The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-02
O NJ DISCUSS CYCLING.
ORIGIN OF III BTCYCLE HAND
EXPLAINED M An EXPERT.
Hillian Russell Keeps Her weight Down with
q Homo Trnincr-wheciinE No Moro Detri-
mental to Dancing than other Pastimcs In
Which, the Irna Necnme MnscIe Rnnnh.

'NHN
to May. The merry month o May Is said to be
the best In all the year for pedal pushing. Rid
ers arc wont to declare that May is neither toe
hot nor too cold for the sport, and they claim
that rain docs not Interfere with them
during this month. In short. they be-
lievo that sho holds four weeks or perfect
weather in store for them and they
seem to DO tho happiest people on the face of
tho earth to-day, especially the women who ride.
Other women arc talking about May movings,
spring cleaning, summer clothes, a place TO go
to during the hot months, and 80 on. but not so
with tho army Of merry whcclwoincn Nobody
ever catches them frctting and tuning and fuss
ing over such disRgrceable things. They feel
themselves as rich as a ltothschild IL they own
high.Erado wheels. or cheap ones, either, for
that matter, and ARE content to put up with
dark flats. dusty carpets and curtains. hand.ine-
down clothes, and to remain In town all sum-
mcr IL the mercury reaches the boiling point, SO
long as the sun smiles on them and the roads
continue in flrst-class condition.
Cycling is certainly booming and "bulgin' an
b'ilin' too, as tho darkeys down South say Of
their revival meetings when interest is at white
heat. The dealers in high grade machines say
that their books show n marvellous increase in
sales over those of last year, and tho vendors OF
cheap bikes are doing u rushing business. This,
of course, indicates the increase in the number
OF riders. 1t looks as IL everybody would DO
astride of a wheel in time. Tiny boys and girls,
young men and women, middlc-agcd fathers and
mothers, grandfathcrs and grandmothers, some
Of EN- in the zenith Of second childhood, are
equally enthusiastic.
Every now and then the order OF the middle
aged and ancient bikers gets a little scare. They
hear of some one suffering from a case OF bicycle
hand or leg, monkey back. pedal toes, or steer
ing neck, and they begin to wonder II. after all.
wheeling isn't very injurious. Not SO with the
young riders. They utter n few such exclama-
lions as "Bosh!" ~"Tommy.rot!" "Fako camel"
and wheel on.
Several riders were talking together in an
academy on the Boulevard tho other day.
WELL" said a gray haired woman, what
new disease will we hear of next as a result of
bicycle ridingl Really. l think science owes the
bike a rising vote of thanks for making SO many
discoveries
"What is it now T. asked a pretty girl in a
abort divided skirt.
Didn't you hear about the girl in Ansonia,
Conn.,. who got such a bad case Of bicycle hand
that she had to have it operated on T.
"No." chortled n dozen. "Nonsense!" ejacu.
lated a brilliant rider who dashes with reckless
abandon anywhere and everywhere. and some
how manages to escape accident.
Tell us about it" pleaded a schoolgirl.
well" said the old lady, this young woman
was said to be an expert wheelwoman. For sew
eral days. when she came in from a spin, she had
trouble with one of her hands. 1t would be slight
iy swollen and the fingers cramped. A few days
ago the trouble grew worse and after taking II
long ride her hand was SO badly swollen that
ohe could not use it. The fingers doubled under
and she could not bend them back at will.
When she forced them back with her other
hand they would resume the cramped position
when released. She consulted a doctor and he
said that it was the result of bicycle riding and
q too tight grip on the handle bars. He per-
formed an operation cutting open the flesh be-
tween the thumb and forefnger. severing. a
could straighten her hand, and it is said that
ssahee viii likely recover the use of it in a week or
MY. but that is scary." exclaimed a spinster.
I've noticed that my hands feel curious after
a! .@se fla "a f Ike i to E he saGu so MS%sn; who knows
something about wheeling give an opinion on
the bicycle hand" said a Young woman, smiling
one who knows all about the sport as a profess
SIGNAL, an amateur, and an instructor"
plump blonde. 81 don't mean in tho racing
ring: ! mean in the academy"
SO do H. sang out a dozen.
"He used to give us wheelwomen more good
pointers about caring for ourselves than any
s %ah a who tbon mas EYER g been at the head of a school,"
WY WI there t he is standing at the door, fair
Russell consulting him about something. She's
Just crazy over wheels. I Y wonder IL she is going
to ride In here to-day" and simultaneously the
expert how much wheeling had reduced her and
trainer when she CANT get on the road or when
she is on the road literally for she always carries
one with her when travelling.
As soon as the pedal.loving prima donna dis
appeared the dear bicycle girls-for every woman
who rides is a girl, since wheeling slaves off old
age, SO the women themselves say-laid hold Of
the instructor. He Is not much of n talker; in
fact he is 4 very quiet chap. but he seemed real
When one had told him about the reported
ease ins of of bicycle hand that they had been discuss
7 bicycle hand is not a common thing.
you have heard about did not have il. In my
h msn mb Of but but two SSsn eases risin Of bicycle band; and "
PIas, their handIs-bsEs' foT. IL Rss" a II
became paralyzed; I've known It to be two
their knives and forks properly after S a six.d hss
race. Their hands assembled talons more than
be said to have had the bicycle hand. You
wouldn't see more than one case out of 10000
riders. and, and ths i would be a matter Of a man
muscular rheumatism combined.
Most likely this Connecticut girl had muscu-
experts don't grasp their handle bars tight
enough to get II, and she would have had 1t In
both hands. Or she may have been stung on
the hand or touched by some poisonous insect.
The trouble didn't come from bicycling; none
of you need fear that. However, it is not
advisable to take a tight grip on
them as delicately, ms lightly as you can. II Is
80 unnecessary TO grab them for dear life. ,You
know you control the steering Of u bicycle as
much from the hips and the peak of the saddle
rs from tho handle bars, This has, been proved
BY thousands of men and women who take hun
what Is The use Of grasplng yours in despera-
"Do you believe in tho bicycle leg any moro
than you do In the bicycle hand" asked II girl
who declares that her bike leg has laid her on
the shelf at the dances this winter. Then she
told him how 1t had interfered with her dancing.
If you had taken up walking great distances
every day or gone in for sprinting or broad
jumping you would have found yourself with
what you call the bicycle ieg.' II a woman
takes any form of exercise which works the mus
Giles Of her calves hard, she will find tho same
trouble. You develop an entirely new set of
mnarlnQ The nnrn "a woman nr 1nup atthar