Chapter III: Part 3

Never let a hill get the better of you, if it is one that you have a chance to attack a second time. Set to work and study it. Find out the changes of grade, and prepare for a change in the amount of power at the proper place in the incline. See if the grade is simple, prolonged, or compound. If the surface is very smooth, it will be more difficult. There is a bit of road that I remember well, a country road, seemingly good enough, with a little grade perhaps in some places; but, one after another, it dismounted us all. A heavy Telford pavement was laid, but there was still a mile and a half of that road that winded the best of us every time. Though it was up grade all the way, experience had taught us that at places we must stop, and mount again and go on. Our machines were heavy, but this fact did not explain what puzzled us; for it ought not to be easier to start a heavy wheel up a grade than to continue to wheel up steadily. Knowing this bit of road so well, we were on the lookout to note its effect on others; and there were always wheels lined up at some part of the road, and a curious variety of expressions on the countenances of their riders--puzzled defeat on those unacquainted with the road, and sad determination on those who knew it too well.

After a careful study of this grade, that was long but not steep, and seemingly not difficult, we found it made up of a series of differently inclined planes and curves, the up-curves all against us; and, taken from foot to top, there was a continued increase of pitch, with certain changes that were all against wheeling; and moreover a generally increasing pitch for the whole distance, and four places of change of grade, each change an increase of pitch and an increased angle of ascent. The smooth surface concealed these difficulties at first, making the deceptive stretch appear easy and inviting. It was like the inside of a curved line set with scollops.

To overcome this most difficult kind of incline, wheel along at a good pace, note the increase of grade, and drop the heel at the beginning of the down stroke, or rather while the pedal is half way on the up stroke and the foot is prepared to resist the change. Take into consideration the fact that an increase of power is necessary; look where to apply it, adjust the balance of the body to the work, and your work will be effective.

_CHAPTER IX._

_Position and Power._

The racing wheelman has adopted a position that has received much censure--a position accepted as the one enabling applied power to produce the greatest speed. If this position is analyzed and compared with the erect position, several interesting features may be noted, and by comparing the two positions, important information may be gathered.

The bicyclist seated upon the saddle, not against it, has little power for work. The thrust is downward; there can be no forward push or backward thrust, unless the hands grip the handle-bars and pull against the push, if the push needed is greater than can be resisted by the weight of the body.

The power of the stroke is all in the downward direction; there can be but little power in the forward thrust; the most important part of the stroke in hill-climbing is that given by getting behind the pedal and pushing it down. If the saddle be too far forward, power is again lost in the push and thrust, and the up-and-down motion must do the work, and power is lost on the down thrust, though added in the upward and backward push.

We may conclude that a proper position has much to do with the work of bicycling; that there is more than one correct position, different positions being adapted to different work. The racing position on the bicycle is the position for speed, and is the position of the running athlete. It is not adapted to moving at a moderate pace or to being maintained for any length of time. It is the position in which power may be most readily converted into speed; where the leverage may be applied with the greatest efficiency, and the greatest amount of work accomplished in the least possible time.

The drop position also takes the strain off the upper leg muscles, and is desirable on that account, apart from the fact that more power may be exerted from that position. The leg does not straighten out, and is always ready to give a powerful stroke and maintain an increased or even speed. It is a position of continuous movement; and if the weight and all the muscles are not directed to propel, the weight is improperly supported on all fours.

The position for speed where the weight is distributed between handle-bar, saddle, and pedals is not suitable for road work, nor can it be maintained for any long period without injurious results. It is the position where power is best converted into speed.

For prolonged work a different position is demanded. Here speed is not a necessary factor, but ease of movement and continuous movement are essential. We are not anxious to convert power quickly, but rather to reserve our powers, and use them slowly.

For pleasure riding and ordinary exercise, the erect position is the best. The drop position is the racing or running position; the erect position, the position of ease.

Here the saddle question presents itself. The saddle should support the weight while seated, or, in the racing position, hold the weight; it should not hamper movement, and should be comfortable for coasting. In moving over the ground, the relative position for the balance of the cyclist changes according to the grades; and the seat should be adjusted so as to be adaptable to the different positions required to enable the bicyclist to change the balance for the work of the moment.

There is also the position adapted to quick work and exercise. Change in adjustment of the application of power varies with the amount of work done by the bicyclist in covering a certain distance. The resistance caused by change of speed and varied wind resistance have also to be taken into the calculation. People of different lengths of leverage must study the different adjustments of the machine to produce the best results for the different kinds of work required of the machine.

When a hill is to be surmounted, the climb should be made without effort, that is, effort understood in its technical sense. The position should be such as to permit of work being done by the foot, and the power should be applied at the right time and place. Assistance by a pull on the handle-bars means lessened power on the stroke. Effort succeeds effort. The work should be done by the foot, the pelvis being the fulcrum. The saddle should be the real fulcrum. If the hands are used to do the work by pulling, the pelvis becomes the only fulcrum, and the bicycle saddle is not used at all for the application of power. The weight should be made to do as much of the work as possible, and the added resistance of lever pressure made auxiliary.

