The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-09-10

1 ef experience soon leo me 10 see, now
ever, that much is to be said in favor Of
their great solidity, as adopted 10 their
| peculiar conditions
l left the dealer five francs and my
! crate, and started out into the open
country. The foreign soil received hos
pitably the visftant from the other side
OF the world that rolled with light i'm
pact on its surface; even the cobbie-pav-
ed streets are smooth, and the trolly
tracks were sunk flush with the surface.
Ten or fifteen mile on a little tour of ex-
pioration, and TO see that all was work
ing perfectly-it was nothing at all; and
| what a surprise, what pleasure, to
thread in this way even the character
istic crooked alleys OF the French vii
lagos which 1 had so often laborously
trod on fot The next day along the
coast for Trouville Private and local
fetes were on at Honfluer, and it was
| almost impossible TO get aboard the boat
| crossing the mouth OF the Seine to that
point. The spirit of the crowd was not
at all favorable to the bicycle-"velo,"
| .hey call it, contraction Of velocipede,
and the word in popular use-aHd it re-
ceived more than one vicious push and
even a wrencning al the spokes. Above
Vasouy / made my acquaintance with
one Of the characteristic French hills.
You are confronted with the notice, put
up by the benevolent Touring Club:
Cyclists, attention, Rapid descent and
dangerous turning" The road on thss
hills is as winding as the usual French
| road is mathema tically, remorselessly
straight; the surface is perfectly hard
and even, and you get no assistance in
holding back from the friction of any
rough places. Suppose, in going down
at very fast pace, you come-a very
common incident-upon a string team
,, OF draught horses all spread out over the
route, it is not so easy to get out Of the
scrape.
Returning to Honfluer, / started for
Paris by way Rouen. Up to this time
everything was working smoothly. A
good many small flint stones cracked
under my wheels, but I was agreeably
reassured; they seemed about as harm
less as the cinders or gravel on one of
our bicycle paths. I had the wind with
me. and was making great progress. The
roads are good and even from side to
side. and you do not have TO fix your
attention too exclusively on your way,
but can look about you at the architec-
ture and the landscape. 1 had made. say,
fifty miles in all, when. at five o'clock
in the afternoon, at Pont-Audemer, with
three good hours Of daylight before me.
found big nail, from a PEASANTS shoe,
sticking in my main tire, and the tire
was leaking from a score Of small places
besides. Impossible to find anybody in
the town who could mend cingle-tube
tire; they understood nothing but the
Dunlop or some French modification of
ii. The incden gave me an opportunity
to make the acquaintance of the local
delegate Of the Touring Club. He was
very polite. He told me about the tenn
per of the people towards the bicycle,
which is improving, now that the post
man, the huiSsier, and others begin 10
use it practically in the way of work.
He found me a jeweiler, an ingenious
person, who in general could mend any
thing. and between sus we managed to
heal the wound coused by the hob-nail
from the shoe. But even then the con-
dition OF the tire was hopeless. 1 had to
take the train for Paris and purchase a
new one. Cost Of that days damages,
exclusive Of the hotel bill, railway fare,
and eXpressage on trunk. already sent
on, say, 40 francs. / am bringing back
the collapsed tire; whether it was orig
inally defective or whether it was cut to
pieces by the f1ints in the road has not
yet been determined: The f1ints are pre-
cisely thise used in the fire locks of our
forefathers; they have the sharp cutting
edges of broken glass or crockery, and
the roads of much of France, including
Paris. are mended with this pleasant ma
terial. Certainly outfitters at home who
will let their clients, come over with APP
paratus in a defective condition to this
large Europe, where it proves to be so
extremely difficult to get parts replaced
or repairs made according to our own
system are very constituencies.
The next accident that happened TO
me was to break a pedal-pin out at Vile
d'Avray. Return by the train and a
hunt all over Paris, which resulted, not
in replacing simply the broken pin. but
in having 10 buy a new pair of pedals.
And again it was a lucky chance to find
pedals OF the same make, though we'll
known at home; one dealer happened to
have just single pair, which had been
sent over to him as specimen. Later
on, in the Riviera, there broke an end
Of the main axle. the crank hanger. That
was clearly a defect in the machine
There was an agent for the make ride
in London, but not nearer. could hard
ly wait, two or three weeks, to get a new
axle from him, SO I had one forged at
Nice; price II francs. and two days de-
lay in my plans. The 'clumsiness" OF
foreign bicycles now began 10 take on a
very different aspect. The tourists I first
began to notice on the northern coast,
had thick, substan tial, double-tube tires,
often corrugated 50 as not to slip. stout,
wide cranks. saddles with heavy springs,
substantial brakes, liberal mud-guar5s.
and often gear cases. They were not
pretty to look at. if you will. but they
went rolling on through rain and shine.
Our own manufacturers would do well
TO have less cachet and good deal more
conscience, or at least, more good judge
ment as to the strength OF materials
/ have had many other things 70 do.
and have by no means been travelling
on, but only with, a bicycle. The mod
Isl uIc u tov LA A44s N4bliir-
ter now registers includes mucn rolling
around the streets OF Paris and its en-
virons; through the seQuestered shades
OF the forests Of Fonta.n5bleau: GrenobIe
and IFS charming adjacent regions; over
the pass southwark % Nice; from Nice /
10 Mention by the lower road and back /
by the upper: and now, LATEST, the charm |
ing run round Lake LeTnan. Chamonix !
and othre Swiss excursions are still in |
prospect In addition. have constantly |