The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-03-01
The Bicycle in England.


1t was not very long ago that young
man was descending a steep hill in the
~neighborhood of London, and cam to
grief before he reached the bottom.
Either he ran away with the bicycle or
the bicycle ran away with him; at all
events he lost control and rode violently
down b steep place only to find HIM
self pulled up at the bottom by a police
MAJ for fast and furious driving. Then
a notable decision was announced by
the Judge who had to determine the
question whether a bicycle could be
called q carriage or not. II it was
not a carriage, then it could o be
properly proceeded against under the
statute which forbids carriages. to be
driven at q reckless pace. The argu-
ment of the driver was, that really you
could not call a thing consisting of two
wheels only, with a little bit of a sad
die, a carriage; while on the other side,
it was urged that anything was a car
riage that had wheels and a seat, and
that was used for carrying people. A
subtle dilemma this, like the great dis
pute in '.Alicc in Wonderland" about
the Cheshire Catn in the tree which
was always grinning-in fact, was en-
fHrely grin and nothing else. We know
that the king of Hearts waxed angry,
and ordered the executioner to behead
the cat; while the executioner replied
that he couldn't behead q creature that
had 10 body, to which the King an
swered that anything that had a head
could be beheaded, and he wasn't to
talk nonsense" Mr.. Justice Lush soon
settled the analogous bicycle case, and
now it stands recorded in all our law
books that a velocipede is a carriage,
.and nothing but it," as Mr.. Weller re-
marked, and must be ridden or driven
at a reasonable pace so as lot to en-
danger the lives of her Majesty's sub
jects.
As regards the present condition Of
inventions have lately come out for
making the amusement safer. Elderly
gentlemen-yes, and ladies, too, elder
iy or not-can step up into a comfort
able seat, something ike an Armchair.
lean back, work their feet up and down
as if they were at a sewing-machine.
and glide along the ground easily and
safely. This is the modern tricycle..
Nothing, however. comes up to the two
wheeled phantom, the dainty and deli
Cltt IsCcl, Ou Ouc VI WHICH MI. SuT-
It's, an amateur rider, has just accom-
piished the astonishing feat of ten
miles in less than thirty minutes-rath-
er faster than twenty miles an hour.
For combined ease and speed of loco
motion nothing can beat the old bicycle
with its many modern improvements,
except a railway train. 1t is perfectly
easy nova young mar from the mer-
ry midlands has Just done ito mount
Mt Birmingham, ride through charming
English scenery to Dover, take steamer
and mount againt on the opposite
coast, visit all the scenes of the Franco
German wafy Sedan, Metz, Strasburg,
and roll home again through Paris
arriving at his English habitat after q
fortnight's holiday of good all-round
exercise and keen enjoyment.
Bicycles have to a certain extent
taken the place of coaches; they fire..
qucnt all our great main roads and
| gladden. the hearts of ~inn-keepers, who
look or. for tho tinkling bells which
| herald the advent of o ..club" of wan
dering vcloci2edists just as they antici-
pated of yore the gladstone footing of
| the horn that bespoke the approach Of
the Enterprise, the Highfyer, or somo
other ~well-known conveyance Of tho
old coaching days