develops courage, judgment, and discrimination as well as prompt decision and quick and accurate sight. The hand follows the eye without effort; and the machine responds to each impression received without conscious expenditure of power.
To cyclists is due the keen public interest recently aroused in good roadways and in legislation to effect their construction, and the consequent improvement in public highways. For years the amateur cyclists of the country labored to this end inthe interest of the sport, the League of American Wheelmen intelligently preparing the minds of the public on the subject.
To be accomplished as a bicyclist means something more than knowing how to wheel a bicycle and to be able to get about on it. It is necessary besides to keep informed of the laws and ordinances relating to bicycles and to vehicles in general; to possess a complete and accurate knowledge of the wheel as a machine; to be able to do for it all that can be done one’s self or to direct another who has not this knowledge; to know the country travelled, know distance and direction; the use of map and compass, and how to travel without them, finding the direction by sun or stars, or even, if need be, without either; to understand the effect of time and season on the face of nature and to cultivate the senses of the woods.
If, while touring with a party, you find that you have missed the way in a strange country and that something about the bicycle has given out, calm decision is requisite. Estimate your resources, and keep quiet. Do not try to find your party; let them find you. Study your wheel-tracks; if off the line of travel, follow them carefully to where they join the tracks of your companions. Then wait until some one comes for you. Rest or be busy about your wheel. Do what you can easily, not to be tired and worn out when your companions find you. It is seldom wise to try and walk after the party; the only object in moving would be to keep warm, for a chill must be avoided.
There is a wonderful difference in the distances covered under different conditions. Winds, adverse or favorable, affect the bicyclist more than anything else. An unfavorable wind is one directly ahead or that can be felt on either cheek while advancing. A favorable wind is one that blows on the back, or cannot be felt on either cheek while looking ahead. A wind blowing directly at right angles with the direction of the wheel is a favorable wind; you unconsciously balance against it, and the bicycle glides forward under pressure as a boat does with the sail trimmed in.
When starting out, note the weather conditions; what the prevailing winds are and what the changes are likely to be during the time you expect to be on your bicycle. If the wind is west or northwest, do not take that direction for the run out, unless the trip is to be a short one. Always try to have the wind with you, both going and returning. Learn the peculiarities of the weather and study the government weather reports; they are of quite as much assistance to the bicyclist as to the mariner who knows how to use them; for winds frequently change their direction, and the indications for such changes should be sought and studied.
If a short trip is planned, as the wind is not likely to change during the run, start out against the wind; that is, plan to do the hardest work first, and let the wind help on the return. Avoid hard work whenever possible. Hill-climbing against the wind is the hardest kind of work; with the wind to assist, even quite steep hills may often be coasted part of theway up, and all easy grades taken with the feet off the pedals. Coasting should be indulged in with discretion, or the bicycle may run away with you. Check speed at the first indication that the wheel is escaping control by applying the brake and catching the pedal, back pedaling at the same time. On a public road, the bicycle should never be beyond control.
To thoroughly enjoy an outing, road, direction, and atmospheric conditions should be studied. If you are out for several hours’ spin in chilly weather, there is little pleasure to be had in exploring; but in weather when the temperature permits of stops without danger to health, frequent dismounts and short-distance trips across country are enjoyable. One of the pleasures of bicyclists is the good fellowship existing between them, which is rarely disturbed. On the bicycle conversation is interrupted by long pauses, by intervals of silence, when each rider is alone, with opportunity for reflection and mental expansion.
On long trips note first the general direction of the road, the wind, and the sun; try to have the wind with you and the sun behind you for the better part of the day. Be able to change your plans quickly to meet changed conditions, and have a reserve of grit to fall back on if things do not go quite to your liking. Dressed for bicycling, it matters little whether it rains or shines; but wind, sand, and stones make impossible conditions for the bicyclist. When wind has reached a certain velocity, wheeling becomes unsafe. Mud causes the wheels to slip andprevents them from turning; sand does the same. A surface offering little or no resistance is impossible. Stones are dangerously liable to cause spills, while ruts and bumps twist the bicycle and are apt to throw the rider.
