The record-union., 1898-09-10
OF INT crest TO CYCLISTS.
SOME HISToRY-oUTLooK FOR
TRADE.
Correct Position for Wheelwomen
Cleaning the Chain-A High
Bridge-Low Cranks.

New York Tribune: While admitting
that the war with Spain and the dis
agreeable weather in the spring in
5ured the bicycle business this year, all
the makers seem confident that next
season will be the banner one in the
history of the trade. The plan of hav-
ing national cycle show next winter
is being discussed by some of the large
manufacturers, but on rather different
lines than those held heretofore. There
Will not be such a lavish expenditure
of money, and one show will be held
instead of two. If the present sugges-
tons are carried out the show may be
held in this city, possibly some time in
late December
Cycling West: A correct position on
the wheel is to be desired by woman,
as it is graceful facilitates steering,
gives greater confidence, makes riding
easier, and consequently prevents I'M
necessary waste of muscular and nerV-
Gus force. 1t is difficult to define and
most teachers do not give it sufficient
attention. A good, general rule is 10
have the wheel SO adjusted that the
weight of the body will be evenly d.
yided between the saddle, handle bars
and pedals, allowing a third of the
weight to each. To accomplish this
the saddle should be high enough and
far enough back, SO that the body will
incline slightly forward The bars
should be sufficiently low and SO placed
that with the hands grasping them the
wrists will be extended and the elbows
slightly f1exed The pedal should be
so adjusted that when nearest the
ground the ankle will be somewhat
Strengthened and the knee slightly
bent perfectly erect position of the
body on the wheel is to be avoided. 1t
is ungracefu and dangerous, as 1t
causes all the weight to come upon
the saddle and all jars directly upon
the spine BY inclining slightly for
ward the weight is more evenly dis
tributed, better command of the bars
and pedals is obtained and direct jars
to the spine and viscera are avoided.
An exaggerated leaning forward is
dangerous and should not be INDUCED
in.
The following from an exchange will
teamsters are not the only class that
are abusing the cycle path There is an
irresponsible wheeling element which
daily imperils decent riders lives by
racing at top speed over the path, be-
sides INDUCING in shameful abuse of
all who do not Immediately yield up
right of way for their crazy perform
ances. We are sorry to report no
casualties among these lunatics-as yet
but live in sanguine hopes!
Tracing the origin of the modern BIZ
cycle is a difficult task, but a writer
who has given much time and research
to this subject says:
1T has often been said that TO trace
the origin of the bicycle we must go
back to the beginning of the century
and, as this has not been denied, 1T is
probably true. / shall try to show that
the bicycle grew from experiments in
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
and that the 'celcrifere,' first invented
in 1000. was the earliest form of the
safety of to-day The first attempts to
ride wheels date back as far as tn
fifteenth century. True, the machines
then made We're crude, clumsy and inn
perfect; yet they deserve mention, for
they were a distinct step in the history
of the wheel. The first of these was a
heavy carriage driven by means of
ropes attached to and wound round its
axle tree To the other end of the
ropes a pole was tied, and this pole was
used as a lever in front of the vehicle,
and by this means it was slowly drawn
forward
Little was done in the centuries fol-
lowing; yet in the Memories of Henry
Fetherstone' it is told that a Jesuit
missionary named Ricius, who was trav-
cling down the Gauges, having missed
a boat that piled at regular intervals
between points he was to visit in his
journey, made up for lost time by build
ing a small carriage propelled by levers.
Because so few details have been told.
the truth of the authors account has
been doubted or discredited by many.
I'm one of England's older churches
st Giles, at Stoke Pogis-is a window
of stained glass on which may be seen
a cherub astride of a hobbyhorse, or
wooden wheel At the sides. in separ-
ate panels, as if to fix the date of the
design, stand two young men attired
III FuIItdu uISSS, one playing the NlOlln,
the other, with hands in his pocket,
smoking a pipe. Was 1t from this de-
sign that the first thought of the hob
byhorse of other days was taken?
Before the Royal Academy of Sci
ences. in 1893. Ozanam read a paper
describing a vehicle driven by the
padaling of a footman, who stood in a
box behind and rested his hands on a
bar level with his chin, attached to the
hack of an awning above the rider in
the conveyance. This may prove that
Fetherstone's account was not untrue.
Ozanam's vehicle was followed by an
other, built on a somewhat similar plan
by an Englishman named Ovenden
about 1861, for description of the ma
chine then appeared in the Universal
Magazine The vehicle was said to be
the best that has hitherto been invent
ed The distance covered with ease
by this rude vehicle is stated to have
been six miles an hour; with a peculiar
exertion,' nine or ten miles. The steer
ing was done with a pair of reins."
r~l-a l. IrsI