Omaha daily bee., 1899-09-24
IN THE WHEELING WORLD.

II IN THE WHEELING WORLD. !
II the poet who wrote Of "the melancholy
days" of autumn was now in the land of
the living he would undoubtedly revise and
amend his song. In his time they were
unquestionably melancholy days" There
were no bicycles to speed oppressed warb-
lers from city noises and odors out into
the golden haze of autumn. No wonder his
soul was saddened. But times have
changed. Now the melancholy days of yore
are made glorious by the silent steed, and
the gorgeous hues of woods and fields and
the pure, invigorating air of Indian sum-
mer are within the reach of all. 1t Is the
| season Of the year when cycling is a genu-
Inc pleasure. The excessive heat of sum-
mer has gone and with 1t the perepiration
and weariness of wheeling in hot weather.
| The weather of the last week was ideal, a
foretaste of what the weather clerk has in
stock for the favored residents of the Mis-
souri, valley.
OF all the popular mistakes about BIZ
| cycling that of the hump or camel back
Is the most common. We are told that the
habit of leaning forward upon the handle
bars SO as to get greater leverage upon
the pedals and to offer less resistance to
the air, has a tendency to bring about an
abnormal development upon the back and
shoulders which is called the bicycle
hump" Nothing could be more absurd.
Just note the first wheelman you see
| scorching toward you with body well bent
over his work. AS his head is down you will
| see at a distance what appears from your
| point OF vision to be a rounding or hump
between the shoulder blades at the back OF
the neck. AS he approaches this fancy will
be shown to have been but an optical illu-
sion and when you look at him from the rear
you see at once that the body is perfectly
straight, bent only at the hips. The very
forward pressure of the mans weight upon
the handlebars has a tendency to force the
shoulder blades squarely back, so that il it
were possible to cause a deformity it would
necessarily be that of a hollow back rather
than that of a hump.
On the other hand, by way OF contrast,
note the man who sits bolt upright in the
saddle. AS he faces you you are again de-
ceived. He appears to be erect and his
shoulders square, but as he goes by you wild
note, If he be an old wheelman, that there is
a decided tendency to roundness or dropping
OF the shoulders caused by his method of OBJ
tanning leverage to work his pedals. Being
upright he cannot get sufficient power in his
weight alone when the difficulties of an UP
grade are encountered, so he must pull for
ward upon his grips, and 1t is this constant
tension that sooner or later brings
about a more or less slanting of the Shout
ders from that square form, the pride of
every athlete.
The New York Tribune relieves itself, in
half a column editorial, of an essay on the
foolishness OF Omaha wheelmen who seek
the repeal Of the lamp ordinance. The
Tribune's interest in the question is
prompted by the mistaken idea that the
League of American Wheelmen in this city
is the sole source of the demand for repeal.
L. A. w. men hereabouts cut a very small
furrow. They are few and far between. The
objection to lamps Is fostered by independ-
ent organizations of wheelmen and is sup
ported by hundreds OF riders who do not
belong to any organization. The chief
objection to the law is that 1t imposes a
needless tax upon bicycle riders, when those
who have cheerfully compiled with the law
find lamps of little practical benefit. Lamps
are doubtless a necessity in the crowded
thoroughfares of New York, but Omaha
streets are rarely crowded at night. To
the one wheslman in Omaha a thousand
may be seen in New York. Yet New York
uOeb HOl 30 as udT as OMdua III enforcing
penalties for violation. In New York the
authorities do not arrest the rider and hus-
tie him off to jail because he did not have
a lighted lamp. They merely confscate
the wheel and send 1t to the station. 1t
Is supposed to be worth the fine. That &C
tion at least serves the ends OF the law.
But in Omaha capture Of the offending wheel
does not satisfy the officers of the law. They
must arrest the rider. No matter who the
rider is, or where or whether the offense
was unavoidable, he or she is subjected to
the pain and shame OF arrest and sent to
the station. Doubtless the police are al
lowed some latitude in enforcing the law.
Certainly some discretion shsuld be exer-
cised when riders can show they did not
purposely violate the law. The effect OF
II, however, is the reverse OF what it's pro-
motors expected. Several thousand lamps
We're disposed OF, but the sale OF wheels
diminished. And the number OF riders is
growing beautifully less-at night. The
bother of caring for lamps and the risk OF
arrest in case of accident is more than the
pleasure-seeking riders care for, conse-
quently most Of them stay at home or seek
other diversions.
The controversy concerning whether a
woman should be seated on the front or
rear OF a tandem has been progressing for
many years, the points of contention being
usually whether the forward or rearward
position was most dangerous. where the
most work had to done, where the most
weight should be and the matter OF compe-
tent steering. 1t seems to be undetermined
yet whether a woman should ride before or
behind in most cases, but one man has set
tied It entirely to his WI satisfaction with