In the autumn months, when the sun sets early, a lantern should be provided even when it seems an absurdly unnecessary encumbrance; for a town or village where the ordinances are strict may lie on the route, and the unlucky bicyclist without a light must go afoot.
Of course, speeding cannot be attempted with the bicycle encumbered; but with all the extras, a good average speed may be maintained. The bicyclist wishing for freedom from all encumbrance is apt to forget unpleasant possibilities. A punctured tire thirty miles from anything is such a possibility; so, though the tool-kit weighs something, it can never prudently be dispensed with.
Have the bicycle all ready, and start free from care and with a quiet mind, after a last careful and reassuring inspection of the machine. Starting from a town with a perfectly running machine, the attention is first directed to getting into the country easily, either by train or by wheeling. In wheeling, streets free from traffic and with the best possible surfaces should be chosen.
Country wheeling is often good when city work is impossible. The dangers of city wheeling are traffic, car tracks, and mud. City mud is usually of a greasy nature, very difficult to wheel over. Evenpedaling is very necessary, and uneven pressure on the pedals means a side spill.
In wheeling over mud, never attempt to control the machine by the front wheel; it must be controlled by the pedals. If too much pressure is used, there is nothing left but to step off. Do not try to recover by means of the front wheel; the attempt will be useless, and a fall can be avoided only by stepping off. Keep the front wheel steady, and rely on the weight-carrying wheel to take you clear of the mud. Keep a sharp lookout, and travel slowly. Any one can make a bicycle go.
Get out of town, and then be ready to pedal up to time on the first clear stretch of good road. Make time, but never hurry. Never work hard over hill-work or try to go fast against the wind. When using side-paths, always recollect they may be protected by local ordinances. Keep posted on the law of the road, taking to the highway on approaching towns and villages. If the work is hard, travel slowly, and look ahead. Two good rules are—To travel fast, look well ahead; and watch the ground when there is a hard bit of road to pass over.
A good stiff pull against the wind can be accomplished easily, really easily, if you take your time, giving full attention to pedaling, and keeping the eyes a short distance ahead of the wheel. It is much easier to rest on the bicycle by slowing than to dismount. In cold weather, never stop without seeking shelter, at least the lee of bank or wall; and keep away from a fire, as it renders one liable to take cold. Nothing is so dangerous infrosty weather as a pause of even a few minutes dismounted.
In warm weather, it is permissible to drink water when wheeling; but it should be remembered that the bicyclist passes through all sorts of country, and the water may sometimes be anything but drinkable from a sanitary point of view, even causing typhoid and other fevers. Water that has been boiled is unpalatable, but it is safe; boiled and cooled, it may be rendered more palatable by shaking it or pouring it from one pitcher to another to mix air with it. Ice in water is another source of danger. The water, after being boiled or filtered, should be placed in bottles with absorbent cotton for stoppers, and cooled by being placed on ice. Muddy water may be cleansed with a piece of alum. If a lump of alum is stirred about for a second or two in a pail or pitcher of muddy water, and then the water allowed to settle, it will be found fit to boil for drinking. Bottled waters are safest when the country is unknown or when there is doubt as to the purity of the local supply; but failing these, the precautions mentioned will ensure safety.
Never prolong bicycle exercise without eating, and never work after a hearty meal; but the consumption of a couple of sandwiches at noon cannot be regarded as a serious meal; and it is often better to push on after a short halt, moving slowly, than to sit around on rocks or stumps to wait for a proper digestive period to elapse. It is well to have a small reserve supply of food, such as chocolate or beef tablets, to tide one over a prolonged period betweenmeals. Milk and bread and cheese are good to take as an extra meal. Never work hungry if it can be avoided; the bicycle will lag, and the cyclist wonder at being weary. Keep up the food supply by all means, for fatigue sets in quickly with the desire for food, and the system quickly becomes enfeebled.
