The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-14
WOMEN AND BICYCLES.
a LECTURE ON THE DANG Frs OF
Co1STING, BIZ MRS. AXTELL.


wheel - Reckless Riding ~ n Cause OF
Accidents-sheuid Bicycles Have BrnEsst
Bicycle weather went on a strike for tho bcst
part Of tho past week, and the wheelwomcn
were very unhappy. On Monday afternoon,
whom the sun played q lively game of tag with
the heavy thunder clouds, and 1t all ended in q
brisk shower, tho whcelwomen said, "0h, Juno
is Just playing one of April's tricks on us. 1t
will probably DO clear tho rest of the
week." When they awoke Tuesday morn
ing they found n regular, old-fashioned,
all-day soaker falling; but even that
did not dampen their spirits. Cyclists arc
tho best-natured people in the world; and they
simply put their heads together and said: at
will rain itself out to-day, and probably we
won't 30 much rs have another shower this
month to Interfere with u.s." 1t was q long day;
but Wednesday finally came, but alack and
alasi there was no prospect of a let-up in tho rain,
and the cyclists began to say things-that is,
the wheelmen did-and It was whispered around
that the whoelwomen were thinking tho same
things. Some people believe that 1t is just as
bad to think a thing as to say 1t. and that the
recording angel makes no distinction between
thoughts and words. II they are right he has
had one Of the busiest weeks Of his long term Of
service, and he must have used up O sight O.
pages In his big ledger. Farmer Dunn was their
wa Naho v "a pSNeh eeAhs see. NAAA cs.he
In this city proved himself an expert at firing Off
one kind Of abuse or another.
Thursday brought signs of clearing, and the
sun actually consented to shine systematically
over Manhattan Island. Immediately the spirits
Of tho cyclists began to clear with the rise OF
tho barometer. and when Friday dawned bright
and crisp as an Autumn morning they were all
ready to cut high links for joy. They began at
once 70 plan their Sunday runs, for they Just
know, 30 they said, that 1t couldn't rain any
moro for quito q while.
There was q time when women dotted on O
rainy day. 1t gave them a chance to answer
their letters, finish some piece of fancy work
that had been laid aside TO wait for just such q
day, or to do the mending that had accumulated
during fair weather.; or 1t furnished uninter-
rupted opportunity for glancinR over the latest
novels, reading the magazines. or having
q quiet day with ones closest friends.
1t isn't that way now. Women hate
rainy ~days-that Is, tho wheelwomen do,
and when one does come they don't put 1t In do
ing any Of the things that used to occupy their
time.. They crowd tho bicycle academies to
spin away indigestion or to talk away the blues,
and they do both to their hearts content. On
the very rainiest Of all tho rainy days an acad-
envy on tho Boulevard was unusually crowded
with enthusiasts. They couldn't 60 on the road,
Of course, and there seemed little prospect Of
again the Beautiful rides that they had taken
'' sTSe "a Sr si n 0 rFidO ever had IN my lie
said a tan girl in a new kind of divided skirt,
The MS ride eI in i taeHp was very very ike poG an 10" Ordinary iH n run run;
it Is tho climax that lives In my memory, and
will % ypsil T. I do Ud the m ssmo t hi Mage SsHtn asked . abort
girl wearing q short skirt and sweater,
-! mean that when got to that st big hill at
skirts: You all know the hiil,i simply put my
feet on the coasters, and sailed down like a bird.
Of power and liberty. It was grand" :.
''And you ought to 60 down on your knees and
think ,sIi ,ko a Kind kind dP sSId %Ss' Astsli yG tho are Wo laSins , to
WHY was only coasting." exclaimed the
III know it." answered Mrs. Axtell. land 1t is
a most lamentnblo fact. Some people claim that
avoided II all wheels were equipped with brakes.
l do not believe this. I think almost three-thirds
Of the nishsps would be avoided If people would
"Y9u don't can coastins recklessness: do
you Z, asked a yonng woman who says that she
II call coasting recklessness OF the worst
type" declared the authority earnestly. 1t
ing, and yet nearly all of them do it,. When a
woman goes to a dealer to buy q wheel she asks
forget Il. nine times out OF ten she comes back
and gets them. wish there was a law against
o%oastinE; 1t is the most dangerous thing that
why" asked a fat sister. " It's awful nice; -
mo human being ever becomes a sufficiently
and retain control OF the wheel. As long as you
keep your feet firmly on the pedals and your
your wheel; as soon as You take your feet from
the pedals the wheel has control OF you; Many
people are injured for ne while coasting and
but it's Just that element of chance that
makes II, such fun" interrupted a slim. angular
What O silly thing for a grown woman to
sR e 81 It. wS SsGn a so snsS GO eoa s3i f It STg 1ns d n0t
that she is an expert, but that she Is not an ex,
her feet off the pedals going i" down a hi
than she would riding up one, It would
really DO far less dangerous TO take them of
pSeo and Would I'D merely fail on. While Il you
lake them Of going down you are apt to be
know lots Of men that coast, interrupted
a girl who rides q diamond frame and uses
1.-THE men who coast have no more sense than
ths , T9% nnbs %h9 do tRe s.aY% oas bs resp SeSsT heard MFs
their feet from the pedals under any circsm
stances; they are too expert; ! a1ways feel IKE
or even . man. and telling her OF the accident
which ! know, Is almost sure to happen. 1t Is
people who coast. Why. riding, down a hill
with ones feet on the coasters is not as sen,
i bssa Mans n ,sryGin nFve to or eF T%en, gfqaGTay ytre at
A'NfHa AAeb
with the eyes shut; a policeman would be or
Broadway to stop you, but when you arc on Il
bicycle there is nobody to stop you. Just the
other day the dearest little lady came in here to
buy q wheel. and said that she wanted coasters
/ was present and i spoke to her Of the danger
OF c%oasting. She said. why, l was riding with
three mon the other day. and we all coasted
such fun I thought I'd like more OF IT. No MAJ
who knows what he is doing will coast. You
take q man with good. sound judgment, and he
Is always setting an example for woman. The
man who coasts sets a very bad example,, =,
ibid you ever know the Joy OF coasting =
asked q, girl wearing a short skirt. golf stock
NaCertainly," replied Mrs. Axtell. ~ coastet
the first year / took to wheeling. That wal
nearly eight years ago. haven't coasted since
and there isn't money enough In this city Il
make me ride down a hill with my feet of tn,
pedals. I came down. one that ] shall never for
get. When i got on the turn / was going 80 fasl
that / couldn't catch my pedals, SO l wal
thrown straight into the air over the handl,
bars. Hurt Not seriously, but II taught me
lesson that l have never forgotten. My in
structor told me never to coast, and ! disobeyec
/ bin, linra than I've laarnad that mr. man nj