To obtain leverage for the hands, it is necessary to use a fulcrum. Where is that fulcrum located? Each set of muscles pulls on its point of application--the hand on the arm, the arm on the shoulder, the shoulder on the thorax, the thorax on the pelvis. If more power is needed, it must require effort.

In hill-climbing, effort is a physiological phenomenon associated with great expenditure of force. In making an effort, exerting force, the air-passages of the lungs are closed, the air in them making of them an air-cushion, as it were, which acts as a fulcrum for certain extra muscular combinations. This accounts for the feeling of suffocation experienced in severe hill-climbing, which should never be prolonged. The hill should be climbed with the hands held easily, not gripping the handles; and gripping and pulling on the handles, it should be remembered, lessen the power for prolonged work. Squeezing the handle-bars induces involuntary lung compression, and pulling on them adds to the strain. Lean forward, if need be, to balance and maintain the equilibrium, but do not maintain the centre of gravity by pulling on the handles.

The fixed position of the arms, when sitting with spinal column erect, certainly prevents a full, free inflation of the lungs; the shoulders are held fixed, and between the saddle and the fixed shoulders there is no up and down lung-play. In running, the forearms and shoulders permit free chest expansion. In the racing position on a bicycle, the arms and shoulders take the same relative position as in running, and a full, free lung expansion is obtained.

No rigidity is maintained between shoulders and saddle in the racing drop-position.

For speeding and work of that kind, the position that allows of the greatest flexibility as well as the greatest leverage is the position to be chosen.

In travelling and in every-day wheeling, the position should be one permitting the minimum expenditure of power; the weight should be supported, yet the position should be such as to permit the weight to be used as a propelling power. The hands should be held where they are supported and in the position where they can most easily control the wheel under any change of conditions. The saddle should be placed where the foot can act most effectively at all parts or at as many parts as possible of the circle that the pedal describes. The height of the saddle should be calculated to permit of extension of the leg without supporting the weight on the saddle, which causes compression of the larger veins and arteries. The foot should at all times be fully on the pedal; that is, the position should permit of throwing all the weight on to the pedals, whatever the position of the cranks at the moment. The handle-bar should be adjusted; also length of arm and relative position; and the weight, height, and curve of bar adapted to suit individual build.

Length of crank, gear, height, position, and adjustments of saddle may be used as factors in adjustment of position for ease of movement and prevention of fatigue. Each individual has different combinations of lever power, varying with the lengths of the different parts of different limbs. One may have a long thigh-bone with short lower leg; another may have just the reverse combination--short thigh-bone and long lower leg.

The crank is the lever of application of power; the gear, the power in resistance. The gear determines, in a sense, how much force is needed; the length of crank, combined with the levers of foot and leg, the proper or most comfortable lever for overcoming that resistance. Long-limbed people do well on long cranks, short-limbed people on short cranks,--the question of length of limb to be determined, not by actual measurement, but as to the proportions in weight and length of limbs generally. Either too long or too short a crank will produce numbness and fatigue. The leg and foot on the crank as it works form a crank lever movement. The crank of a bicycle should be of such length as to permit of the greatest amount of force being conveyed along the lever movement with the least resistance.

The sprocket-wheel is the weight to be moved by the crank; but the crank is only one of a series of levers.

The knee, the ankle, and the pedal-pin must revolve in a circle or a part of a circle; and each individual must find out the size of circle that is determined by the crank that will best move in adjustment with his individual lever combination. A small circle on the pedal may mean cramped or uncomfortable movement for a long-limbed cyclist; or a large pedal circle too great distance to traverse on the stroke for a short-limbed cyclist. A stout person working on a high gear, with a crank adapted to his requirements, makes fewer strokes of the pedal for distance traversed, but expends more power at each stroke; therefore, when wishing to reduce weight, he should use a low gear, working rapidly, and when wishing to travel easily, a higher gear. A thin person should be careful to choose such a length of crank and such a gear as will give ease, so that undue fatigue may be avoided.

The position of the saddle should be most carefully considered. It should be just far enough back to permit of getting a forward pressure on the pedal against the crank, as it were, at the top of the stroke, and yet have something to work against in hill-climbing. The tilt or inclination should be studied as well as the build of the saddle; its height from the pedal should allow the foot, when on the pedal, at its most distant point from the saddle, to press with the ball firmly on the pedal; and yet the saddle, when the leg is extended, should not press so as to compress the large blood vessels of the inside of the leg as it rests against the saddle.

