Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-05-22

| Of their patrons. but strive to counteract
the tendency by fitting the machine with
extra large craEks, which virtually lowers
the gear to what II was before, but with
the increased disadvantage of a loss Of
power. through the excessive knee motion
and the making OF graceful pedaling an
impossibility.
Trying to acquire the art Of climbing
| nils Is what Is troubling good many nov
\ ices at this season. That there is an art in
so doing there is little doubt. but practice
and muscle will do a great deal for the
| learner. much more than a few suggestions.
| II the following is kept In mind II will aid
| the rider to catch the knack of hill climb
| ing. Little is gained by trying to rush a
| nili. 1t Is well to get good start, but it
=, ,s, peter 10 SO lay out the push that there
VIII be a reserve force to send the wheel
| over the last rise, which is always the
| hardest A good ankle motion clawing the
peoais around. past and over the dead
| or the body well forward and null nm
slightly on the handle bars. II the grade is
| very sharp try zgzagging, or weaving up the
NH: frequently this will give a needed rest
| on long hill. Try to keep an even pace:
avoid sudden strains Last, but not least
Sit squarely in the saddle
Abuse of oil is an error" says an old
| cycust, which probably nine cyclists out
OF ten fall into. In a bicycle bearing a
single drop of oil will go a great way to-
ward forming the film between journal
oSiis ana Dox necessary to keep the surface
VI tnese parts from coming into wearing
contact. Ordinarily, the cyclist pumps his
bearings full of oil. which runs ont covers
t , outside of the boxes and acts as a me
oium ior the accumulation of DUST
Blcycies are very much like other me-
chanical things; when rightly used. they
are very faithful servants. otherwise they
| neonia A ny. q. s,n go 10 rack and ruin. Wheel
and-so Is a lucky rider; he never has a
puncture. and his wheel is always right
let MS riding mate has hole in his tire
every other day, and hardly a week poes Inv,
Wnen he does not lose a spoke or two The
dlIerence Is all in the carefulness Of the
Two. good wheel not misused is strong.
~ wrongly ridden no wheel can be depend
ed upon. A watchful eye for sharp stones
ana broken glass. a horror of taking
chances which may result in a trim TO the
repair SHOP close attention to the tightness
vi u, mus ana pedals, make all the difference
luck. CAL" o"o
In the matter of footwear it is evident
mat the average cyclist pays too little at
tentlon to his best interests Last season
thousands Of riders pushed over the high
ways OF the country with feet incased in
me modish pointed-toed shoes which
IaShlon dictated for ordinary street wear
however 1t may be for walking, nothing
worse than the pointed shoe could he
CHOSEN for bicycling. The requirements of
perIeet shoe for cycling are a substantial
sore plenty OF room for the toes and lacinp
carried well down. to insure ease and at
sui1icientiy close over the lower instep to
counteract the natural tendency of the foot
10 Work forward with the riders downward
thrusts on the pedal.
NO investment pays such high interest
as the money paid for bicycle The aver
age rider. according to a new deyotee. saves
twenty cents q daV in
Gays week for fifty weeks in the year
or a saving of $50; and If he owns a high
grade wheel he will have nothing to pay
Tor repairs. thus obtaining a return of 20
per cent upon his original Investment
Should he wish to obtain a new mount he
can II ne has been careful of his wheel
s s IL LOT half the price. which, with the
800 he has earned in car fares alone, will
give MIN his years riding for nothing
rms Is exclusive of doctors bills or the
various little expenses that go out for medi-
cineS dur1ns the year, railroad fares usu-
any expended for short pleasure trips and
like expenditures.
In the selection of repair kits, the GUS
toner Is this year given a wider scope than
ever before, and very unique ones have ap-
peareo, many of SO handsome design that
they tempt the eye of even those who are
not wheel people. The tools themselves
are IN nearly all instances now fitted into
leather case, which does away with the
rafting that has SO long been an annoy
ance On the outside of the kit itself my
lady OF means places neat strip of silver
bearing her name and address,
The spoke manufacturers" says a trade
man, ARE not bit backward in admitting
that bicycle makers are unnecessarily de-
sirouS or procuring wire which will show
tensile strength far in excess of that to
winch spoke Is ever subjected in actual
use. 1t Is common to find many superin-
tendents giving specifications for spokes
bnp
The spoke makers say that a spoke which
will resist tensile strain of 500 pounds is
sufficiently strong for all practical purposes
In bicycle building. Still preferring to be
on the safe side the majority Of makers
OF hiSh-grade bicycles insist upon spoking
their wheels with stock which has tensile
strength far in excess of that actually
needed.
There is new style of underwear being
brought forward, which. in its union type.
Is sure to prove popular with cyclists.
There are no buttons or tapes except at
the neck, where each side opens sufficiently
to admit of being drawn on in this manner.
This does away with endless irrtants in
the shape of buttons to hurt at inoppor-
tune moments, to say nothing Of forever
coming off.
There is nothing makes a greater change
IN ones appearance than a bicycle suit.
To sit at the table at country hotel and
watch the riders come in, one would hard
ly be able to figure out that there sits
Judge, there a banker and over there a
minister. With the change Of clothing
they seem to have dropped much Of their
austerity or other marked manners, and
are more as other people. Washing in the
same basin and wiping on the same towel
just outside the door seems to have made
them all akin, and they are full of plea SAINT
talk that they cannot restrain. Recollec-
tions of all kinds come up. first of their
boyhood days. finally drifting off to tales
of the various trips they have taken. Many
of these cover wide ranges of territory.
and Include hunting and fishing expedi-
tons. which are positively fascinating
Then they all fly off to foreign travel, and
tell of scenes visited never to be guessed
at by their present travel-stained dress.
Their conversation alone tells who they
are, or perhaps some curious piece Of
jewelry. which stamps them as out of the
ordinary.