The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-28
WONDERFUL WHEELMAN.

WONDERFUL WHEELMAN.
Some of the Trick Riding Done by
Fisher.
Here is a man who can do anything
with a bicycle except fly He can al
most do that says the New York Her
aid. He defes the ordinary laws Of
equilibrium apparently and pays no
heed to the obstacles which most men
meet in riding a wheel. If you saw the
Evening Telegraph bicycle parade you
will remember courier who went up
and down the line on one wheel, rode
backward with his arms folded and
performed other feats which amazed
and delighted the beholders. The name
OF this remarkable trick rider is Peter
j. Fisher Jr., who is the manager of a
bicycle academy over in Brooklyn.
Everybody in the world of bicycling
calls him Pete" Fisher He has been
known as a trick rider for eighteen
years. When the ordinary was the
wheel Of the day, Peter J. Fisher Jr,
sometimes to the peril of his neck, per-
formed some wonderful feats of bal
ancing. The tricks which he has per-
termed for the last seven years have
attracted the most attention.
He did some riding over in Brooklyn
last Friday. This magician with BIZ
cycle wheels never gives the impress
sion that he is doing stunts" He
performs these feats with the air of
one who rides that way all the time.
He rode around the floor of the bicy-
Gle academy the other day with the
front wheel Of the machine balanced
in the air. 1t requires about two
| years practice for a trained athlete
DC frl/
best examples of the nicely of balanc-
ing. The rider rode with apparently
| no effort. He will ride a mile that
way with the greatest ease.
Mr.. Fisher then rode with his back
| to the handlebar. His arms were fold
ed and his back rested against the
| handlebar. He was pedalling back
ward. Every sense must be alert in
a feat Of this kind. He could see where
he was going by turning his head rap
| idly to the right and to the left
He then gave the wheel several
twists, as though he were turning a
coat inside out, and the rear wheel was
IN front and he was riding with his
| back to it. You who are skiIlful upon
| the machine with the rubber tires will
appreciate this feat better when Won
| try to do it. Yet this man, who saws
| that he thinks he can ride a little"
has ridden twelve miles under these
down the Coney Island cycle path one
night.
Il did it all right" he said, ''onIy
when l got half way down I had to
get off on account of an obstruction"
| He has ridden half mile backward
| IN one minute and forty seconds.
Il don't PRETEND said this man who
thinks he can ride little" "to be
much of racer now. 1 used to do
some rapid work. but I found that
it did not pay very we'll"
AS bicycle hurdle rider'Pete"F Fisher
has field which he claims for his own.
| He can jump his wheel over sixteen
inch hurdle. Owing to the limited
space which he had in the cycling
! academy he used an eight-inch hurdle,
| His feats with hurdles twice that
height, however, are a matter Of rec
| ord. w
A ten-foot board, which was mad
to stand on its edge by mailing a thin
strip to it, was placed in the middle of
! the floor. Mr.. Fisher circled around it
| for few times and then came down
the center Of the floor like a Comanche
on a broncho.
A quick movement of the handlebar
sent the front wheel over the hurdle
The second followed it with another
twist A snap shot was taken as the
first wheel had passed over the hurdle
Another circling of the academy floor
followed, and Mr.. Fishers wheel was
lifted sideways over the hurdle.
| The most difficult feat of all was the
flying leap over the hurdle, which was
made upon the smooth asphalt of Han
son place, Brooklyn. The rider sWept
! down the street, and, with a flying
| leap, cleared the hurdle with several
inches to spare.
This man who can '"ride little" can
cause a bicycle to take a flying lean
Of tWenty-SoVen feet
The origin of the hurdle trick" said
Mr.. Fisher, was due to an accident
[ was riding with several friends
There was an obstruction in front
which they saw, but I did not see in
time to diSmount I lifted I'D on tha
handlebar and cleared the Obstruction
This sounds like the story of the old
chap who lifted himself around by his
boot straps, doesn't it? I began to
practice the trick right away, and that
is how [ developed the hurdle act"
Another feat for which Mr. Fisher
is we'll known is riding up stairs. He
can ride up short flight with ease
and confidence provided there is a cor
responding flight on the other side for
him to go down. He can ascend five or
six steps sideways, by pulling up on the
handlebars as he does in his hurdle
race. He considers the flying leap his
best feat.
He was among the first to develop bi-
cycle polo. This game is played by
twitching the front wheel about by
means Of the handlebars The wheel
is directed in such a way as to strike
the ball as it rolls over the floor.
Mr. Fisher plays polo with the rear
wheel instead Of the front. This is
twice as difficult as the front wheel
method. 1t was his devotion to water
polo which cost Mr.. Fisher his rating
as an amateur. He was fond Of prac.
ticing with some professional bicycle
polo players, and was forthwith set
down in the books as a professional.
Mr. Fisher made a century run with
out any handlebar just by way of di
version. He rode with the Century
Wheelmen for spin to Patchogue.
On the upright where the handles
should have been he fitted a wooden
ball an inch and a quarter in dame
ter. This he used as a rest for his
hands. Most Of the time he had his
arms folded. He got down to Patch
ogue with the slow division ofthe party.
He came back with the fast division.
He saw friend behind him whose ewes
bulged and whose limbs were weary.
He took his friend In tow, and this
man who thought he could ride a lit
tie" came to New York like seagoing
tug with a craft in distress.