The handle-bar adjustment permits of individual preference to a certain extent. The handles should be within easy reach of the hands and below the line of the elbow. If above the level, power is lost, and the controlling sense of direction as well. The grip on the handles is instinctive, and as there is much work for the hands to do, they should be able to grip easily and quickly, and to move easily in all directions that the handles take, retaining their controlling power undiminished. A position with the hands reaching down a little gives more power than a position with the hands reaching up; and in this position the leverage of the elbows and the power of the shoulder and upper arm may be more effectively exerted.

Speed work should be done only on a track or a place set apart for that kind of work; and the most delicate adjustment and balance of weight and pressure should be studied to produce the proper results. Scorching, also, to be effective, should be done only on a track, and the position for the work should be planned most carefully. High speed over rough surfaces on even well-made roads may prove disastrous if the position for the work is not a correct one. Serious injury may result to the bicyclist working incorrectly, with wheel out of adjustment.

Scorching and racing, however, are not properly part of the subject of bicycling, but are a sport, and should be separately considered.

The adjustment of position may be changed for rest or for any particular purpose; but for practical purposes it is well to adopt a fixed adjustment of handle-bar and saddle and length of crank and gear, and adhere to that, endeavoring to acquire the best form on a machine adapted to suit your individual requirements.

A bicycle should be used only by the person for whom it has been adjusted; for comfort on a bicycle depends on such infinitely small adjustments. Never lend a bicycle or a tool, and never make any change in adjustment by guess. For ordinary use, the saddle should be a little back of the pedals and not too high, and the handles within easy reach. This will allow of the balance and adjustment of weight and balance to suit changing conditions of surface and grade.

Sprinting is often tempting, and comparatively harmless. Scorching is a form of bicycle intoxication, and the taste once acquired, the bicyclist craves its excitement, caring little for the other pleasures of the sport. The scorcher sees little, hears little, and is conscious of little but the exhilaration of the moment, and seems to be imbued with the idea of consuming a certain amount of tissue in a given time. Scorching is a form of bicycling hardly to be commended, and reckless scorching is to be condemned at all times. Sprinting consumes a large quantity of material in a limited time, and though it is well at times to practise speeding, still the getting up of speed involves considerable expenditure of power and greatly increased momentum, and should be indulged in only by those who understand the limit of their powers and know what they hold in reserve.

The wheel of to-day was evolved on the race-track and for the conditions determined thereon; and the amateur bicyclist owes much to the professional wheelman. Improvements in construction, in detail, and in adaptability have reached a certain limit, a limit of possibilities in certain directions. It behooves us now to accept the machine and to adapt ourselves to its requirements and to avail ourselves of all that it offers.

The elasticity of the machine, the resiliency of the tire, rigidity of frame, position, vibration, and concussion should be next considered.

On a bicycle fitted with a rigid saddle and with hard tires, well blown up, the vibration that is conveyed through the entire machine is very perceptible, even on a smooth wheeling surface. Over uneven country, Belgian blocks, or other rough or corrugated surfaces, the vibration produces concussion; and if too erect and rigid a position is maintained, fatigue, if nothing worse, is sure to result.

On a horse the position, while erect, is studied to lessen the concussion; the weight is carried well under to avoid it. The flexible curve of the spine is there, though not perceptible, as the body is held erect and in balance. The lower part of the body becomes part of the saddle, the upper body flexible from above the hips. The concussion comes as each of the horse’s feet is placed on the ground; while concussion on the bicycle is produced by the change caused by each inequality of surface. The pneumatic tire lessens this to a degree, if not blown up too hard; for inequalities sink into the yielding surface that would make a wheel with a hard tire bump.

The frame should be stiff to hold its direction, and the saddle elastic enough to interrupt the vibration of the frame. The position on the saddle should be studied to prevent tension or compression of any of the joints, large or small; and the spine should be easily erect, not stiff and rigid, but flexible.

The sense of balance and the adjustment required to balance the bicycle tends to keep the body flexible. The danger to be avoided is concussion induced by a rigid position--a position where, the bones being held closely against each other by tense muscles, shock is easily conveyed over the entire body.

Let the weight come well on the saddle, in such a position that it can be shifted to the pedals at will; and let the whole trunk be flexible, elastically flexible, equally in all directions. Then the bicycle may be controlled almost unconsciously and from the saddle, the hands being used only in an auxiliary manner. The front wheel may be steered and controlled from the saddle by means of the power over the front wheel gained by the bicycle frame construction.

Bicycling can be thoroughly enjoyed only when the machinery ceases to require constant and concentrated attention. The rhythmical movements of a bicyclist at ease, master of the conditions, comes only with confidence and the persistent practice which causes all the muscles to move easily together in uninterrupted combinations, and the bicycle no longer to require conscious attention.

_CHAPTER X._

_Difficulties to Overcome._

There is the mounting difficulty and the steering difficulty and the pedaling difficulty; and then there is the general difficulty of doing all these things together.

The first thing to do after learning the theory of starting and stopping the machine is to make it go. No matter what happens, keep it going, the faster the better, until a taste is acquired for the pastime; until the going-forward-forever idea seems to have taken possession of you.

