The record-union., 1896-04-26
In the Cycling World.

In the cycling world.
Once upon a midnight ,dreary, while I
wandered weak and weary,
Down a street of our great city, where
I'd often been before;
Walking on, a sudden feeling came to
me, as / saw wheeling,
Gently DER the pavement stealing, some
thing like nymph OF yore;
Surely tits a maid, l muttered, maiden
from THE Turkish shore.
Simply this and nothing more.
But there had been various rumors that
the maids were decked in boomers,
And 1 thought me, this is surely one that
/ have seen before,
Yet where had the figure vanished? Was
the form of beauty famished?
Had the God of Fashion baniShed all the
dress that / adore?
No, it's not female, said 1; but a man
gone Wilde with lore.
IT'S a male and nothing more
Presently my soul grew stronger; hest
tating then no longer
Are you man or maiden?' said l. Tell
me truly, l mplore.''
What was my surprise on hearing that
strange being, nothing fearing,
Say to me with voice SO cheering: Il am
maid, sir, to the core"
Yes, she jumped from off her cycle, saying
on the starlit shore:
81 am maid fOrevermore.
I bethought me for a second, then to the
maiden beckoned,
Drew her to one side, and there the sem
timents of my heart did pour;
Said unto her: will you ever from these
shocking garments sever?
Make me answer, shall l never see the
skirts that once you wore?
When will you again adopt the costume
that your mothers bore?'
Quoth the madden. Nevermore.
And the maiden, ever fitting, still is sit
On those wheels with tires inflated, and
around the streets doth soar,
While her pants have all the seeming of
Jacks blouse with apples teeming,
Or a maid who in her dreaming had for
got to cover Ger;
BUT the common sense evolving from the
heather days of yore,
Shall be lifted-nevermore.
Irwin Musgrove. in Cycling West.
If many worthy people We're shocked
last year by the boomers and knicker-
bockers and short skirts worn by the
women cyclers, they had better prepare
for the worst this year. The advance
guard of the spring riders have been out
in all the glory of their new costumes.
and it does not require an experienced
eye to discern a vast difference between
the modes of 1896 and 1895.
1t is all in the direction of progression,
too-that is, progression as measured
from the standpoint of the dress re-
former Women who wore long skirts
with boomers underneath last year
wear short skirts with boomers I'M
derneath this year. The 1895 girl who
wore short skirts wears boomers now.
The bloomerite of 1895 is a full fiedged
knickerbocker girl this spring, and the
knickerbocker miss of a year ago seems
almost to be dressed in tights this year,
so closely does her costume hug the
form from the tips of her little toes to
the mannish collar about the neck.
More than that. There were only a
few cyclers who had the courage last
year to ride without leggings or CATERS,
although their more venturesome sisters
in Paris had been doing that very thing
for two seasons or more But the gaiter
or leggings is doomed in 1896 OF course
many women will wear them, but not
those who are considered to be author
tiles on the subject of bicycle dress. 1t
has been discovered that the high gaiter
carries too much warmth with it; that
it impedes the free use of the leg; that
1t binders circulation, and that 1t is
quite unnecessary anyway, but more
. particularly that it is no longer in fash
ion Consequently it is doomed
One young woman has taken time by
the forelock with a vengeance, and
when she rides through the park the
horses almost stop to look at her. This
girl wears knickerbockers of gray cor
duroy, and they could not fit the figure
any closer. Another striking Feature
Of her costume is an immense cape of
purple velvet edged with broad band
of white lace. This cape is tremendous
" wide and of itself would rivet atten-
ton in any gathering She has bright
yellow hair, and the color seems genu-
inc, and a purple Tam o Shanter hat
emphasizes the hue. Golf stockings of
the loudest plaids, with never a sign of
leggings or CATERS. and low shoes COM
plete the outfit. It might be regarded
as a common, everyday kind of cos
tune in Paris, but in New York 1t holds
the populace spellbound. She uses low
handle bars and rides in the most ap-
proved scorching way, with head and
shoulders bent low over the front wheel
New York Star.
A pneumatic hub is one Of the latest.
The principle involved Is in the appli-
cation of an air chamber of rubber be-
tween the wheel of the magazine and
the frame The air chamber is provided
with a valve stem and valve. we'll
known rubber company manufactures
the chamber, and 1t Is claimed that d3
per cent of pure Para gum enters into
its makeup. This, with the fabric.
gives receptacle which will resist
q pressure of GOO pounds to the square
inch.
IT is claimed that a hub OF this char
acter will render the movements of the
wheels smoother and give freer move
ment to the pedals, thus insuring
greater speed with less exertion on the
mart of the rider. The weight OF a
wheel fitted with one of these hubs is
not increased a particle.
Every rider should learn something
about the wheel he is going to ride
Most buyers choose their mounts with
ont inspecting the workmanship of the
cycles or going into the many fine feat
ures some of the manufacturers have
embodied in their products. All wheels
look alike from a distance, but upon
close examination a vast difference is
.asi,v dfscernible. How many riders
IN this country know how a wheel is
nut together. and what constitutes It's