DRESS FOR CYCLING

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 11052, 2 September 1896, Page 2

DRESS FOR CYCLING

(Q.Lacy Sillier, in “St James's Budget,") There is only one really safe methodof dressing for any long-continued exercise upon the bicycle, or, indeed, for any other long-sustained physical exertion in the open air, and that is in wool. All the garments worn should be of wool in some form or another, and if this rule be adhered to a complete wetting, though amazingly uncomfortable, will not in the vast majority of cases be productive of any permanently unpleasant results. The all wool principle being laid down, it only becomes necessary to discuss the nature and make of the clothing, which is nowadays practically the same for both sexes. It may be taken as a primary rule that two or more thin undergarments are preferred to one thick one. They are much more easily aired for one thing, and they sit better. The best material is something of a slightly elastic character, as the garments should for the most part fit fairly tightly to the body, thus obviating the ingress of cold air; and the thin garments further permit' of the graduating of the clothing to suit the weather, while an extra vest can be easily carried on the handle-bar and put on before the return journey in the evening is commenced. It is just as well, perhaps, to point out here that there is nothing of a “ coddling ” tendency in these ■ measures, for after physical exercise it is absolutely necessary that reasonable precautions against catching cold should be taken, and this graduation, of the underwear is an important factor in such cases. As regards the riding costume, it is very necessary that the season should be considered. In the summer, when the days are warm, one style of costume should be adopted. "When the winter is with us another is appropriate. Tastes vary, and the dress which suits one cyclist will not suit another, but in a general way the principle adopted for the underwear obtains as regards the outer garments also. All should be rather thin than thick, and should make up in number for what they lack in substance. Over the underwear should be worn a white flannel or serge shirt, preferably with a lie-down collar, hot a removable one, because the collar-band and collar make a clumsy bandage round the neck. This garment should be of a suitable thickness for the time of year*. _ The body garment may be either waistcoat and jacket, or a Norfolk jacket with or-without a waistcoat. The latter garment is one of the most useful to the cyclist, because it can be rolled up and carried on the handlebar until wanted, and with- this end in view all the pockets of a cycling waistcoat intended for touring work should have good wide flaps to them, fitted with buttons so as to secure the contents when the garment is taken off and put upon the handle-bar.

As regards the nether garments, it is a condition essential to the satisfaction of the wearer that they should be cut to fit and should not be too voluminous. There is an art' in making a satisfactory pair of cycling knickerbockers, for the simple reason that the riding of a cycle is totally different from all other purposes for which this form of nether garment has been made in the past. Tire cycling knickerbockers must be cut neither like shooting breeches nor riding breeches, for the very obvious reason that neither of those exercises exactly reproduce the requirements of the cyclist. Consequently, it becomes necessary to have these garments made by a competent cycling tailor, when they may be expected to be satisfactory. Wash-leather linings, double-seating, and many other similar absurdities are delusions and snares to be avoided at any cost, as many a rider of the old days would doubtless be willing to testify. In a general way it may be said that the practical cycling

world has of late erred in the matter of too voluminous nether garments, but that it is now coming to its senses, and. without returning to the old skin-tight absurdities which trammelled and impeded the action of the muscles, cyclists in general are wearing more reasonably made knickerbockers, which, while pei’initting the free use of the muscles, do not flap about in the wind, wrinkle up into creases, and generally worry the wearer. The lady cyclist must of course follow the lines laid down above and wear similar garments, whether she covers them with a skirt, as is usually the case, or wears them without that adjunct, in the style known as rational dress.

Stockings should never be too thick in the legs, though fairly stout' feet are a distinct advantage. The keeping up of the stocking is, often a problem, and much damage is done by too tight gartering. A tight garter is certain, sooner or later, to cause trouble, and is a fertile producer of varicose veins, so that the matter is one which calls for attention. The stocking suspender is another failure, from a cycling point of view. Doubtless the suspender is all right when the wearer is standing or walking. In fact, it is Obviously designed for an upright attitude. But 'when the cyclist is seated on the cycle, the suspender is pulled into quite another position, and not only does it drag over’ the knee, thus impeding the action, but in more than one case the friction of the adjusting buckle has produced sore places and an infinity of discomfort. Under these circumstances the suspender is impossible, and a suitable garter the only possible remedy. This can be easily obtained, especially if it, be borne in mind that a wide garter with a small pressure is really quite as effective as a narrow one made very tight. If one-inch elastic web be fitted so as just. to hold round the uncovered leg at the gartering point, it will be found that it will in most cases hold up the stocking effectively without unduly hindering the circulation.

Shoes are of course the only wear, for cycling. Anything in the nature of a boot hampers the ankle-action sadly, and it is the ankle-action which keeps the work alive and makes the machine run easily. The shoe should be light, cut low, with a low heel and a flexible waist. This was one of the difficulties of the pioneers—the getting of a fairly stout shoe with what is technically termed a pump waist. Without flexibility in the waist, ankle-action is, if not impossible, at any rate very severely hampered in its effective working. Those who suffer from cold feet when cycling should make sure their shoes are not too tight to begin with. If they are all right the insertion of a woollen “ sock ” will often be found to remedy the trouble. The sock should be removed and laid out to dry after a ride.