Then you want to try it again, but mounting seems more difficult than ever. The machine will not do anything it ought to do; it bucks and kicks and stops and spills and slips, and will not stand still, or even move on. You know how to mount, or think you know; but that knowledge does not seem to aid materially in overcoming the tendencies of the machine.

Now be sure that you do know what to do. The first thing to know is that the weight placed on the pedal starts the machine; that the foot on the ground will hold the machine, and keep it from starting; that the machine when in motion will move without falling, and when at rest will not stand still unless held up.

Then determine the amount of inclination the bicycle requires to balance against your weight. The weight placed on the pedal pulls the machine up to a vertical plane; and the inclination to be calculated for soon becomes an accepted quantity. In gripping the handles and inclining the machine, the balance that is felt will set you up on your wheel.

In mounting, the beginner is apt to stand too far behind the mounting pedal. The position should be beside it, and the mounting foot be placed over the frame and on the pedal. Then, raising the weight by means of the handles, step off the ground, letting the pedal take the weight. Do not give any push from the foot on the ground, but step off the ground as you step on the pedal. Stepping on the pedal sets the machine in motion, and rights it at the same time. There is nothing now to do but to let the pedal lower you to the saddle, and hold the other foot up until the other pedal comes around and carries the foot forward.

In mounting, the weight should be distributed between the handles and the pedal until seated on the saddle. To practise mounting, take the wheel, and start on a very slight down grade. Never attempt to practise mounting against a grade, no matter how slight the inclination. A careful instructor teaches mounting and dismounting thoroughly; but if a poor method has been acquired, practise alone until you have gained confidence and perhaps a few bruises. The only way to succeed is to try and try again. Practise fifteen minutes at a time, for it is fatiguing work; and do not become discouraged. With sufficient practice, the difficulty vanishes.

Never practise mounting when tired; for you should be alert, and all your muscles responsive. But persist; practise first mounting, and then dismounting; and then rest by walking the machine about to learn its balance.

Any one who rides or drives, or rows or sails, knows something of the art of steering,--pulling or pushing on one side or the other to change direction,--and on mounting a bicycle has only to apply knowledge already acquired. In steering a bicycle, look directly over the centre of the handle-bars in the direction you wish to take, and push or pull the wheel until the centre of the bars coincides with your objective point. This is really what is done; but the machine is so delicately sensitive that you change its direction almost without knowing that you are doing so. You go where you look; the hands follow the eye; and the art of steering a bicycle resolves itself into knowing where you want to go, and looking in that direction as you move. In steering or mounting, always have an objective point. Look up the road well ahead, and keep the general direction.

A difficulty early experienced is uncertain steering and an uncertain sense of direction. When you are out for practice, look well ahead towards the end of your road over the handles. Novices run into anything they look at, and must concentrate their attention, therefore, on the direction the bicycle ought to take.

The weight inclined from side to side steers the bicycle; pressure on either pedal steers it as well.

Correct and effective pedaling is a very difficult attainment, to be acquired only with care and practice. First make the bicycle go, then study how you do it, and improve your method. Keep in mind the points that are required for correct pedaling. The early difficulty experienced is to keep the knees and ankles in proper line. Turning the knees in and the heels out will prevent the ankle-bones from striking, a difficulty that many experience.

The reason that mounting is so difficult for some is because the foot is placed incorrectly on the pedal, with the toe pointing out. The foot should be parallel with the frame of the bicycle, and the knee turned in; or else, when the weight is raised, the ankle will strike, and the discomfort of the blow will render the attempt to mount unsuccessful. The position seems awkward until correctly acquired; but the awkwardness is due usually to lack of confidence to come close to the machine and to taking a position too far back of the mounting pedal.

The change of direction on mounting often proves confusing, and the bicycle must be steadied, and made to keep its direction at the same time.

Choose your direction, and assure yourself of plenty of room to work in, away from trees or stones or other objects that might prove a source of danger in case of collision. Then mount and go. Keep these two ideas well in mind. If you are uncomfortable, stop and get off; don’t try to adjust anything while in motion. When you get on, go. You cannot get on and keep still. Do not get on unless you are ready to go; keep going when you are on; and the mounting difficulty vanishes.

Steer steadily, and be quick without haste. A hurried change of direction can only be made without danger of a spill by an expert, and then only in an emergency or for track-work. Bicycling requires precision, and haste or hurry is out of place, while quick and alert movement is required.

Take the bicycle out and do as much as you can with it. Part of the fun is conquering difficulties, and each difficulty overcome is an achievement.

Another difficulty experienced is striking the saddle in mounting. This is usually due to springing from the ground to the saddle, or attempting to do so, instead of stepping on the mounting pedal, and supporting and holding the weight on the handle-bars. Of course, if the weight is not supported on the machine, and the machine is started, it cannot carry the weight forward. The saddle will strike, and push you over. Mount by means of the handle-bars; let them take you; shift the weight up by them on to the pedal. Then lower the weight to the saddle, step clear of the ground, and lean a little over the bars if necessary to clear the saddle.

