The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-04-21

Cossting Down . Steep Pas IL Rather a
Exoiting Expsrisucs. E. sft.

. z - a L
Cessting Down Steep Pas IL Rather ..
Exciting Expsrisnos. =. III =.
Elizabeth Robins Pennell writes an ar
ticle entitled "Over the Alps on a Bicycle
for the April Century, and Joseph Pennell
: mrnishesa number Of striking iIlustra-
No. y 49, 4ennelS sage of one OF her drst
e1periences; Up and down for anotheP day
We rode and then we were we'll 10 the
Jnrs, on our first pass, the Col dc la Fau-
cille. How much we had heard OF that
pass-how steep 1t was, bow terrible the
three kilometers at-the Stopl To mount
them we ate two breakfasts. one after the
other. The French customs officers AtiIIes
Rousses babe US an ..tExoelsior IKE sdieu
as they stamped our machines, and IA the
wheel tracksof Swiss from Geneva, the
number on his bicycle waving gayly be-
hind him, we began to climb. 1t was not
long, however, before even caught up TO
him, and he addressed me with what
breath was left him almost In the words Of
Longfeilow, not exactly
Beware the pine trees withered branchi
Beware the awful avalanchei-
but, Look out NIT dem lest tree kilome-
ter. Ho shteep."
The Swiss, by riding very hard, got
ahead of US. We did not hurry much, but
we hurried him. We rode on, and we rode
on, and all the while like a small steam
engine, until suddenly the road became
fiat and began to go down hill, and, with
final grunt Of triumph, he tumbled of
and said, ode Col de la Faushiller" And
this was Swiss pass Why, know hun.
dreds of hills that are worse, and yet,
when we came to look In our Baedeker
we found we had climbed without feeling
1t 4, 856 feet.
AS we started down the Swiss cyoler
called after us: "Haben sic elm vary gut
brackP For sic mussent xuruck pedallen,
and 1t Is besser Elm pine tree apres sol de
trainer" We got on. We pumped up our
pneumatic brakes. We back pedaled hard.
And then we remembered there was
view. We jumped Off and looked. The
road zigzagged down the mountain side.
Pine forests grew toward heaven, fat,
gray green streak Of country stretched
away below, whitish line filled the dis
tanoe. and instead of Ruskins star grit,
glistening white, village crowned, glacier
bound chain of Alps were only vast cloud
banks So we pumped up the pneumatics
again and began our ride down. The
road was broad and beautifully angi-
neered, for we were still In France.
When reached the first curve, had
bad time. The road doubled straight back
on itself-on one side the pine forest, on
the other drop of some thousand feet.
Every yard or so was stone post Just
high enough to hit my pedal Ito save me
from grim death). / steered from the
precipioe and tried to come around with
the dignity that BELTS my go years of
cycling, but the road was not banked up
ran into the gutter and sat down in the
bushes. l picked myself up and looked
over the side. Half dozen zigzags below
was j., coasting like mad foreshortened
so that could see only the top of his head
He approached curve. AS he turned 1t he
leaned right over the precipice. He took
his hands off. Heavensl Was he falling?
No. He was lighting his pipe. i rode for
awhile in most ladyli like manner, but after
half dozen turns, by keeping my pneu-
matte on, by hard back pedaling and by
turning as short as possible at the curves,
there was no trouble. The gradient was
not very steep, and it became easier where
the road wound back and forth and round
and about among the foothills. Never
once, however, did let the machine go.
We both put our faith in the pneumatic
brakes, and with our feet on the rests we
coasted delightfully."-. Once we beheld In a
cloud of dust away above us the Swiss, a
pine tree tagged to his Wheel wabblng
down with difficulty. We had heard of the
terrors of this pass for years, and we found
q perfect coast