New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-27

which usually attends youth, folly and drunken
ness he merely broke his collarbone when ne fell
forty feet into the two-foot stream A reckless
bicyclist. whose doings caused wonder among all
who saw them. rode the stone wall which runs
along the way from Flushing to College Point,
Long Island II before the repairs on the
roadway had been finished and, as heavy rain
was falling. II was impossible to ride on the
ground. The wall Is two or three feet high and
eighteen inches or two feet wide. with smooth
top. desire to catch boat led the wheelman
to speed along this. A trolley line runs along the
wall. on the other side from the road. and the
car which whizzed past the bicyclist was so near
that the passengers could almost have touched
him. But he neither fell under the car nor on the
road. but reached College Point In safety.
There are exceptions to the rule that one BIZ
cycle should pass another or any other vehicle
going in the same direction on the left side but 1t
is frequently disregarded by riders In and near
this city without good excuse. Even when
couple OF riders proceeding side by side and
only short distance apart, there are stupid or
reckless boys who sometimes think 1t a smart
thing to run In between them, II possible when
there Is plenty Of room to pass on the proper
side. OF course, riders going In pairs should so
adjust their positions on the road as to take up
no more Of 1t than Is necessary, while keeping
far enough apart to avoid danger from one an
other In passing horse-drawn vehicle II Is not
infrequenty matter OF good )udgment OF o.he YER,
wise whether a wheelman shall pass on the left
or right but in all cases 1t Is wise to exercise the
utmost caution.
A rider in this city had an experience the other
day that impressed on his mind the Importance Of
considering all possible contingencies He de-
scribes 1t thus 1T was a day when 1t had rained
In the morning and was cloudy In the afternoon
so that the pavements had not dried up very fast
I was at Chambers-st. and Broadway, and want
ed to go to Fortieth-st. In ordinary circum-
. stances | should have run over TO Park Row and
then gone up to Chatham Square. and taken the
asphalt on the East Side to Second ave. and so
on I feared however that ii might be more
muddy under the elevated road In Park Row
than elsewhere and so decided to reach Chatham
Square by way of Worth-st. This took me
through the old Five Points region, and gave me
a glimpse of the new Mulberry Park. for which
was not sorry. found some mud. but had no
trouble with 1t. Shortly before / reached the
Square, however / came up behind a heavy
truck that was moving slowly along. with one
set of wheels In the cartrack There was plenty
of room for me to pass on the right-hand side, ana
I was intending to do so in a moment or two.
when suddenly the truck gave great lurcn ana
slid at least three feet over toward the curbstone
on nv side Of the street. could see instantly what
was the trouble. The front wheels had struck
switch In the cartrack, which was wet and slip.
perry and caused the entire vehicle to swing out or
ts course although the horses went straight on
Now If had CHANGED to be abreast OF the truck
1t Is almost certain that 1t would have struck me,
and I would have been lucky to escape without
injury to myself or my bicycle. I, Of course. had
not the slightest suspicion OF the switch Defore
the wheels came against 1t. 1t was lucky
escape and has taught me once more the I'M
portance Of taking risks, or at any rate, as
few as possible
Riders going to or from the ferry at the foot OF
East Twenty third ST should have a care to avoid
going through Twenty-second-st. east OF Lexng-
ton-aye This route has been advised as prefer
able to the through East Twenty-sxth-st
and it would be better, except that on one block
an excavation for a sewer was made several
months ago. and the work has not yet been COM
pleted The consequence Is that the street sur
face for a considerable distance is in poor cond!-
ton. and not to be ridden over except In case OF
necessity The advantage of Twenty-second-st
over Twenty-slxth some time ago was that 1t
brought one on asphalt two blocks nearer the
ferry but since the requirement. OF First-ave. that
10 not the case and Twenty sixth-st. furnishes
the better route. 1t would be an excellent thing
If the wheemen OF New-York and Brooklyn
could secure the laying Of asphalt strips on the
streets leading to the ferry between twenty
third-st and broadway so as to fill up the gaps
between First-ave one side and the Bedford
ave fountain on the other.
Asphalt strips have not been tried at all in
Brooklyn as yet, Dut the susBeStioH mas pcch
made that they should be laid in Bushwick-ave.
to provide way of reaching the smooth pave
ment in Glenmore- with ease. The plan in
view contemplates the extension Of the asphalt
pavement in Hancock-st to Bushwick-aVe ana
the laying Of strips similar to those in Madison
ave and Hudson-st. on both sides OF that avenue
The plan Is clearly a practicable one, and would
accommodate not only large number Of riders
in Brooklyn, but those of this city who want to go
through Brooklyn to reach the good roads OF
Long Island.
rOT;ND DEAD WEAR THE TRACKS,