Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-07
F 0 r WOMEN ERS

! The step from tho regular female cycling
drcss TO boomers seems to he a very short
one. yet there is considerable hesitation in
| making the change. There are very few
women who have the courage to do II. and
those who have made 1t describe the
| change in such a way as to place dampcr
| on the spirits OF those who are eagerly i'm
| line awaiting a favorable opportunity TO
| make the transition. In view Of the fact
that the bloomer adherents sim maintain
| that the rational costume will Yet have it's
| day. and in view of the fact that IN France
the bloomer costume is all the rage II
| seems as though the riders of this country
rather slow in making tho change.
| However. it is not the purpose CT this
| article to urge the adoption of the rational
cycling costume. The intention is only To-
speak of the courage required 10 make the
! change. The Countess Brooke. who Is an
enthusiastic, biCHclist. has written OF her
| adoption of boomers and the way she
| expresses herself will undoubtedly prove of
| interest.
| For some time | wore my hloomers only
! when riding, said she. but 10y easy de-
| grees I completely abandoned the wearing
I, of skirts. except. OF course. at dinner. I'm
| the evening. when receiving and paying
ceremonious calls I was I'm the proud en-
| joyment of my newly found and absolutely
comfortable costume the whole day. / car
| not say that | attained this happy result
! without many remonsirances from lady
| friends. whose worship of Mrs. Grundy
| partook of the most ah1cct and thorough
| character. The usual arguments lcNei"d
| against "a woman who adopts what its op-
| ponents call masculine dress were al
| vanced in my case without avail. l had
| tasted the pleasures Of emancipation from
| the thraldom of announcement and unneces-
| sary fashion. and i did not mean TO abau-
/ don my freedom. In the houdoir. in the
kitchen. in the kennels. in the menagcrie.
| i'm the fields and on the roads, 1 was "aily
finding fresh evidences of the comfort aud
| usefulness of my bloomer costume.
| Frequently som. very foolish suggest 'ons
are made by writers on bicycle subjects ia
| the cycling and newspaiNf7. III tn" adNic"
| were carried out. in a majority OF instances
| the person needing il would md himself or
herself in a much worse state at The end
| than at the beginning. In w"ll-known
| newspaper a writer urges all women not 10
| ride over one or two hours every day until
| they get used to riding, and then gradually
| increase the time TO as long as desired.
| Fancy the woman rider who could at the
| start keen on a bicycle for or two
| hours without dismounting: fancy the No-
| "a an, especially the majority of the sex.
| VI no have one or two consecutive hours, or
| perhaps longer. that they can spare every
| day. There may be some who can ride
| that long Immediately after learning TO
| RIDE and there mag be some who can spare
| the time, bat in both cases the number IL
| limited. The best advice that can be given
| to the new rider is to remain in the saddle
| until tired. and then dismOunt and rest Tor
| a while. Don't ride when you are tired. or
| you may suffer for it.
| According TO an authority. sailor or
| alpine straw hats are again in fashion and
| as simply trimmed possible. No flowers
| and no feathers are needed, but carefully
! chosen hats. SO that the lines are becoming
| to tn" profile as well as the fun face.
Don't hesitate to accept assistance from
| a man in case you are in trouble. That is
an occasion when woman may take we'll
meant help from a stranger of the opposite
| SEX Don't trim any part of your Wis BILE
| wheeling costume with lace frills of
| any kind. Remember that the best-dressed
| wheelwoman is she who is most severely
plain in every detail. Don't keep on ing
| ing your bell when you see that the driver
| Of horse is turning out 10 make room for
you. The jangle of the bell may brighten
| the horse, and is sure to annoy the driver.
The height of smartness in a cycling cos
| tune is 4 white duck dress, worn with
| white shoes and open-work white stock
| ings. This is i conspicuous costume-al-
| most too much so for city riding. When
| tan shoes are worn the rider should have
! stockings to match. The low shoe * the
! best for this season of the year. and. If
po ssible. stockings of Isle thread with ara
I open-work pattern are the best and cool
est Small details add ccnsidt rably to the
| pleasure of riding in warm weather.
Women furnish only per cent of the
|
| Der is gradually increasing. The prejudice
| against female athletics is vanishing. and
| as it disappears the cycling population
| grows.
Miss Mary Munger. the three-year-old
daughter of r. s. Munger Of Birmingham.
| Ala is the smallest cyclist in the United
States of which there is any record. The
! little rming ham cyciist l., gan riding when
she was only two years ana five months
old. At TWO years and six months she rode
very well. The wheel she row rides was
| made especially for her. and is Just four
| teen inches high. 1t looks like plaything.
| but conveys thI little rider, who accom-
panies her father about the city. with ease
| wherever she cares to go. In this connac-
| ton it might be stated that Mr.. Munger is
having wheel made for his sixteen
months-old daughter. which he expects the
| little girl to be riding when she is two
| years of age
The physicians of France are puzzled by
a new mania which is affecting some wo-
men who ride bicycles. These feminine
cyclists have become very cruel. Medical
men who have made study of the matter
are inclined to ascribe it to a form OF in
sanity. One feminn Cyclist has shown her
cruel nature by torturing her pet dogs and
cats. although previous to the time the
mania afflicted her she had been all kind
ness TO her pet animals. No such cases
have been discovered in America. French
eNpei is are inclined TO believe that seor-h-
ing, as practiced 10y all French cyclists
brings about this effect upon the nervous
system.
The first women who ever attempted 10
cross the Sierra Nevada mountains on
wheels have just made the trip from Car
son City. New. to Oakland. Cal, the Jour
ney taking four days, says an exchange.
They are Mrs. George Mclaughlin and her
niece. Mrs. Carrie Mghes. They were &C.
ccmpanied by Mr.. Mclaughlin and r. G.
Riegg of Carson City. Neither of the wo-
men riders experienced any hardships from
her perilous trip coasting down the canyon
reads of the Sierras. They had a good
hard place to cross in the snow belt and
several times came very near hiking over
the grades on the western slopes The wo-
men proved fearless riders. and In several
II stances far outdid their compa MONS in
daring. Several long stretches of precipi-
tous roadway were covered by the women
in remarkably short time. Their time IN
making the trip is looked upon by the few
experts who have performed the feat IS
marvellous. The return trip is expected 20
be even more exciting than the former
ride Down the eastern slopes of the Sier-
ras the bicyclers say there are infinitely
better stretches for coasting. and now that
they are accustomed to the speed of Sierra
scorching. they propose to try for even bet