The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-23
HYGIENIo CYCLING FOR WOMEN

When Wheeling Never Wear Close
Stays, Never Garter Your Stockings
at the Knee, and Always Wear q
Gauze Undervest.
No less person than an observant ply
sician offers a world of well-meant counsel
to feminine cyclists.
Every other woman one meets" he
says, GOWNS or is raving for the purchase
OF safety, exercise on which there is
none better to be found. The wheel takes
its rider into the open air, where Ameri-
can women can scarcely spend too much
time, and any one will notice, to their
honor, how erect these petticoated cyclists
sit in their saddles, direct reproach to
their hump shouIdered brethren. But there
is another side to this picture. 1t is be-
ginners particularly who are tempted to
forget the virtue of taking things easily
and in their excited interest make the
first mistakes"
"No woman, however strong or eager to
learn, should take a cycle lesson over a
half hour long, and she should stop fire.
quently in the course of it to rest and pull
some long breaths," says Millicent Arrow
point in the Louisville Courier. ''The girl
who is not very strong and the least bit
uncertain as to the cause of her weakness
will be the happier and better for asking
physicians advice before putting her foot
to the peoal, In ninety-nine case out OF a
hundred he will send her to the cycle
sch Dol.
at is the anemic, weak-lunged, narrow
chested, dyspeptic woman to whom the
bicycle is a very tonic, but she, if having
no directions from a doctor, must follow
common sense in her practice, and if
the first lesson of a half hour seems to
have exhausted her strength, should cut it
IN half, taking fifteen minutes twice in one
day and cracker and few spoonfuls of
sherry when the exercise is over"
If possible, learn to ride in one of the
good cycle schools, where one learns in
half the usual time and the instructor
shows the would-be wheelwoman how to
use her strength on the pedals SO as to
save half the muscular effort a poorly
taught person puts forth.
A great deal has been said as to what
constitutes the dress graceful and con-
venient for cycling, but little as to the
dress healthful. Now, whether a woman
chooses to wear trousers, a short skirt or
long one, let her be sure not to have her
stays tight, and if she is slender aad can
afford the extra expenditure, use a but
toned corded waist or a pair of short rid
ing corSets in place of the long. heavily
boned stays OF daily use. There is no gain
OF grace or beauty in a small waist for
DuJ tnuCu udDS6r nedrI ana
digestion from tightly-laced body when
wheeling.
A woman who rides much in summer
ought to wear withseher loose stays a
thin wool undervest, which absorbs
the moisture of the body, prevents one
from taking cold, andis the coolest, light
est garment for wear under a percale shirt
waist.
Never when wheeling garter your stock
ings with elastic bands above the knee"
says an experienced cyclist. use long
elastic hose supporters, fastened to the
bottom OF the corset, and strap under your
saddle when setting out for anything like a
lengthy ride a little case, holding a vial of
brandy, a skein of black sewing silk, a
needle, wee pair OF scissors, square of
court plaster and a small bottle of am
monia."
Never get on your wheel, :" she adds,
until half hour after eating and never
wheel steadily for more than thirty
minutes at a time. Slacken speed and
roll along slowly for a bit before resuming
a smart pace. Two hours is the longest
regular daily exercise even a.strong woman
should take on her safety, and She who
cycles by doctors orders may take an
hour every other day, preferably in the
morning, and half hour after breakfast
for steady exercise, drinking little milk
and eating biscuit when the work is over.
No woman, she concludes, ''who respects
her dignity, her health and the boon
bicycle is, will ever pretend to race or at
tempt fancy figures on it, however tempted
to try that for which woman on bicycle
was not meant by any law of hygiene or
good taste.