In mounting a bicycle, you mount up on the pedal, and settle from that down to the saddle. If the pedal strikes the other foot, it is because the foot is not held up. Do not be in dread of that other foot; hold it well up out of the way, using the mounting foot to make the machine go.

Too great inclination of the machine will spoil the mount, and insufficient inclination will have the same effect. The front wheel must be held in line with the frame, and any wrong tendency corrected by the handle-bars after the weight is raised on the pedal, and the machine is upright.

Many good tires are ruined by ineffectual efforts to mount. The machine is pulled against the tire, and it is hard to understand why the tires are not torn off or ripped to pieces. The light wheels are not made to stand such usage; and it is a mistake to subject a new wheel to it. The rubber is pulled sideways (a proper way to pull a tire off), and the novice is fortunate if the bicycle is not all pulled out of true by being strained in directions not calculated to resist wear and strain. A twenty-pound wheel may be pulled out of true and so bent and untwisted by ineffectual mounting efforts that it cannot be restored without labor that amounts to practically rebuilding the bicycle.

In turning a bicycle, always lean in the direction the machine is inclined. Lean in the direction you want to go, and very little correction will be needed from the handle-bars. In turning, lean with the wheel, and meet it with the handle-bars. Meeting the machine is done continually, and is done by swinging the front wheel to meet the inclination of the bicycle on whichever side it has a tendency to fall. Bringing up is done by pulling the wheel around a little further quickly, and very quickly back again. The frame is lifted by the front wheel. This is explained in the principles of bicycle construction. When an obstacle, as a car track or rut in the road, is met, the obstacle must be crossed squarely; or if obliged to make a different angle, the angle should be met with the front wheel at the instant of contact, and a proper balance maintained with the pedals.

To stop and stand still, pedal slowly until the machine is almost ready to stop; then “catch the pedals half way,” that is, stand on them, rising from the saddle, having the pedals at equal heights, and alternate the pressure. Hold the saddle firmly, pressing against both sides to feel the balance and to hold the balance by means of the saddle between the pedals with the weight on the feet.

As you catch the pedals, give the front wheel a sudden twist towards the back pedal, which will prevent the bicycle from falling on that side; then control the balance by the weight on the other pedal, and if necessary restore balance by a quick twist of the front wheel. The best way to practise this is to stop near a smooth wall, and use that to assist to steady the balance.

Two people can stop and stand still in this way, crossing hands as in skating, gripping the inner handles of the bicycles, and stopping by holding the pedals and controlling the front wheels by the handles, using the outer hand. This makes a very pretty and effective pause.

Numbness undoubtedly comes from interrupted circulation, caused either by the clothing or the method of working. Numbness of the hands and fingers may be traced generally to tight clothing, and after all surface pressure is removed may safely be attributed to a too tight gripping of the handles. A large soft glove often aids to prevent numbness of the fingers; if gloves are not worn, the hand is apt to grasp too closely. Change of position, too, will tend to counteract numbness. It is not well to work too long at a time without a rest, if there is any tendency of this kind. Walk up hill or on the level to restore the circulation.

Numbness of the foot can be caused by surface pressure, the shoes, or the saddle. Sitting too close to the saddle while working, instead of carrying the weight on the pedals, is apt to produce numbness of the feet. Garters or belts will have the same effect, and must be watched and regulated. A shoe adapted for walking is not at all suitable for serious bicycle exercise; the strains and pressure all come in the wrong places, and confine and numb the feet. Free ankle movement is imperative, and freedom for the lower muscles of the calf of the leg; room for the feet, and especially for the toes to spread and to assist in pressing the pedal. The sole of the shoe should be stiff, to prevent bruises from the pedals or from irregularities on the ground.

Concussion and a consequent vibratory movement of the bicycle are impossible to avoid, but they need not affect the wheeler injuriously. Numbness is sometimes due to a condition of the nerves of the parts affected by the vibratory movement. To prevent this condition of affairs, never wheel with the weight on the hands, nor grip the handles of the handle-bars too tight. Rest the hands lightly on the handles, and be prepared to squeeze hard when necessary. Study the best position and most convenient height for the hands when the machine is best under control, and the jar and vibration are not perceived. All joints of wrist, elbow, and shoulder should transmit any motion, not locate it, by being fixed or rigid at any point.

The tire of the wheel should not be hard, nor should the saddle be fitted with springs; and it should be so placed as to allow the rider to rise easily on the pedals for rough wheeling. These rules being observed, serious danger from this cause need not be apprehended.

Wheeling over cobble-stone pavement or over good Belgian blocks produces a marked vibration in the bicycle. It would be a satisfactory test for adjustment of position to be able to wheel over such a surface with comfort, feeling the vibration of the bicycle hardly at all.

