The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1897-04-08

cycle. but ii Is something which to all
wheelmen Is mere commonplace. Po.
likeness and good nature are merely
two In long catalogue Of benefits. It's
cheerful influences know no limit to
their range. 1t has multiplied court
ships and abolished elopements, and
while it has encouraged matrimony II
has diminished divorces. The melan-
choly wheelman is wholly unknown,
and it is positively asserted that no
wheelman has ever committed suicide
voluntarily. When one reflects that
the bicycle is, SO to speak, still an in
FAINT industry the mind is lost in con-
lecture as to the future Of it's influence
on the'human race.
Once every two months should be
enough to take tolerably good wheel
apart, and If half that Is claimed for
the 1897 wheels is true, and you have
one of them, once a year should be
sufficient. Many riders have a mania
for taking their machines apart and
talking of the great amount Of time
that is wasted in keeping bicycles in
good order Amateurs rarely do any
good by looking into the bearings, and
are as likely as not to do considerable
harm by getting grit into the cups or
failing to adjust the bearings so that
they shall be just snug enough when
they put the parts together. So much
depends on the adjustment Of wheel
being exactly right that it Is always
wise to leave that matter to thor
oughly competent person. Pedal
mounting is becoming more and more
common. 1t Is a good thing to avoid.
1t wrenches the wheel, and however
carefully and strongly 1t may be made,
successive shocks of that kind are ceN
| tain to make trouble later in the sea
son. Curb mounts are the best for the
wheel.
No amount of preaching or tnstruc'
| ton will fully impress the novice with
the possibilities Of side slip. Warn him
| ever so faithfully to be careful not to
| turn shaply on wet spots, and down he
| will 20 with n slam at the first favor
able opportunity. The one thing to dc
in slippery places is to ride in per
fectly straight line. Turn matter OF
two points in either direction and the
| situation is lost. Not until the average
beginner has gone to earth once ol
twice can he be convinced that this II
SO. The feeling that prevails when tht
machine, crablike, begins to edge on
sideways, is the most forlorn and help
less Of all cycling sensations, save tina
experienced by the brakeless cyclis
when he realizes that his wheel Is run
ming away with him down hill. Ant
the more frantic the effort to recove
equilibrium the more complete the con
tact of the riders person with th'
ground when the sprawl follows.
A writer on hygiene states that tn
intense thirst which attacks man.
wbeelmen is the result OF breathin,
through the lips, thus parching tn
Inns, mouth and throat, and advise
that the mouth be kept shut against In
halations. He says: "When you can
make hill without opening the mout
'twere better to dismount than to COZ
tinue the exertion. Even when dif
mounted and the breathing Is laboret
E the mouth should be kept closed. II
also advises against the use Of toba<
60 stating that chewing affects the eli
culating system; smoking, especial
cigarettes, affects the heart an
breathing, making one short windet
Concluding, he says; "a cigarett
smoker will find that it requires moi
exertion for him to ride a fine, wei
geared, well-oiled machine than 1t doe
| a non-cigarette smoker to push an oil
fashioned, rusty, out-of-date bicycle