The cyclometer registers each revolution of the wheel, and by an ingenious mechanism the dial gives the record in miles. There is a great temptation to roll up miles, that the cyclometer may make a good showing; indeed, this striving after mileage often becomes a ruling passion, interfering with the real pleasures of the sport.
The pedestrian, accustomed to noting distances, can usually judge the rate or pace travelled, and decide very accurately upon the distance traversed, with only the time as a guide; for the pace, so many miles an hour, multiplied by the number of hours, gives the distance.
On the bicycle the pace is very easily estimated in a similar manner. Count the strokes per minute as each knee rises, divide that by two, and you have the number of revolutions of the crank. The gear gives the diameter of the wheel larger than the one on the bicycle; sixty-four gear, for instance, means that the crank revolution covers a distance equal to a wheel with a diameter of sixty-four inches. The circumference of a wheel is three times its diameter; and 64 multiplied by 3 equals 192 inches measured on the ground for one revolution of the crank. Multiply the distance measured on the ground by the crank revolution by the number of strokes made perminute, divide by twelve to give the number of feet the crank has covered in one revolution, and you have the distance in feet travelled per minute. To find the rate of miles per hour, multiply that result by 60 to find the number of feet travelled per hour, and divide the result by 5280, the number of feet in a mile. The watch should have a second hand for bicycle work. The cyclometer taken for five minutes, then multiplied by twelve, gives the rate of mileage per hour, a very convenient way of ascertaining the rate of speed per hour.
It is well to know the rhythm of stroke of a certain rate per hour, for it is often of assistance in determining distance, and will frequently prevent a hurry when train connections are to be made, by assuring you that you are easily travelling a pace that will take you to your destination on time.
The alertness and quickness of perception that bicycling cultivates seem marvellous. A road, previously accepted as ordinarily good, becomes full of pitfalls that the wary learn to avoid. Slippery or uneven surfaces, tacks and broken glass, are to be noted and avoided, inequalities allowed for, and preparation made to overcome the tendency of the machine on unexpected hard bits of road.
One of the dangers of sidepath wheeling often encountered is a slippery spot or a place where the surface may give way, such as the edge of a bank along which the path runs, with a fence on the other side. Here, if the bicycle slips, the bicyclist is pretty sure to be thrown against the fence. In sidepath wheeling a sharp lookout must be kept for these slipperyspots and weak edges, and also for stones or stumps that run through the uneven surface.
A first coast on a hill whose pitch has been miscalculated, and which proves steeper than was anticipated, is a terrible surprise. To find one’s self clinging desperately to a runaway machine, with no hope save in the ascending grade that seems so far away, is anything but a pleasant experience. In such case sit still, hold fast, keep straight, and if nothing is in the way to collide with, there is hope, barring unexpected surface obstacles. The coaster’s safety in steering lies in swaying; the pedals are out of the question, and the front wheel is better undisturbed. A slight inclination to either side will alter the course of the bicycle without interfering with balance or momentum, and the hands can be ready, gripping hard, to keep the wheel steady.
In coasting, sit well in the saddle, letting that take the whole weight, and do not push too hard with the feet on the coasters. The feet should not be braced against the coasters, but should rest easily against them with an even pressure.
To learn to coast, practise at first either on a slight or a small grade; another way is to get up speed on the level, and take one foot off at the time. The most marvellous experience of bicycling is to have a wind carry you coasting up hill—a wind, too, that is seemingly adverse, or at least not directly favorable.
Trust to the map, the watch, and the cyclometer to locate your whereabouts, and do not place too much faith in answers to inquiries, unless you arespeaking to a bicyclist; for people unaccustomed to accurate judgment differ greatly in their estimation of a given distance or a general direction. You need only stop three or four times in a mile or two, and inquire the way to a town say five or six miles distant, to be convinced of this fact.