The difficulty experienced in wheeling over rough surface is caused by lack of confidence and by general stiffness of all the muscles, which causes the full force of the vibration to be felt. In carrying the weight on the pedals, the vibration is less intensely felt. To grip the handles for rough surface riding is almost involuntary, but it is accompanied by acute discomfort from vibration. Pedal work only will meet this difficulty.

There are different methods of mounting. The pedal mount is usually the one first attempted on a drop-frame bicycle; the mount over the wheel on a diamond-frame.

The diamond-frame mount from the peg is made in this way: Standing directly behind the machine, the handles of the handle-bars are grasped firmly. One foot is placed on the peg, and the wheel inclined away from that foot; the foot on the ground gives a shove, and the bicycle moves off, carrying the weight on the peg; and the other foot swings forward to catch the pedal, which was a little behind the top of the circle on starting.

The drop-frame has several rather pretty pedal mounts and vaults. In one, the bars are held, and the machine is started. Watch the rhythm of the pedal, and as it passes the top of the stroke, incline the machine away from you, place the other foot on the pedal, swing the foot next the machine over in front, and catch the other pedal as it rises; then sit easily on the saddle. The vault is made after starting the machine, running or hurrying along, and springing from the ground to the saddle, using the handles to help. The pedals are found after being seated on the saddle; and the machine moves with the momentum given it in running before rising in the vault.

There is a mount from the pedal on the same side on which you are standing. Start the bicycle, and keep along with it, watching the pedals. As the pedal near you comes up and over the top of the curve, step on it with the outside foot, inclining the machine well away from you; at the same time the weight will carry the pedal around with you, and as it rises, the other pedal and the saddle can be found. The same mount may be made without starting the machine. Hold the machine inclined from you; place the outside foot against the pedal until it is at its furthest point away from you; hold the bicycle firmly, and step on, swinging the foot off the ground around to the other pedal, in front of the saddle, not behind it. On the diamond-frame, the same mount is made, only the foot is swung behind the saddle, not in front of it, as is possible on the drop-frame machine.

To stop the bicycle with another person on it, grasp the handle-bars, and take hold of the shoulder of the person propelling the bicycle, if necessary.

_CHAPTER XI._

_Dress._

The matter of dress for bicycling is quite important from the hygienic standpoint.

Clothing should be most carefully selected, with the view to an equal distribution of weight and an even thickness of material; it should have no constricting, no tight bands anywhere, but should permit of absolute freedom of movement, and be warm enough to prevent chilling through too great radiation of heat, yet porous enough to allow of free evaporation.

All seasons of the year permit of cycling; the bicyclist therefore has opportunity for much variety in dress. The essentials are knickerbockers, shirt-waist, stockings, shoes, gaiters, sweater, coat, no skirt, or skirt with length decided by individual preference, hat and gloves.

The knickerbockers should be very carefully cut; smooth and tight just over the top of the hips, and fitting easily below; not fulled or gathered; full at the knees, and boxed or finished with a band and button and button-hole; nothing elastic on any account. The stockings should be worn folded on the boxed part of the knickerbockers, below the knees, and rolled down and held by the band of the knickerbockers, being fastened below. This arrangement does away with garters, which compress surface circulation, or pull if attached at the waist, causing pressure where they pull, and are most objectionable for many reasons. The knickerbockers should be made of cloth or woollen material.

The shirt-waist should have wristbands or sleeves finished to open a little way, and button; the neck finished with a band, with a detachable collar of the same material. The body of the waist should be shaped to the figure at the sides and back, gathered slightly in the front, and finished at the waist-line without a band, and may be of the same material as the rest of the suit. The knickerbockers should button to this waist, the places for the buttons being reinforced. The stockings should preferably be of wool, and of a seasonable weight.

The combination of knickerbockers, shirt-waist, and stockings forms the essential part of a cycling costume. A union under-garment may be worn and the knickerbocker suit; over this a coat and a skirt if desired, with a sweater for an extra wrap.

Bicycling is warm work, and the clothing should always be rather light in weight. For touring it must all be carried on the wheel, and yet be heavy enough for comfort when not exercising, and not too heavy for work, and should, moreover, allow of adjustment for changes in temperature or for any required change in distribution. To this end, all the clothing should be of one color or of colors that look well together. The knickerbockers, waist, and skirt should match; then if the coat is removed, the costume looks complete. An outfit might consist of two suits complete, of different weights; sweaters of different weights; wool stockings, heavy and light, that will roll below the knee without being either bulky or tight.

The knickerbockers are better fastened with a button, the button being in just the right place, than with a strap and buckle, which is liable to be pulled too tight at times.

The shoes should be low, made of thin leather, laced well down toward the toe, with light uppers, and soles stiff yet flexible, and made with grooves to take the pedals and prevent slipping. Blocks or cleats on the soles to fit the pedals are sometimes preferred, but are hardly so good for general work.

