The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1897-10-15

riding and freedom from fatigue that he
cannot explain on ordinary grounds.
Of course a portion of this superiority
lies in the hardened muscles and better
Judgment of the experienced rider, but
much the greater part is due to skill in
pedaling.
Good ankle motion is the secret of all
good riding, and it is indispensable for
hill climbing or conditions where the
exertion is great and continuous.
The accompanying diagrams are in
tended to show the difference between
good pedaling and bad, and to demon
strate the way in which power is gained
by proper ankle motion. The first shows
the incorrect way characteristic of un-
skilled wheelmen-in which the rider
prOpels his machine by series of fiat
footed thrusts. The other diagram
shows the proper style, in which,
through the medium of ankle motion,
the propelling power of the riders legs is
exerted continuously instead of by fits
and starts.
In order to clearly appreciate the point
at issue, we must consider for a moment
the principles of crank-driven mech
anisms. Take for example a grindstone
which is fitted with handle of the type
usual in such machines. Turn the
handle slowly and it becomes evident
that the power exerted to do this may be
divided into series. of direct forces.
Suppose you are standing behind
and a little above the grindstone,
with the handle at its highest
point. First thrust the handle
away from you, and the force expended
is roughly speaking, forward horizon
tai one. Then press it down, and you
have a downward vertical force. Then
before it quite reaches its lowest point
draw the handle toward yourself, and
the force is backward horizontal one.
Lastly, lift it over the relative dead
center, and you exercise an upward YER
teal force.
Thus, to turn the grindstone properly
we see that the force must be expended
in four directions: first forward, then
downward, then backward, then up
ward.
The same principal exactly, viz, of
keeping up the application of power all
around, should be adopted as far as pos
Eible when riding bicycle.
It is not possible of course to copy it in
full, as the upward pull isimpracticable,
but three of the four motions may be du-
plicated. A monkey has the entire series
at his command, and should make
good bicycle rider.
Lacking his foot grip, man has to make
mp for it by intelligent cultivation of the
nse of the ankle joint, the object being to
exert throughout as great part of the
revolution of the pedal as possible, a force
which shall tend to propel the bicycle.
As the author of the volume on cycling in
the Bennington Library, remarks Good
ankle work, even in its least developed
stage, prevents the rider from holding
down when the lowest point is reached,
a trick which very often has much to do
with the notable slowness of promising
looking rider.
Referring to the diagrams, it will be
noted that in both the positions of the hip
of the rider and of the crank axle are al
ways in the same horizontal lines.
This is essential, as the distance from
saddle to crank ankle is fixed. It will
also be noted that in each case the sup
positions saddles are adjusted at the
greatest height consistent with the differ
emf styles of riding. In all other respects,
however. the diagrams differ.
In the first, the knee follows a jerky
and ungraceful course, which can best