The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-03-26
CYCLING UPS AND DOWNS.
REMARKS OF 4 PEsSIMIST THAT EN-
PHdSIZE THE JOYS or HHEELING.

So many panegyriral cnusions have been
uttered and written about the mental. aud
physical exhilaration derived from wheeling
and the general delights o. the sport that III,
Introduction 81 a r~cssimi-tic wall now and
then is almost needed, il only to vary the eu-
loRies with laughter. OccaSi nally some 81
the class OF chronic faultAndrrs. who in para
disc will complain that their wings do not 1T
and their harms are out Of tune, aro lurcl
into an Acquaintance" with the bicycle. and
then they find a fine new field for the
exercise OF their grumbling talents. II
they go for Il ride in the country they have t.
contend with the "hcastly Wind with the
mud. tho mosquitoes. the dust. hills and coars"
food and drink. In the city III" sprinkling carts
and the cabs fret them. and they dcpIorc the
fact that they have to be mixed mp IN a crowd.
The prize pessimist has Just been located by
means Of something he has written in "A weekly
paper In which he asks IL cycling is really EN-
Joyable. His confusion Of thought finds eS-
preston in this fashion:
Unless the conditions under which one
cycles combine to removec every unplca4antncss
in the path Of the rider he does not enjoy the
keen pleasure which he afterward believes
himself to have enjoyed Further passages
OF the lamentation are; Before five miles are
covered there are a few spots OF rain you have
left the traflc behind. but there j. a tremen-
dously big hill before YOU. The dust has
choked your chain AMI hearings, and luSt as
you get to the top Of the hill and prepare for Il
coast down you find that the back tire Of your
wheel is punctured. After spending half an
hour In tinkering it up you 90 on to "A hotel
and quench your thirst by u long drink.
This braces you up. You have "A smoke as you
ride along, and this makes your Jaws tired and
your head ache. but. you are d~etcrm,ined t" go
on, and. you do. Unless your machine il in
y splendid running order. no clinkine chnins or
. creak ing saddle to worry YOU, unless YOU have
wind with you-and n cool one at that -un-,
IL less the roads are fire." from dust and mud; and
=, unless you feel in good condition. the full en-
,,Ssjoyment OF a bicycle ride is lost"
81 The brain that clicks AMI s%lncaks in this
tirse,d" a should Th% be sapsb S'" Of c]v %aSiH S an j1 ;ST.
The pangs q indigestion: and the to oHf e;
bones sticking in the throat, II was probably
the sour yisagns e. riders Of his TX that gave
Waiter Wilson. formerly the Bnnna,? member
f % the Il, l.; A aav W; , state teid R tbat L. B son a = n wh dSur IN
State circuit IN ButIaio," There. is Only, one
that in my ,yq POCKET, OnIvN. ca, races "" viii be
held on II. I hardly think that th"v will build
get the present one and the city would not sap
port another. Questioned concerning thS st
1at Ronr sp a, 9 Gnn 9 rGl tn, l,S ch "a isr},T,y Of the \. c,
- ~ -, r'' -
soon as Tie time Is ripe" anil tier" VIII r
not talk about probabilities and. projects he.
cause we do not want to he rated a. boosters
Chairman Gerlach Of the l.. 4 W. Racing
Board Is also pursuing q policy OF silence, hut
5dnro re ror rne I'M 6atan ali is W %l aT wf,h ,Es come ''' 4
and that the y, c A, will. soon be q body Of
outlaws hustling to get back into the fold.
1T is a wonder to me that some one does not
organize a society for III" suppression ofcyrl"m-
setters:h remarked a man who is devoted to
Continuing. he added
There is a groupo OF fellows at the clubhouse
who spend a good part Of their time swapping
lies about their seasons records. II is the
time nov when the fever Of prevarirati3n /; at
lance covered during the winter. one man
has gone SO far as to buy a new cyclun-
isSelled boxes so " as 10 s how how S"yf far r be- rod"
IN December, January. and, February through
the blizzard weather W. have bad q
the bicycle. but it is as harmless as a dove com.
pared with the inherent re,rverstve influence
eating opium regularly as Of hahituaily carry
ing a .cyclometer. The, degradation IS Just as
certain in one case as tn" other. Acyc!ometer
Of a man as a fishing pole and a basket. In
s soth tb I"st m q t tbsui iMati an,IMg is stn}nmsts1
IL a vicious little beast that c%ontaminates every
one who keeps cpmrany with it never knew
could tell the truth. 1t leads to utter
zation. Some of the men atthe rluhsneak into
the wheelroom after midnight and spend hours
in making mileage records by spinning their
front wheels.
The press and the pulpit ought to begin n
crusade against the wicked Instruments before
the cycling world il ruined. else the fact that
all cyclometer riders are romancers should lie
recognized by the formation OF A Noble Orinr
OF Cyclomnter Liars One o; the funniest
sights that | ever saw on the road was that IF a
mar putting oil into his ryclometer. II may be-
that he was only one Of the oiI-can fanatics who
keen every mart swimming in oil, but to nv
mind the thought occurreI that he was oiliugg
the cyclometer because il did not lie fast
enough to suit him"
The large nercentage OF truth contained in
the acknowledgements Of the individual quoted
will he quickly recognized by the general RIM
of riders. Lying about cvclomcter records is
undoubtedly a preva ent habit, The rrevari.
Gators generally. however. are willing 70 do
the romancinC themselves and NJ thar
mechanical records to cnrrnsuH,I They do
not EXPECT the cvclnmet.rs 10 be born liars, As
was arparently the case of a yount woman
who recently purchased a rvcL meier ar a
downtown store, The facts of this case arr,
vouched for bv the dealer, who saw, that
while he laughed at the incident, he excused
tne iait rluer on me grouhds OF lgho-
rance ana embarrassment, she had a variety
OF on the case N tfont Of her; some
large and some small. After n great deal OF
hesitation she asked. With a stare of baby in