Omaha daily bee., 1899-08-27


break in his wheel, not even a punctured
tire. His wheel weighs sixty pounds with
his travelling case, which is slung in the
framework. He made out the route by
League Of American wheelmen road maps.
Are you making the trip on a wager. Mr..
Rappe?" he was asked.
mo, l am doing this to demonstrate some
thing the foreign military men seem to
doubt. l want to show the vigor and
strength OF the American soldier, eve when
he is in his sos, as | am"
Rappe was a member OF the Second United
States Light artillery, Company a, during
the Mexican war and was a member OF the
sixteenth and Twenty-third Wisconsin vol
unteers during the civil war. lie is tall,
straight and active, hair is white and he
wears q long gray beard. Last year he
walked from his home in Marionette to the
Grand Army of the Republic encampment at
Cincinnati, a distance OF 100 miles,
Rafting brakes are annoyances expert
enced by many riders who Use the ordinary
hand lever variety. The rattle as a rule is
caused by looseness at the upper joint,
where the perpendicular rod Is Joined with
the hand lever. AS 1t is necessary that there
should be some play at this place In order
that the plunger may be depressed when the
lever is pulled up, 1t is not always easy to
stop the noise. When on the road a rubber
band or n string put around the handle bar
Just above the grip, SO that a. very slight
tension is put on the lever, Will check the
rattle and save the nerves, and yet leave the
brake free to be manipulated. A more last
ing way to stop the trouble is when at home
to take the brake apart at the joint that rat
ties and insert washers of leather so that
they fill UP the superfluous room, but leave
the joint free to act. Any repair man can
do this for those riders who do not like to
work over their wheels.
''Spit not at ALL should be one OF the
cycling ten commandments. Aside from Its
vulgarity 1t is a practice that often makes
a victim of some one riding near, and 1t is
not a healthy one for riders. The splitting
nuisance is one that is found on the roads
everywhere and 1t is as offensive as when 1t
is done out of the window of a car In a rail-
road train only to fly in another window.
A fool catcher until stopped by the postal
authorities made money by advertising a
recipe to cure horses of soldering. The
victims who sent their cash received the la
comic advice: "Teach him to spit" This
incident was related by a man while wiping
| some foreign saliva from his sleeve a couple
of days ago and he concluded vigorously:
II wish some one would cure these splitting
blackguards by teaching them to slobber."
The same sufferer suggested that q new de-
gree Of assault should be defined making
those who through carelessness spit on some
one else amenable to a small fine.
In Rochester,, N. Y, and other eastern
cities the simple idea OF attaching a speed
indicator to the wheels of the cycle policemen
has been adopted. The indicator has a dial
that reveals at a glance the speed at which
the machine carrying it is moving and the
officers by keeping pace with a scorcher Tor
a short distance are enabled to make an ex-
act affidavit concerning his speed. In this
way injustices are avoided and an end is put
to the bitterness of charges and denials be-
tween bike cops and riders.
Munchausen Is abroad in Scotland and
from Aberdeen comes one of his character
istic yarns. James Lawson was riding a
| spirited horse, when he met a cyclist, who
was scorching with his head down over the
handle bars. Mr.. Lawson could not get out
of the way in time, so turning his horse
slightly to the side he raised him on his hind
legs and allowed the cyclist to pass through
underneath the body Of the horse.
The current year marks the twenty-frst
, anniversary of the birth Of the Cyclists
Touring club, a body that boasts a member
ship of upward of 55, 900 and that has served
as the model upon which every other tour
ing club has been fashioned. The coming
of age is celebrated in a two-fold way-hrst
by the holding in London of the first annual
congress of the Ligue Internationale des
| Associations Touristes. formed In Luxem-
bourg a year ago.; and, secondly. by carry
ing out an official tour. which starts from
, Harrogate, the birthplace of the club, this
month, for the round Of the English lakes.
An English rector not only announced
special services for bicyclers, but afterward
served tea to the wheeling members Of his
congregation on the rectory lawn. AS a
small fee was charged for this dainty bit of
bread and butter. with the cup that cheers,
he had a large response to his invitation, for
the strangers felt no hesitancy in accepting
that for which they paid. 1t was voted a
great deal more inviting than the casual
lunch picked up at out-of-the-way farm
houses or badly managed restaurants along
the country roads.
A crank in Brooklyn went over the route
OF a century run and sprinkled it freely
with tacks. or the eighty who finished the
run more than half had collapsed tires. The
lacks remained in most Of the tires until
pulled out.
The Sultan of Morocco has a somewhat
imperial method Of amusing himself with
cycling. A couch Is rugged up between the
wheels, and on this the monarch ~reclines,
studying the cyclometer and the compass,
while his attendants pedal for him.
The automobile has the same kind Of a
fight before 1t that the bicycle and the cleo
trio railway have had for their rights on
the public highways. While at Chicago and
many other places the streets and parks
have been opened after some opposition, yet
IN a lumber OF cities self-propelled vehicles
are still refused admission to the public
drives and parks. 1t would be reasonable
for these commissioners to oppose these
vehicles during experimental trials. while
undergoing tests or in time competitions,
as depriving others of their rights; but to
bar out owners of automobiles, whose car
riages have proved their excellence and
awakened the admiration of an interested