Evening star., 1896-12-05
S ME CYCLE CHAT

Many wfeelmen and wheelwomen after
the first real touch of cold weather will
store their machines away for the winter
season, not to be again resurrected until
the balmy weather Of spring blossoms
forth. This has been the case for num-
Der Of years with a certain class of riders,
who use the bicycle solely for pleasure, and
who find no pleasure in riding In cold
weather. when the air Is piercing and the
II osty wind Is apt to come up without
moments warming. making riding anything
but pleasant. 1t is In regard to the storing
Of the wheels tfat this is written. A few
words of warning will not be remiss.
Do not place the wheel in any convenient
spot. but keep it in some place where it will
not suffer in any way by the brief respite
from active service. BY all means do not
place the wheel where 1T Is damp. 1t seems
as though most Of the wheels thus stored
away are placed in cellars, and as every
one knows. cellar is always more or less
Damp especially in cold weather. The best
place to store the wheel is in a garrett
INC dhaugh n the n air in the upper story may be
never did nor never will harm a wheel.
Look carefully over the machine before
storing it. Give 1t thorough cleaning, es-
pecially the bearings, and when they are
put back in place use vaseline in the bail
cups. Clean the nickel parts and go over
the chain Clean the enamel on the frame
ana wipe away every particle of dirt. Then
take VaSellne or greasy cloth and rub 1t
over the nickeled portions of the bicycle
Don't be afraid to do this, and use plenty
OF elbow grease. This will not only pre-
vent rust from getting hold. but will also
tehd 10 loosen and partly erase any rust
that may have been on the bicycle. Paw
particular attention to the spokes. When
the wheel Is stored away put 1t in some
place where the dust is not apt to strike #
and II this is hard to do invest few cents
In cheap cotton cloth and make a cover
ing for the whole thing
Coasting Is a dangerous practice. Some
people know 1t, but there are others who
nave yet to learn the folly of such riding
riding In this manner is rendered more
hsnserous hsa' when the machines are without
brakes There are plenty Of riders who
lake all risks doing So They either ,,se
tne Ioot as brake by sticking II through
the 'front.' forks. or else block the wheel by
piacins the hand behind the saddle. and
lifting the whole rear wheel a short die
lance above the ground. Both of these
nethcds require considerable SKILL and are
only obtained through practice.
Inc best coasting rule that can he g,ven
IS not to coast whether you have a brake
or not. If. however. you insist. start in
coasting by taking a small hill. AMI use
das, dns prake II you have one. Never sud-
ushly apply the brake. 1t not only tolls
the whole machine, and places an addi-
tional strain upon all of .he parts. but it
Is apt TO make the rider take header.
,v Mnea .ne sa1ety was first introduced the
hroad assertion was made that the rider
couio not take header, but the folIy Of
TINS statement Is apparent to all old riders.
A header on safety is generally attended
with worse results than a header on ona
of the old uprights.
Bicycle statistics are always Interesting
to large number Of people, and the in
terest is increased when the figures dea,
with the number of accidents traceable to
the bicycle. The compilation of such is
rather difficult. especially when the num-
Der OF riders Is as large as in city about
the size of Washington. Yet a Buffalo
newspaper has compiled statistics of this
character of that place, and a recent ia
sue of the Medical and Surgical Reporter
gives quite an article reviewing the figures
under the head of the Surgical Status of
the Bicycle" The figures cover a period
OF twenty-five weeks. and relate to acct
dents occurring to cyclists on the streets
OF Buffalo That city Is about the size
Of Washington. One out of every seven
OF the population uses the highways, while
one out of every four of this number rides
bicycle. Although supplied with over
2oO miles OF smooth pavements. the ma
jortty Of riding, both by men and women.
Is Tor business, and. therefore, on down.
town streets. They are not SO wide nor so
empty as might be desired by cyclists. still
there Is no crowding as occurs in New
York and Boston, none Of the tortuous and
narrow streets of the latter, and none of
the bad pavements that characterize Phila-
delphia or Baltimore. The statistics com
menced on April Is and ended October 10.
During this time there we're sixty-three
bicycle accidents serious enough to in
volve medical attendance. There were a
number of other accidents that did not get
into print, sufficient to swell the total
number to 100. or an average of four per
week. No deaths resulted. though some of
the accidents were thought to be fatal at
first The distribution OF accidents for
May. June and August. and parts Of April
and October are about equal. Five acci-
dents. the minimum, occurred in July and
sixteen In September. the ma aximum The
accidents for May and June are ascribed
to the large number Of noyices out on the