Most women can sew on a button or run up a seam; sewing, in fact, is regarded rather as a feminine instinct than an art. There are many capable people in the world, both men and women, who can comprehend at a glance the use or the application of an article or an idea—people who instinctively use their eyes and hands with ease and accuracy; there are others who learn more slowly to use their mechanical senses; and there are also those whose attention has never been called to certain simple mechanical facts and details that they are quite capable of understanding. To all the mastery of these facts means an expenditure of more or less time, and in this busy world of ours, there is nothing so much appreciated or so carelessly wasted. It is my intention to place before my readers a few simple mechanical explanations.
I hold that any woman who is able to use a needle or scissors can use other tools equally well. It is a very important matter for a bicyclist to be acquainted with all parts of the bicycle, their uses and adjustment. Many a weary hour would be spared were a little proper attention given at the right time to your machine.
STARTING A NUT.
STARTING A NUT.
Ask any carriage maker or coachman, and he will tell you that everything on wheels needs attention. Any owner or lover of horses will say that horses require constant care. The bicyclist is the motor, the horse; the bicycle, the vehicle. These ideas should remain distinct. When you mount a wheel, you do not mount an iron horse; you are a human propelling power, and the bicycle is a carriage.
It is all important to work without unnecessary effort, and for this you must have a knowledge of bicycle construction, how to make the machine run smoothly, and how not to injure the human motor or the mechanism. The human body is so beautifully self-adjustable that it may be safely attributed to ignorance or neglect if anything goes wrong with it. Attention should always be paid at the right time to nature’s warnings; they are danger-signals, and if disregarded, unpleasant results are sure to follow. A little common-sense goes far; and with that and a right knowledge—not necessarily an extensive knowledge—of the working of the human machine, there need be little to fear from injuries resulting from athletic exercise.
The amount of work different individuals can perform, of course, varies. Find out how much work you ought to do, and do it. A physician is the only competent judge of your limitations. Never attempt any new form of exercise without being examined for it. Sensible people when they purchase a horse require a veterinary certificate to accompany the guarantee; and the work the horse is to do is planned according to the ascertained amount theanimal is capable of performing. If it is right for you to wheel but five miles every other day, and at a certain hour only, it does not follow that that is always to be your limit. Practice accomplishes great results; and the strength and endurance that come of exercise taken regularly, under proper conditions, seems marvellous to those who, after a course of proper preparation, attempt and accomplish with pleasure and ease what at first seemed impossible. It is hard, of course, to see some one else do what you would like to do and cannot; but it is weak not to be able to say, “I have done enough, and I must stop.” There are many other people similarly placed.
The bicycle may be so adapted and adjusted as to enable bicyclists of different powers to work together and enjoy a fair amount of sociability; for if one has wheeled around the world, why should that spoil one’s pleasure in wheeling around a block? To wheel alone is not much pleasure. Find some one to wheel around the block with you, and you have the beginning of a club.
Many people do not understand what is best for them. The experienced athlete knows the amount of work he can do, and what must be done and avoided to enable him to do his work well. Women and girls are able to do good work, but they should not expect to accomplish such a result through ignorance or neglect. They must be willing to study and to give proper attention to important details, and their knowledge of the subject must be sufficient to enable them to use judgment and discrimination. Almost any form of athletics will aid in cultivatingthese qualities; and bicycling has besides valuable educational features of its own. A certain familiarity with mechanics is assured by a course of bicycling, for it is impossible to handle a bicycle without taking some degree of interest in its construction.
