Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-18
S 0 M E CYCLE CHAT

Inc members of the police bicycle squad
| are now wearing their full uniforms for
the winter. including caps and all Some
riders have perhaps noticed this and
doubtless noticed that the change looked
| good There is now no trouble in distin-
| gushing the member of the squad when
awheel The new caps are of blue color.
and shaped good deal like the cap of
the High School cadets last year, with gold
| cord in front A thick and heavy coat.
| square cut. with knee trousers both of
| blue, constitute the official costume the
men wearing any color of stocking desired
| AS 1t now appears the local squad will
compare favorably with the bicycle squad
Of any other city in the country in point of
appearance.
The wheelmen of Indianapolis have
something which the local wheelmen do
not possess, but which might be a good
thlhS TO have. 1t Is nothing more nor less
than cyclometer test The name might
sound unique, but 1t Is a good thing 1t is
course over which the riders of the city
are given chance of testing their cyclom-
cters, to ascertain their correctness in reg
istering. The distance is only one mile
and in good portion of the city. While
the need of such course was not at all
| so very great the city surveyor marked
off course exactly a mile in length Near
! ~ all of the wheelrncn of the city took ad-
rode over the distance.
! Whether or not the course is exactly fair
| for a cyclometer test is a question that is
debatable Take it for granted that the
course Is exactly one mile in length the
measurement of the same is made in a
! perfectly straight line. To accurately test
| the cyclometer the rider is obliged to ride
| in perfectly straight line. This is moth
ing dl1lcult for a great many riders but
| even the best in going a mile are not ant
| TO keep in a perfectly straight line The
| front wheel is very apt to wobble now
and then in order that the rider NAV re-
| tain his equilibrium. and the webbing is
| apt to make an increased difference in rec
ora Tor the mile as shown by the readings
or the cyclometer. Again the new riders
| rave general tendency to wobble and
the discrepancy in their case would be
much larger. At the end it would be a
! father hard matter to tell whether the
| difference between the record and the mile
vas caused by the failure of the CYCLIC
meter to work properly or due to the Wob-
! bling of the wheel.
All cyclometers are not good record keep
| ers. Some may keep accurate time others
| nay register entirely too rapid; while 9TH
| ers still may register too slow. A cyclom-
| eter can be readily compared with a watch
Some run slow and others fast, while again
a limited number may run correctly The
facilities for regulating cyclometer how
| ever. are not nearly as good as for regu-
iatlng the movements of n watch, and
| therein lies the difficulty Taking it all in
| oil a cyclometer course Is hardly fair for
| the rider or for the instrument
| 1t will be remembered that not long ago
| the Commissioners issued an order pre-
venting parents OR others from carving
children on bicycle. The order met with
considerable opposition, and was subse-
quentiy modified to a great degree The
! police would have q hard time securing a
| conviction at present of any person who
vas arrested forScarrying child awheel
| In opposition to this Chicago judge re-
NIL al hat b..
| that city had right 10 cause the arrest
of persons who carried babies or children
| on their bicycles. A press dispatch has this
| to say on the subject
1T was proved in the testimony submit
ted TO the court that the carrying of n
Child on the handle bar of a bicycle puts
the enid in constant peril Of life and limb
no matter how comfortable a seat it NAV
rave. as there are not alone the possible
accidents of the roadway, passing vehicles
but also the liability that wheel, pedal
or handle bar may break at any moment,
throwing the child to the ground to be in
jured or killed. For physiological reasons
The practice of carrying children on BIZ
cycles Is very reprehensible. 1t can not do
! a SICK child any good There is no exer-
else Tor the child in it and fresh air can
be had without the risk of taking it on a
bicycle In many cases the smile on a
cflids face while being carried on a BIZ
: cycle Is not smile of good, healthy en-
| joyment, burt one of fear. The nractice
OF riding children in this manner is fool
hardy and criminal and humane societies
and the police everywhere should suppress
it, PP 20"
1t is a peculiar thing to notice that one
c:ass Of sport takes better in one locality
than in another. Six-day continuous racing
and day limit race may be taken for a
good example. as two instances occurred
one right after another. The big race at
Madison Square, which ended in MilIer's
smashing Hale's old record of l $40 was a
bonanza for the projectors as well as for
the contestants themselves, from their
own point of view. 1t is stated that the
managers of the affair got $4,000 for their
share of the week. while among the six
DAY racers the total purse amounted to
only 1920. The York public is evidently
extremely fond Of that class of sport
To show the reverse Of the above success
full financial condition. it is only necessary
to refer to the twelve-hour race which
was run at Atlanta the week before the
Madison Square event, in which most of
the entrants to tho latter race entered in
| order to get practice The riders worked
| hard at the southern city, but the receipts
we're very small Miller won the race.
His share of the gate receipts amounted
to $l4.S7. The other riders finished in the
following positions, and secured the fol-
lowing purses: Elliott, $3.50; Mangum
| s637: Repine $40; Mankin, $3.14; Walt
hour. s255; Chapman. sl.7O. Rivierre, the
French rider, and Shock. the veteran six
dav rider got nothing outside NJ a r,.5