Evening star., 1896-09-19
CYCLING ACCIDENTS,
Their Character, Causes and How TO
Avoid Them.

Avoid Them.
Cycling accidents. Gays DIR. Turner in the
Hygienic Gazette. may he divided into two
classes-those which depend on the fault of
the riner and those which do not
In the first category come all those
smashes" which are caused by the igno-
rance or foolhardiness of the bicyclist who
allows his machine to get the better of him
On hill which he does not know No one
should ever allow himself to travel at more
than five or six miles an hour descending
any Incline, however easy the gradient may
appear. unless he can see the road clear to
the bottom, and that no side lanes open
into 1T. and that there is no sudden or
abrupt turn. This rule should be absolute
whether brake be attached to the bicycle
or whether the rider, being an expert trusts
to his powers Of back pedalling' to control
his lace. The greater number Of danger
Gus hills on the main roads, and on many
byroads also, are sa1egCarded at the top by
warning notice board placed there by the
National Cyclists Union or the Cyclists
Touring Club, and riders ignorant of the
locality should always on seeing this be
prepared to dismount and walk. More ac-
cidents are due to reckless riding down hills
than to any other cause Street riding
through traffic is also a prolific source OF
accident. 1t is full OF risk even to the
practiced and in the case of the hundreds
OF novices who may now be seen daily
courting destruction under the noses of
| the horses In London and other large towns
IT fs simply criminal The same remark
| applies to those who are foolish enough 20
| ride hands off," 1t is the easiest thing in
| the world to do and when INDUCED in for
| the purpose of silly display, is often the
cause OF a very bad fall. Any large stone,
| grating. or inequality in the road meeting
! the front wheel while swinging free causes
| 1t to be detected from its true path, and
the rider must then come to earth, face
first
| Many accidents are also due to the fault
| common one-of not making sure that
| every nut and bolt in the machine is prop
| erly screwed up and in order before start
| Ing 1t Is especially important to be care
full about this when the bicycle is new
| For the first few rides it is finding itself ="
| and a spanner should always be put on
| every essential nut, and. If visible. the
| lock-nut OF the chain. until the parts have
| properly shaken together.
| The accidents which are not due to the
| fault of the rider generally are caused by
| the sudden failure of some important part
| Of tho machine. This may be due to an un-
| seen and undetected flaw in the metal-rare
| in the highest class of bicycles. but more or
| less frequent in those Of the cheap descrip-
| ton. Nothing can guard against this, eN-
| cept to take every precaution, and only
use the goods of firm. which has a repu-
| tation to lose.
1t Is not necessary to treat of the mis-
haps Of beginners; until il be mastered the
1
| its owner In the most unexpected fashion
and of running into every obstacle thai
lies in or near the road. This last eccen-
tricity is easily explained by the fact thai
! the steering follows the sight automatical-
| ly, and novice on wheels always intently
| regards that which he should avoid.
Side slip" depends partly on the rider
and partly on an unavoidable combination
of circumstances. II when the roads are
| greasy great care is exercised and the
machine kept upright ana very steady at a
| moderate pace, 1t is often possible to es
| cape without a slip, but sometimes even
the most careful come to grief at a mo
nent's notice. This is caused by the in
flated tire floating on the surface of tho
gluey mud, and never really getting griT
of the road surface, and il the road be
"hogged," or the rider attempt an abrLp
turn, the wheel slides away from under
him, and he falls sideways without tn,
slightest warning. There are many paten
tire covers invented for the purpose o
| avoiding this accident, but when the sur
face Is really bad they are all equally use
less, though when the conditions are les
| urfavorable they all have a certain goo
| effect A reckless unskilful rider with ba'
"ankle action" can hardly escape disaste
If he ride over grease at a fast pace.
| is evident that a fall from this cause II
| front of an omnibus may very easily prov
. | fatal as the driver Of the vehicle has n,
| time to null up. On a country road, thougl
. | unpleasant II Is not often attended witt
, | serious injury. fall someumes resulu
l from an air tire bursting ana pio"h6 VI
. | the rim of the wheel, which then coliapse
| ur Ter the weight of the rider. This i
mere frequent in racing than in road nd
ing. Many falls are caused by cohislon'
! with pedestrians, carts, cabs ana otne,
conyeyances The exercise of due care VII
: generally avoid an accident from thes'
causes. but drunken and evil disposed driv
ers still exist who think 1t good sport tC
run down a cyclist. Judicious prosecution
| has of late years much reduced their mum
Eers. -.
( The Injuries sustained from cycle acci
dents do not differ in any essential partic
ular from those caused by other falls from
swiftly moving carriages. The knees mos
frequently suffer, and the collar bone u
= most often fractured-the fracture being IL
a large number of cases of the green
> stick" variety. Any one falling and hurt
ing the knee should at once cease from
riding until 1t is quite recovered Much mis-
chief has often ensued from riding HON
| with an apparently slightly injured kne
joint. The 'cycle graze' Is very trouble
some to heal. The two upper layers OF tn
| skin over some bony prominence are kille
| by the blow from the fall, and the result
E ing sore. II neglected. often remains ope
, for weeks Antiseptics at the time, and
E possible some drying application afterward