Women must expect ridicule and little sympathy from experienced cyclists if they essay feats they should not attempt. Many decide that a thing must be easy of accomplishment because they have seen some one do it easily. Easy muscular work, however, is the result of strength, confidence, and precision of movement, which come only from practice. All new muscular movements and combinations of movements must be learned; they cannot be acquired hurriedly with good results. People who can work well are usually patient with a beginner who is doing his best, knowing themselves what it means to work hard and to face disappointment and failure and what is involved in repeated effort. The ambitious are liable to over-exertion, the timid not to practice enough.
There is much prejudice against athletic exercise for women and girls, many believing that nothing of the kind can be done without over-doing; but there is a right way of going about athletics as everything else. Prejudice can be removed only by showing good results, and good results can be accomplished only by work done under proper restrictions. To do a thing easily is to do it gracefully; and grace, without properly balanced muscular action, is impossible; grace is the embodiment of balance, strength, and intelligence. Jerky movement indicates lack of muscular development and training.
The human machine is capable of a seemingly unlimited series of muscular movements and combined muscular motions. Any training or practice of mind or muscles assists to fit them for new combinations. But little time is necessary to learn to know how to do and what to do, though the subjects to be considered, mechanics and physiology, are exhaustive and extensive in their range.
It is always a pleasure to do a thing well, whether it is handling a needle or using a screw-driver; and the art of using either successfully is not difficult to acquire. With the bicycle it is necessary to know what to do; the human motor, unless pushed beyond reasonable limits, is self-adjusting. Over-taxing is the result often of too great ambition, of failure to keep in view the proper aim of exercise, and sacrificing health and ultimate success for passing vanity. The bicycle is but the means to the end, first of all, of health—health of mind and body. The human mechanism is far more difficult to adjust when out of order than the mechanism of the bicycle. In bicycling, the two machines are one and interdependent. The foot on the pedal pushing the crank is but one point of application of power conveyed by a series of levers, actuated by muscles, controlled by nerves, supplied and directed by accumulated power.
ADJUSTING A WRENCH.
ADJUSTING A WRENCH.
We hear of horse-power as a unit; we have also human power—the amount of power the average individual can exercise. Food supplies material to be converted into power, stored and transmuted in the human system either for use or waste, as the case may be. Energy or power, unless applied within a specifiedtime, is given off as heat, etc. Less food is needed, loss of appetite follows, if too little work is done. The muscular tissues become almost useless, it is an effort to do any kind of work; the power is not there. By gradual and persistent practice, strength is acquired, and power stored in reserve. Exercise tends to strengthen, not to weaken; over-exercise uses up stored power and newly acquired power as well; longer periods of rest are needed to renew the wasted tissues than is necessary when exercise is not carried to excess. It must be kept in mind when bicycling that rider and wheel are a complete, compound, combined mechanism, and mechanically inseparable. The wheeler’s weight, when shifted or inclined, affects his equilibrium, and wheeler and bicycle are as much one as a skater and his skates.
Levers and their application; power, stored, distributed, or wasted; how to prevent waste and acquire reserve; proper adjustment to mechanical environment, translated to mean the use of a few common tools, and their application to the adjustment of the bicycle; and the care, adjustment, and proper preparation of the machine for work, are points of such importance that too much stress cannot be laid on them. A little thought, a little attention at the right time, prepares for emergencies, for cheerful work, and for the enjoyment of the exercise, and the health and accumulated benefits sure to follow.
“A nut is a piece of metal adapted to screw on the end of a bolt.” “A bolt is a stout metallic pin adapted for holding objects together.” The nut is to the bolt what the knot is to the thread, to keep it from slipping through. Iron and steel are fibrous materials, and very hard; though strong, they are also brittle. Indeed, these metals, and metals generally, resemble molasses candy in their nature more than any other familiar substance that will serve for illustration. When heated, they become soft and liquid; when cold, they are tough, hard, and even brittle. A few powerful, sharp blows with a heavy object are enough to fracture a piece of metal. Direct, heavy blows or tapping on the end of a bolt will flatten and alter its shape sufficiently to cause the edges to project, a very little seemingly, but enough to render it useless.