Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-09-13
THE BICYCLE WALK.
American People Fast Becoming
a Pigeon-Toed Race.
Discoveries Made by an Illinois Physician
What the Bicycle Habit wtil Result
In--There L. no Help
For It.

An limos physician has discov
cred that the present extreme use Of
the bicycle is tending to make the
great American people decidedly
pigeon-toed race. The constant re.
volving motion OF the feet and lower
legs as they turn the pedals has given
to the gait Of those people who are
much addicted to the bicycle pc
Guitar turn, which the progressive
doctor calls the bicycle walk. Those
who remember the days Of the roller
skating craze will probably recall
the effect that exercise had on the
gait of those who practiced 1t, par
ticularly the gait of some young
ladies Of the age to be easily affect
ed. They took on at once a rolling,
swinging, half-gliding, rhythmical
step that resembled the motion Of
roller skating as closely as could be
by anyone not on rollers. So II Is
with the bicycle walk, says the
aforesaid Illinois doctor, except that
instead of being only q temporary
popularity it will become permanent
and hereditary, as the bicycle fever
promises to be, whereas the roller
skating fad enjoyed but brief ex-
istence.
The bicycle walk is nothing more
or less than the pedalihg motion Of
the wheel applied to the walk, but
it gives to person who has it de-
cidedly peculiar appearance. Notice
a cyclist who is afflicted. 1t will be
seen that when he lifts his foot in
walking he does not put it straight
ahead, but carries it back little, as
be would have to in following the
pedals, and then swings it high, al
most to the calf of the other leg, be-
fore sending it forward. The pigeon
toeing comes in there also, and
the sufferer from bicycle walk
to interfere" after the manner of
horses, The interference comes
higher up, though, because Of the
upward swing of the foot as it goes
forward.
The pigeon-toeing Is accounted for
by the position of the foot on the
pedals. There the toes turn in and
down, and the heels turn up and out,
the pressure being borne on the ball
IT the foot.
Among the racing men the "bi-
,ycle walk" is the most noticeable, i
If course. It has taken them in
much worse form than the ordinary
,yclist, and extends to the swing Of |
the arms and the carriage Of the
head. The elbows of the racing man
bend out from the body, as a result
If having to bear his weight as he
cans far over the handle bars, and
yives him the appearance of being
,owlegged as to his arms. The
leck aud head are projected forward,
90, and the face wears that strained,
nxious expression of a man who
7ants to &c. there as soon as pos
ible.
So much for the bicycle walk and
Is causes. OF it's probable effects
IT the discoverer speak in his own
lords:
''The bicycle habit, if persisted
l." he says, will make US all
nock-knced and - pigeon-toed as
ar native red men. Pretty much
yerybody of the present genera.
on rides wheel, or is just about to
eGin, therefore pretty much every
ody Of the present generation Will
e knock-kneed and pigaon-toed or |
III be affected with the bicycle a
ak. Those ailments, conditions or I
lies, having settled them
Elves on this generation, will nat
rally descend by inheritance to the
ext generation, and there We are,
knocS-knced aud pigeou-toed race.
don't see any help for it, or any
ed for help, either, 50 far as that q
oes, but, as n matter of fact, that is S
hat we are coming to and no mis- a
Ike. Chicago Chronicle. u