Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-21
Valuable Hints to Bicycling Girls by
a Woman Who Knows.
TO RIDE WELL AND LOOK WELL
Some Things to Do and Some
Things Not to Do.
Observation-Disclosures
Written for The Evening Star.

"Eitteu 1ue Evening Stuf
Bicycling is the fad of the hour. but it is.
nevertheless true that very few women
ride well. No woman is quite CONNIE IL
faut unless she owns a machine, and on
every street Is seen the waving Of skirts
ever the allLring wheel. We always turn
to look at them, but 1t is more often from
curiosity than admiration. Only q very
small proportion ride with ease and grace,
and tho observer has none of the pleasure
he would experience If he were watching
the same women dancing. or even walking.
This Is all the more inexcusabIe, since
bicycling is SO much easier than it was a
few years ago. Then the heavy machines,
the small tires, and, worst Of all, the long
skirts that constantly became entangled in
the pedals or chain, interfered seriously
with the pleasure Of riding.
Long before the tickle fancy Of fashion
had adopted the bicycle as her latest play
thing. my wheel and 1 were friends; was
among the first lady riders in America,
and we attracted more attention than
boomers do now. The small boy used to
call to me encouragingly or derisively as
passed. and one comment still fingers
wildly in my memory.
Look at de LADY," called a gamin.
Lady! Huh! Woman!" was the con-
Since then 1 have coasted down the Pin
clan HILL wheeled around the bay from
Sorrento, climbed to Chamounix, whirled
past gaping peasants IN the Black Forest
ana joined the "chouette" procession in the
Bois de Boulogne; not to mention spinning
over the brick pavemeuts Of Asbury Park
And after much extend I'd observation l
have been unwillingly forced to the conclu-
sion that woman does not appear to the
best advantage on the wheel The case is
not however. hopeless. If streets were
edged with mirrors, 1T would have been
remedied long ago. Since we have now
sulilciest confidence In our machines 10 be
sure Of not falling off, is 1t not time to
give some attention to the question of how
to ride well?
The First Lessons.
TO begin with the first lessons. OF course
1t Is just as bad for a man who is learning.
but men are not supposed to be graceful.
Now 1 know that when one finds oneself
IN the air for the first time, poised between
two wheels that seem possessed of human
depravity, all the feminine instincts aban-
don one, except the desire to hold fast to
Notwithstanding sQueal. We do
not think-and do not care-how ridiculous
we look; and yet to be ridiculous in wo-
man. is the fault for which there is no ex-
cuse. 1 do not believe that there is any
position In which she appears as ludicrous
1t may be as bad when she is learning to
sirs. The least she can do is to remain in
the riding school until she has become an
adept-let her continue to practice several
days after the teacher thoughtlessly ad-
vises her to go out. Do not let her expose
to an unsympathetic public her webbing
struggles, her terrified expression, her
gauche attempts to maintain her balance
not to mention the startling spectacle of an
occasional fall.
How to Look Well.
Then when you have become reasonably
sure Of your machine, and, above ALL when
you have learned the mount, you may pre-
pare to venture forth. One of the most
serious defects in riding is that there Is too
much knee motion. To obviate this the seat
must be raised until you can just touch
with the ball Of your foot the pedal, when
the latter is at its lowest point, and then,
for an erect carriage is as essential here as
1t Is on horseback raise the handle bars
as we'll This will make you feel less secure
for awhile, but the gain in grace is worth
the mental effort of adjusting yourself to
the added distance from the earth. 1t will
also be found easier to ride, especially in
climbing hills. Then move deliberately.
Beginners always want to rush along as
though they were scorching. 1t shows
much better command of your cycle to ride
slowly and steadily. Whatever your emo
lions may be, try not to show them. So
many women when riding have an anxious,
uncertain expression that 1t moves the OBJ
server to pity and discomfort. The photog-
rapher's advice to hold your head up
and think Of something pleasant" is a very
good rule for the wheel as we'll After a
little practice. women bicyclers can move
with as stately grace as did their grand
mothers in the minuet, and look quite as
picturesque end more piquant.
The Proper Costume.
The next important point is your cos
tune. 1t should not be too feminine or too
nannish Don't wear floating sashes or
dainty colors. They are pretty enough in
the abstract, but they are inappropriate
for the wheel as leggings and Tam O'Shan-
ters at the opera. 1t is the other extreme,
however, that Is the usual stumbling block
OF the fair sex. 1 passed bicycle party the
other day who had dismounted by the way
side. One girl had on scant boomers. a
shirt waist and a loose coat. She was
jerking the coat off with a masculine air
She was not good to look upon. There is
no reason for these sad travcsties of wo-
mankind. One can dress just as suitably,
and still retain the ineffable charm of
modesty.
As to Bloomers.
In the name Of that beauty Of which wo-
man is priestess, avoid boomers. The short
skirt allows just much freedom of mo-
ton, and that is the favorite argument of
the misguided advocates Of this style of
dress. An American or English girl can
not wear them without losing her femi.
ninity, and becoming an example not of the
Csw woman, but of the new sex. I say
American or English girl, because in Paris
1t is different. They say that only French
woman knows how to wear bonnet; she
Is unquestionably the only one who can
don boomers and be woman still. They
are part Of the regulation bicycling costume
there, and attract no attention, even when
the wearer happens not to have her wheel
with her. 1 quite envied women so attired
when / saw them lightly climbing the wind
ing steps that lead to the top of omnibuses,
and they were as unConcerned as though
the costume was as habitual with them as
with the Turks. In France the rational
dress Is becoming; in no other part Of the
civilized world has 1t the same raison
d'etre. To find the explanation of this we
would have to go into physiological de-
tails. 1t is not SO much that boomers do
not suit the American woman as that she
does not suit them.
The Short Skirt.
So let her wear a short skirt-the length
may vary from her knee to her shoe tops
It should be a trifle longer in front than in
the back, and should not be too full To
keep 1t from blowing up weights may be
sewed in the hem of the front breadth, or
small elastics may be fastened to the edge
Of the skirt and then passed around a con-
venient button of the legginEs, As for the