The gaiters may be made of almost any suitable material, leather, canvas, or woollen, to match or contrast with the rest of the costume. They should fit easily around the ankle and over the instep, and should never, on any account, extend more than half way to the knee. The muscles of the calf of the leg must have room to work; and gaiters badly cut, or too tight or too long, would impede circulation and restrict muscular action.

The sweater should come well up around the neck, and pull down easily below the saddle; it is better too long than not long enough to cover the large muscular masses that have been at work, and may be turned up if in the way. It should slip on easily, and be soft and woolly, and not so cumbersome that the coat cannot slip on over it and be buttoned up to the throat.

The coat should be cut long-waisted, and easy across the shoulders, single-breasted, and made to button close to the throat; the collar to roll and remain open, but so cut that it may be easily turned up to the ears. The sleeves should be finished with two buttons and button-holes, so that they may be turned up a little if desired.

There are occasions when a covert coat made of close cloth may be useful, when out in very cold weather or standing in the wind without shelter; but it cannot be generally recommended.

Pockets in any part of the dress should be made of woollen material. Cotton retains moisture, and a cotton pocket or a pocket lined with cotton may become damp and clammy and cold, acting almost like a damp compress. The fewer pockets, the better; but a number are often found convenient. Everything if possible should be carried on the wheel, not in the pockets. Metal condenses moisture and interrupts evaporation.

As the skirt should always open at the side, and fasten with several buttons, a convenient pocket may be placed in the placket-hole; a watch-pocket in the skirt is a good thing, but the watch is better carried on the wheel; and a pocket should be set aside for matches, where they may always be found quickly.

Collars and cuffs of linen or of celluloid, of silk or of the same material as the suit, may be used for touring; but soft neckwear should be worn if possible.

If a neck-muffler is worn, it should be of cashmere, not of silk.

Neatness is most important. Each article of dress should be carefully adjusted and fastened. Never use pins or put things carelessly together, hoping they will stay, but be sure that every article of dress fits and is securely fastened, and it will never need a thought after it is in place.

In warm weather gloves with one button are most comfortable; for cooler weather, four buttons, fastened about the wrists, keep the hands warm.

The adjustment of the covering of wrists and ankles makes the greatest difference in comfort in wheeling. In cold weather, hands and feet should be kept warm; in hot weather, it is comfortable to work with the cuffs turned back and wearing low shoes without gaiters. Indeed, in hot weather it is important not to encase the ankles in heavy boots or leggings, as these would ensure overheating.

The outfit may be completed with a number of hats--a light straw for summer, a soft felt for touring, and a small and becoming hat for the park. The hat should be chosen to stay on easily, and not pinned, but fastened under the hair with elastic, and the hair dressed to stand any amount of blowing about.

The skirt should not reach more than half way below the knee, and the hem and all seams should be finished on the outside; then there will be nothing to catch or pull. The width around the bottom may be a matter of choice, but the skirt need not fall behind the pedal when furthest back, and should be cut full enough in the front to permit the knees to work easily. The top of the skirt should take the place of a waistband, following the curves of the figure, made to flare at the top of the waist, and fitted snugly over the hips and hanging from them. It may be worn with or without a belt.

The coat should be long enough to touch the saddle or hang an inch or two below it, to protect all the vital organs and as much of the working masses of muscle as possible.

The sweater may be worn for coolness or warmth. As an outside garment, it allows the air to pass through its mesh easily; worn under another garment, it is very warm, retaining the heat.

The color of a bicycle suit may be chosen for the kind of work to be done; its texture may be decided suitable if, a piece being held over the mouth, it is possible to inhale and exhale through it easily. The cloth should be firm enough to stand wear and rough usage; smooth enough to shed dust easily; and of a quality that will stand being wet without shrinking, and will turn the rain if caught in a shower. It should be firm, elastic, soft; have what is known as substance; be very light in weight and yet not clinging; and possessing all these qualities, the ideal cloth for bicycling should not be so expensive that it cannot be renewed easily.

Simplicity in detail for any garment made to work in is always commendable, and a bicycle dress must be simple to be suitable.

A corset, if one is worn, should not extend below the waist-line, and should have elastic side-lacing.

To choose what to wear when the weather is changeable is rather difficult; and the bicyclist starting early in the morning for an all-day outing must expect changes of temperature during the day. Starting, the coat may be folded on the handles, and the sweater worn; later, as the sun grows warmer, the sweater may be removed; at the noonday halt, the coat may be donned while lunching, as it usually seems chilly coming under cover; later in the afternoon the sweater is again of use; and before the evening is advanced, the coat worn over the sweater often proves acceptable.

For touring, only an extra change of underwear, with a change of neckwear, is needed to carry on the wheel.

