San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-07-05

sender III the repair DuSlHeSs.
A bicycle bag of tools was stolen off
a wheel at the Drummers' baseball
game at Riverside Park last Sunday.
New interest has been revived in
wheeling circles since the Organiza-
ton of the wheeling section of the
Bexar Athletic club and applications
for membership are coming in fast.
Rev. Robert NJ. Hall, pastor of the
Westminster Presbyterian church, Is
a wheel enthusiast and quite an eff
cient rider. He is the only minister
ial devotee of the wheel in the city.
Some of the messenger boys of the
city are becoming good riders. Among
them is Albert Gray, of the Western
Union, and Frank Wood, of the Dis
trict messenger service, both of whom
are good trick riders.
One Of the brewery wagon drivers
and local wheelman are now enc
mics; and the driver tries to run over
the cyclist every time they meet in
the road. The trouble arose because
the cyclist threw stone at the driver
because the latter would not give
him part of the road. The stone hurt
quite badly.
Cooper first, Bald second, and the
rest q rather uncertain bunch as yet,
is the way that they stand in the pro-
feSsional ranks at present. Sanger
will do better later on. Among the,
amateurs of the metropolitan district,
i. Harrison of Asbury Park; Ray
Dawson and J. A. Powell OF the New
York Athletic Club and f. f. Good
man of the Riverside Wheelmen,
are leading the bunch. They are all
COOL men and when they come to-
sether on Saturday, the fur will fly.
Riders possessing a due regard for
the rights and privileges of pedes-
Irians never clang their bells unnec-
essarily. 1t is sufficient for the care
full, observing cyclist to give timely
warning only, not to ring the alarm
after the occasion has passed, or in
hysterical manner when it is toOlate.
The wheeling critics of the larger cit
les can best comprehend this state
ment. Take New York City for in
stance. Green cyclists run down
pedestrians almost daily there, and
in nine cases out of ten it develops
that the rider rang too late, forgot to
do it, or did it when too far away for
his victim to note the warning. Com
mon sense will dictate when to ring
aud when not to ring.
Coast!ng on bicycles promises to
grow in popularity everywhere as a
means of diversion. Club contests
are now all the rage in the Empire
state, prizes being offered as in a
race. The fat man has chance
with his lean friend in this sort of
contest which accounts in part for its
measures of success. 1t Is often the
case that wasting competition
forms the feature of q club run. a
long hill is chosen, the straigther
the better, and the cntrant that goes
the furthest without removing his
feet from the coasters, or sculling
knowing the forward wheel to the
right and left wins first prize. Prob
ably tue biggest coasting event ever
held will be that now being promoted
by the Metropolitan Association Of
Cycling Clubs of New York City,
1t will take place August 10, on one of
the hills on the Irvington- Milburn
Course in Jersey, made famous by
the great handicap held there annu-
ally on Decoration day.
The cycling fancy has so taken
hold of the French that in a little
while the normal use of the feet for
locomOtion out of doors will havebe-
come a recollection. Tender infants
decrepid old men and prodigiously fat
ladies of uncertain age, now go a.
bout on wheels and nobody looks sur
prised. On cafe terraces the trouser-
ed legs of our belle bicyclists mingle
picturesquely with other legs, and
this, too, has ceased to surprise any
body. Meanwhile the record of speed
is pushed almost daily alittle further,
and the bicycle competition is becom-
ing quite a serious matter to the rail
way, companies. The other day, an
international match was run from
Bordeaux to Paris, distance of 591
kilometres or $40 miles. This dis
lance was covered by an Englishman
named Linton in 81 hours, II minutes
and Is seconds. A Frenchman, Ri
vierre, arrived minute later. They,
therefore travelled during the "a
hours at an average rate of liz miles
an hour. Many of the omnibus trains
of France do not go so fast. Twelve
hours are reckonel as express speed
between Paris and Bordeaux. 1t is
truly amazing how fast man can
travel by the mere expenditure of his
own muscular effort.