VELOCIPEDE SCHOOLS AND RINKS.
Those who have thought the rage for velocipedes would be fleeting and evanescent, have found themselves much mistaken. Velocipede “Schools,” “Halls,” “Rinks,” “Institutes,” and “Academies,” have sprung into existence with mushroom rapidity. There are scores in our large cities, and one or more in almost every country town. They secure a patronage which is not only surprising, as indicating the extent to which the enthusiasm prevails; but also as showing that the desire to ride is not confined to any particular age, or to any class of persons. We have seen astride the bicycle in the same rink, the old and the young, the fat man and the lean, the doctor, who does not believe that the fashionable exercise develops one set of muscles to the detriment of others; the clergyman, a regular muscular Christian; and the newsboy who has sold his papers in the cold and rain to accumulate the funds to make him as much the privileged character as any nabob. We have witnessed the lawyer, the tradesman, and the mechanic, spinning with ease and grace. We have watched the lounger who fringes the edge of societywith his delicate moustache, making his languid attempt; we have seen the artist mount his Pegasus, and the professor of literature, striving with noble persistency to emulate his much envied tutor. There is a marked fascination in the exercise which affects alike the spectators and the participants. Those who come to look, remain to ride; and those, who once bestride “the wheeled Rosinante,” refuse to quit until they have tamed the unaccustomed steed.
It is very amusing to watch the eager pupils, going through their novitiate. The beginners mount, struggle, perspire, and tumble in all directions and shapes; and blunders, awkward movements, collisions, and shipwrecks follow each other in constant succession. The more advanced ride with “This one thing I do,” manifest upon every feature; and one would suppose, from looking at their compressed lips, knit brows, and fixed eyes, that they felt they were guiding, like Phaëton, the horses of the Sun. The graduates and proficients ride with charming ease, carelessness, and control.
“The early bird catches the worm,” is a proverb particularly applicable to those who first started velocipede schools. All the rinks, schools, academies, and “velocipedagogues,” do a large business; and their machines pay for themselves in a short time.
The fever is not confined to the Eastern and Middle States, but rages throughout the South and West.In some of the velocipede riding halls, a charge is made for a series of ten lessons; at others, there is an admittance fee, and a certain price per hour for using the machine. In our cities, we have them to suit all classes and conditions of people. They range from the rinks in common localities, with their sawdust floors, cheap machines, and nominal admission fees, where the “timid toddlers” go it alone, to the schools in the marble blocks, with their French machines and experienced teachers.
As our knowledge increases, our tastes become more luxurious. The plebeian is content with his wagon, but the patrician must have hiscoupé. The beginner asks no better accommodation than is afforded by the New Bedford machine; but one of the “do it gracefuls,” or one of the “fancy few” must have spring work, ornamental mountings, bright varnish, and no sawdust under him; else he fails to experience the acme of bicycular enjoyment.
Among the most popular velocipede schools in New York city, are those of the Pearsall Brothers, corner of Broadway and Twenty-second Street; Hanlon Brothers, corner of Broadway and Tenth Street; Calvin Witty, 638 Broadway; Mercer & Monod, No. 3 Williams Street; and Barber & Pendleton, corner of Broadway and Forty-seventh Street.
The Pearsall Brothers formerly occupied prominent and lucrative positions with Messrs. Gurney & Son,photographers. They foresaw the future popularity of the velocipede, and abandoned photography for velocipeding with immediate success. They opened the first school in New York, and have the names of some five hundred or more pupils on their lists. They have a velocipede ware-room under their hall.
The Hanlon Brothers, well-known as gymnasts, have the reputation of being the best riders in the country. Their hall is the largest in New York, and is furnished with twenty-five first-class machines. They lately gave a “Velocipede Reception and Hop;” and exhibited many graceful and daring feats upon the bicycle; afterwards other gentlemen also gave proof of their skill, among them, Charles A. Dana, Editor of the “New York Sun,” who is an expert rider.
The largest and most popular school in Brooklyn is under the direction of Mr. A. C. Burnham. At all these schools, velocipede receptions and exhibitions are of almost nightly occurrence, and create much interest.
Messrs. Crawford & Co., of Philadelphia, have a large school, corner of Eighth and Callowhill Streets, where they use a velocipede of their own construction, in which the rear wheel is used as the guiding wheel.
Messrs. Mercer & Monod, of New York, have a flourishing branch school in Philadelphia.
The Pearsall Brothers have one in Detroit, Mich., and another in Chicago, Ill. The large Zouave Hall in Chicago, under the direction of Geo. D. Miles, has become a noted velocipede academy. The Nicholson pavement, much used in Chicago, is admirably adapted to this kind of propulsion, and the riders soon leave the rinks for the streets. Chicago hails any invention of a fast nature, and the velocipede has already become a practical institution there.
There is no place where the velocipedefurorehas developed more rapidly or to a greater extent than in Boston. There are over twenty schools and rinks in the city; and no less than eleven on Washington Street, between the Old South Church and Chester Square. The first school in Boston was opened by S. T. Derry of the firm of Wm. H. Sargent & Co., at 155 Tremont Street. At this school the course of instruction is thorough and complete, and all pupils graduate experts. Six different sizes of French pattern velocipedes are used, and the scholar is advanced from one to the other, according to progress. Though this is a private school, there are the names of hundreds of graduates upon its lists. Mr. Derry is an accomplished teacher. He has several other schools under his charge, and has made arrangements to lease the Skating Rink for the same purpose.
The first public rink opened in Boston, was nearBowdoin Square (No. 7 Greene Street), and has been deservedly popular. The proprietors have had branch rinks in Cambridgeport, Brighton, and other neighboring towns.
The fashionable Horticultural Hall was transformed into a first-class velocipede academy for a limited time. This academy was provided with coat rooms, dressing rooms, and other conveniences; and with seats and accommodations for ladies. Tournaments and races here followed each other in rapid succession.
Among the other popular rinks in Boston, are those of Kimball Brothers, 113 Court Street; Walter Brown, 179 Court Street; Horace M. Sargent, Boylston Hall; Macy & Butler, 90 and 92 Tremont Street; at 334 Washington Street; at Arlington Hall; and at Riddle’s Carriage Repository, Haymarket Square.
The two best and largest rinks in the United States are to be found at Harvard Square, Cambridge. One of them has twelve thousand square feet of floor, and twenty-five good machines. The other, built by Mr. John C. Stiles, is in the form of an amphitheatre, and has a circular course of a little less than an eighth of a mile in length. Only part of the track is under cover. At night, this rink is brilliantly lighted, and the scene is at once novel and inspiring. Scores of riders rush madly after each other at break-neck speed, round and roundthe arena. We have seen an expert whirl over the course in seventeen seconds, which is nearly as good time as any recorded abroad, and better than any heretofore made in this country. The students of “Old Harvard” crowd these rinks; the billiard halls and other places of resort are deserted, and all are eager votaries of the fascinating art.