THE BRAVE OLD DAYS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23073, 25 June 1938, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE BRAVE OLD DAYS

Early Cyclists Took Risks ; Getting Off "Penny-farthings"

LONDON writers with long memories have been recalling their on the old bicycle, the high machine with solid tyres from whose ' saddle they surveyed the world in triumph before pneumatic tyres and the safety bicycle were dreamed of. It comes as a surprise to most of us to learn that the old Penny-farthings were in their day the fastest mannropelled mechanisms in the world. They outpaced the swiftest horse; they could give a start and a beating to the most persistent dog; and they set up their records on roads which, when not cobbled, were more often than not inches deep in mud or dust. Ordeal of Mounting One of the men writing on the subject tells how recently he came across one of these old machines, tried to mount it, failed in fear, and is left wondering how men ever did get on to the saddles of these mechanical giraffes. A man, who when a boy bought for half-a-crown a discarded masterpiece of the old order, tells us how the alarming feat was performed. The distance between the saddle and the ground could be well over five feet, and to get into that saddle was an ordeal comparable with that of mounting a 15-hands horse without the aid of stirrups. Projecting from the left side of the backbone, a few inches above the hind wheel, was a little iron step—toothed to afford a grip. On this the rider placed the inner side of the left foot, and then, taking a firm grip on the handle-bars (a mighty stretch) he kicked himself along with the right foot on the ground. Next, the machine having in this way received a sufficient impetus to run a little way, the cyclist hookad the

inner side of the right knee on to the right side of the ridge at the back the saddle, and, relying on the gripping power of only an inch or so of muscle, pulled his body up and, by what now seems the very wizardv or balancing, landed bodily in the saddle, settled his feet on the pedals, and began his journey. To a learner that scuife up the backbone into the saddle was, with perhaps one exception, the most terrifying in his life. Unknown Heroes The worst of all -was the choice of moment and position on the road when he had to stand on the descending, left pedal and use that for support while nc raised himself out of toe saddle, swung his right leg behind the backbone, and touched ground, with his right foot. There was always the chance or being shot over the handlebars, and (in descending) of the back wheel rising into the air and knocking the rider on the head. The first man to attempt the mastery of one of those old machines deserves to rank with the most valiant of that illustrious company of unknown and unsung heroes.