The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1888-05-30
LADY TRICYCLERS.
How Washington Women ride
the Wheeled Steeds.

the Wlucot ctftctS tdhlii1 titcul IL u NAttAc
of any city of the United States, and one
can ride here 279 miles through these
streets and not 90 outside of the city or
over the same ground twice. This is
further than from Washington % New
York. The result is, Washington has
more wheelmen, perhaps, than any 9th
er city of its size in the United States.
There are about 1000 riders of machines
of one kind or another here, and 5000
men own bicycles, Putting the average
price of these bicycles at 500 apiece,
there are 100000 invested in bicycles
here, and the beauty of Washington is
that the riding goes on winter and sum
mer, year in and year out. A snow lasts
in Washington never more than two or
three days. The black asphalt draws
the riys of the sun, aud it may rain this
morning and the streets will be as dry
as bone this evening There is no mud,
and man may ride his wheel in his
Sunday clothes.
As to the street area Of Washington. it
is larger in proportion to its size than
that of any other city in the world.
Forty-one per cent of the whole of
Washington is made up of streets, while
New York has only 50 per cent, Berlin
26 per cent, and Paris and London have
each about % per cent of streets. In ad-
dition to this the Suburbs Of Washington
areiof macadamized roads, andlthefe..are a
hundred historic points to visi t. A turn
of three miles will take You to the presi-
dents country home. Five miles of
wheeling will allow you to wander over
the bloody ground where the BIadens-
burg duels were fought Another short
turn viii take You to Edgewood, where
Mrs. Kate Chase Sprague lives 1t is
only seven miles over "a good road to
Alexandria, and if you wish to carry your
tour further you can wheel on down TO
Mount Vernon over the same road that
George Washington daily travelled on
horseback. In the city every block has
its historic houses and every circle its
statue. The sturts are lined with borders
of green yards, and the hundred thous-
and shade trees of the capital make your
smooth ride pull through perpetual
park.
Belva Lockwood was the first tricycle.
rider in Washington. Now 300 women
here own tricycles, and tricycle. parties
go out every night These parties are
made up of both ladies and gentlemen,
and one can rent tricycle. here just rs
ne would horse at livery stable If
he is a young lover he can take tandem
and put his lady on the front, or socia-
bic, and they can wheel away side
by side. A tadmanwill cost 70 cents for
the hour and 50cents thereafter, and if
the lover takes his ride at night, waen
the moon has softened with its rays the
statues of Washington, he cannot but feel
sentimental as he passes the old medieval
Smithsonian institution, takes turn by
the ghostly White House shining out
through the the great trees, or wheels
about the green plateau Of our magnif-
cent Capitol on the hill. 1t is quite the
thing now to take your lady friends out
on wheels, and there are a number OF
little private clubs of ladies and gentle
men here who ride several times a week
and on Sunday evening the streets have
more bicycles and tricycles than car
riages.
Speaking of bicycle clubs, one of the
finest club houses of the city belongs to
the bicyclers, and the Capital Bicycle
club has fine library, gymnasium and
parlors, and this handsome club house is
within a stones throw Of the White
House, Just below the Treasury. II is a
three story brick structure, and the main
entrance is Roman arch. On the first
floor is a stable with stalls for bicycles.
and these stalls are slits in the vain
scoting, into which the bicycler runs his
wheel to hold it in an upright position
There is tool room here, and the club
has all the surroundings of a social or
ganization. 1t has good cook and a
good larder, and its walls are hung with
photographsand sketches of ofbicycle group.
In addition to this there is a Washing
ton Cycle club, which has thirty members,
and there are number of small organiza-
tions throughout the city. Bicycle clubs
are growing all over the country, and
there are now more than 60,000 wheel
men in the United States, and the League
of America Wheelmen has II, 200 mem-
bers. 1t is interesting to see club of
riders 90 on tour. Their leader takes the
toughest roads and the club is expected
to follow him. He will 90 up on curb
stone and ride through cut up vacant lots,
and behind him in single file come a
hundred men in knee breeches and fancy
coats on wheels.
The various safety machines are fast
driving the other machines out of the
market Some of these are made in
England and some here. in them the
two wheels are of about even size
They are much lower than the other
wheels and there is less danger in riding
them. As to tricycles. those used here
are Of all shapes and sizes, and boys, men
and women have each their style. Most
ofthcm are of such shape that they can
be used by either male or female, and
the business tricycle. is becoming quite
an institution in Washington. Nearly
all the stores which have much deliver
ingof small packages to do use them for
their messengers, and drug stores, notion
stores, laundries and boot and shoe stores
send out their goods by tricycles. Many
of them have the signs of the stores
which own them on their sides, and some
of the caterers carry out their meals on
tricycles, hot kitchen being below the
box like basket, into which the viands
are put.
The governmet clerks use bicycles and
tricycles, and there is private policeman
here who struts about in plug hat at
some times and at others goes flying over
the streets of Washington on safety
bicycle. He carries his billy in his pock
ct, and is ready to jump off and arrest
man at moments notice Gen. Bur
ney rides a bicycle. George kennan, the
writer of the Russian articles in The ffys-