To look well at all times when bicycling, it is necessary to remember the possible conditions that may be encountered, and to wear no garment that may prove incongruous.

When touring, of course, fresh toilettes may be indulged in at the expense of extra luggage. The chief pleasure of bicycling is independence and the joy of being free; yet a long trip without access to the conveniences and even the luxuries of civilization, should not be attempted. A trunk may be sent home as soon as it has been proved unnecessary, or sent ahead and met at intervals; but its non-arrival should never be allowed to disconcert the traveller.

It is an accepted fact that bicycling cannot be properly enjoyed unless the clothing is suitable. Of course, one can take a drop-frame bicycle, mount, and wheel slowly for a short distance, barring inconveniences, in ordinary dress; so can one swim a little if unexpectedly placed in the water. Bicycling requires the same freedom of movement that swimming does, and the dress must not hamper or hinder.

_CHAPTER XII._

_Watch and Cyclometer._

Suitably attired, with a bicycle of the latest model and most perfect construction, it matters little whether the residence be in town or country, for the largest city is soon left behind. The country, when the highway ceases to be passable, is easily traversable on the foot-trodden pathway beside it. Wherever the foot has trodden, the wheel may follow, if the path be well defined; and as the wheel can be carried easily, there is no limit but the limit of endurance in crossing country that cannot be wheeled over. But in order to cover distance without dismounting and within a time limit, where the speed attained is an element to be considered, good roads should be chosen.

The bicycle multiplies our power of advancing by five. One who can walk three miles in an hour can wheel fifteen miles on a bicycle, given all the conditions necessary to attain that speed for the period of an hour. The wonderful speed of the running and sprinting athlete is again multiplied by five, for a short time, in the contests where wheeling records are made.

While increasing the distance travelled the bicycle has greatly decreased the time limit. A person travelling afoot at the rate of three miles an hour (the average walking gait) covers a mile in twenty minutes, and at the end of an hour is not more than three miles from the starting point. On a bicycle a mile is covered usually in four minutes or less. The average distance, owing to the varied resistance met, is not usually so great; and more power may be expended in the hour than is required to walk three miles in the same length of time. Six miles may be the record for an hour on a wheel, and yet the amount of work done be very great. Until the position is adjusted to suit individual requirements, the output of power to accomplish a certain distance, even though it be a short one, is necessarily great. Considerable study is necessary to work out the perfect individual adjustment of the bicycle, weight of clothing, and amount of practice requisite to easy, rhythmical movement; but that once attained, the world lies before you.

Bicycling trains and quickens the perceptions; it cultivates and develops courage, judgment, and discrimination as well as prompt decision and quick and accurate sight. The hand follows the eye without effort; and the machine responds to each impression received without conscious expenditure of power.

To cyclists is due the keen public interest recently aroused in good roadways and in legislation to effect their construction, and the consequent improvement in public highways. For years the amateur cyclists of the country labored to this end in the interest of the sport, the League of American Wheelmen intelligently preparing the minds of the public on the subject.

To be accomplished as a bicyclist means something more than knowing how to wheel a bicycle and to be able to get about on it. It is necessary besides to keep informed of the laws and ordinances relating to bicycles and to vehicles in general; to possess a complete and accurate knowledge of the wheel as a machine; to be able to do for it all that can be done one’s self or to direct another who has not this knowledge; to know the country travelled, know distance and direction; the use of map and compass, and how to travel without them, finding the direction by sun or stars, or even, if need be, without either; to understand the effect of time and season on the face of nature and to cultivate the senses of the woods.

If, while touring with a party, you find that you have missed the way in a strange country and that something about the bicycle has given out, calm decision is requisite. Estimate your resources, and keep quiet. Do not try to find your party; let them find you. Study your wheel-tracks; if off the line of travel, follow them carefully to where they join the tracks of your companions. Then wait until some one comes for you. Rest or be busy about your wheel. Do what you can easily, not to be tired and worn out when your companions find you. It is seldom wise to try and walk after the party; the only object in moving would be to keep warm, for a chill must be avoided.

There is a wonderful difference in the distances covered under different conditions. Winds, adverse or favorable, affect the bicyclist more than anything else. An unfavorable wind is one directly ahead or that can be felt on either cheek while advancing. A favorable wind is one that blows on the back, or cannot be felt on either cheek while looking ahead. A wind blowing directly at right angles with the direction of the wheel is a favorable wind; you unconsciously balance against it, and the bicycle glides forward under pressure as a boat does with the sail trimmed in.

When starting out, note the weather conditions; what the prevailing winds are and what the changes are likely to be during the time you expect to be on your bicycle. If the wind is west or northwest, do not take that direction for the run out, unless the trip is to be a short one. Always try to have the wind with you, both going and returning. Learn the peculiarities of the weather and study the government weather reports; they are of quite as much assistance to the bicyclist as to the mariner who knows how to use them; for winds frequently change their direction, and the indications for such changes should be sought and studied.