The herald., 1897-07-11
FOR A VACATION AwHEEL
Little Luggage Should Be Carried
and Expenses Need Not Be Great


'To my mind one of the greatest ad-
vantages in owning a bicycle" said the
Old Timer, sis that it enables one tc
| spend a pleasanter vacation than ht
could otherwise, and at about half the
cost. 1t enables a man to see lots OF
pretty bits Of country that are entirely
out of the reach of the tourist who goes
by rail, and one gets into the small
pretty country places, where the real
| joy Of touring is to be found.
For three or four years past" con-
| tinued the Old Timer, II have taken my
| vacations a-wheel, some east and some
west, and l have thoroughly enjoyed
them all. 1 have wheeled through Con-
necticut and Massachusetts, through
the Wisconsin lake region, through the
Yellowstone park, and through the blue
grass region of Kentucky, and prom
Use anyone who takes any of those trips
on bicycle good time, If he is favored
of course, with good weather and good
health. Any one of them is worth all
the boulevard riding a man can do in
a twelve-month, and there are lots of
other routes in the country equally as
good The idea that Americans have
TO go to Europe to find good routes for
whe cling is all nonsense. There is good
wheeling in Europe, no doubt, and prob
ably better than there is here, but what
there is in this country is good enough
for the ordinary poor man.
There are many things to think of
and prepare, however, before starting
on weeks bicycle tour. In the first
place the tourist must be sure that his
wheel is in the best of condition. Break
downs on country roadsare not pleasant
and a disjointed, badly running wheel
is pretty sure to transform a journey
planned for pleasure into one of dis
comfort and disappointment.
'In picking out his baggage for bicy-
Gle trip" continued the Old Timer, "the
tourist should not forget that he is to
travel on a wheel and with n baggage
car attached. He must limit himself to
the least possible amount and take only
such articles as are absolutely neces-
cary. He should put all thoughts OF
'swagger' dress out of his mind. and if
he is wise he will not adopt the advice
of many handbook writers to send bag
from station to station. This system
means that the tourist is fixed to do a
certain distance per day and reach GER
tain destination at night.
80 far as the spare baggage to be car
ried is concerned, it should be cut down
TO the lowest proportions, and enumer-
ate what 1 consider all that is necessary:
One spare wooden shirt, two washable
ties a thick woolen waistcoat to be worn
in the evening, two spare pairs of stock
irgs four pocket handkerchiefs, tooth
brush, comb and light hairbrush. maps
and books, small boxes of tooth powder,
vaseline, fullers earth, and a little en-
brocation and some lint and sticking
plaster which will come in useful in the
event of a spill
THE expense of trips on bicycles vary,
according to the neighborhoods through
which they are taken and the taste and
necessities of the tourist. If a man cares
to do so he can easily keep his expenses
under $3.50 a day, however, in almost
any western region. He can live for that
amount at the best of country town ho-
tells By getting an occasional meal at
farmhouse the amount can be de-
creased, usually. A man alone, or two
men together, if they were trying to
keep expenses down, could get along
very nicely and have a fine bicycle trip
on $150 each day. If one stays in the
very small towns he can live cheaper,
of course than he can by going to the
hotels in the larger towns. .'-Chicago
Times Herald.