The Oxford Observer. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. SATURDAY APRIL 17th 1897 CYCLING IN ENGLAND.

Oxford Observer, Volume VIII, Issue VIII, 17 April 1897, Page 2

The Oxford Observer. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. SATURDAY APRIL 17th 1897 CYCLING IN ENGLAND.

.London, Friday, February 27v London's first "wedding on wheels" was celebrated- on Sunday last at the Church of -Notre Dame de France, Leicester Place, and great was ' the reusation it caused. The couple chiefly interested were Mr A. ..Gasperi and Miss Emily Pappacena. Being amongst the few favoured ones who received invitations to the novel affair, I am able" to give a true, full, and particular account thereof. .. . It . . •

The event had got noised -abroad, with the result that the inevitable 'London*' cfowd- began to gather' from an early hour, and at the church, as Veil as at the Comedy Besfcaurant— that "Comedy" was quite apropos ! — all sorts and conditions of sight-seers were to be seen, including several lady representatives of the Press. The bicycle used was of tine "sociable'' type, not a tandem, and was daintily enamelled white, and beautifully decor-ated-with flowers. .*.' Queen's -weather" prevailed in. honour of the auspicious occasion, and; when the bride-elect appeared decked in a gown of white silk, with long veil and orange blossoms, "lhs"cro\vcl* 'vented its feelings of admiring surprise in a hearty cheer !

• The procession to the church was made without th-j least mishap ; about a dozen sociable machines, each bearing a lady and a gentleman, preceded that of the bride, and bridegroom so soon to be, ■•■ The -crowd was dense all the way from the Comedy to the Church, and only the efforts of a strong body of police kept; a passage clear for the wedding party. When the nuptial Jinot was tied, the spectators had been considerably added to. and as we left the church the vast sea of expectant faces extending down" Leicester . Place and filling Leicester Square was a -sight I shall long ■remember.

The appearance of the bride and bridegroom wag greeted by another loud cheer.' A little diversion was aroused at this point, owing •to the bridegroom becoming suddenly aware of the awkward facb that hs had somehow got hold of another gentleman's hat, and he was obliged to rush back into the church to. rectify the error. He performed^ this;trying bitrof business with the same coolness' displayed throughput by 'himself and his smiling bride. The party then indulged in a smart ride around the principal thoroughfares in the neighbourhood, including ' PaU Mall, Piccadilly, Bond

Street. Charing Cross, returning to the Comedy , where a right royal breakfast was ready, and a very happy afternoon was spent by about 10fr guests, including represeijtatives from the "Daily Telegraph,'"' "Pall Mall Gazette," and other London leading dailies.

The eyes of our technical educators . bave been drawn to the' "cycle trade, and I learn with interest that the directors of the Northampton Institute in Clerkenwell — a great working class district — are about to give lectures on - the art of cycle building-by a thorough- J{. ly qualified man. With the appliances ""* the institute will have at hand ib is -.very likely to. become a very valuable school for those with a taste for mechanios, and. will thus help to supply the great and increasing demand for labour in the .various branches of the English cycle trade, t f

At last there is a hope of cyclists receiving fair treatment at the hands of magistrates and other dispensers of "justice." The National-Cyclists' Union recently took up, unwonted vigour, a case where a" Bench had prernptorily refused to grant a euimnons against the- owners of a vehicle which had: run dowa and. injured a bicycle and its rider. - The- Union was appealed, to by -the aggrieved cyclist, and on .Mr Robert. Torfrl.i setting the wheels of the .Union's legal department in motion, the aforesaid Bench were obliged to cave, jn, and granted the the summons. .. Frpni. every appearance the cyclist, will win. the case. Our Union, to be really useful, might do a little more of this kind of good work, instead of spending all its time and enc-rgy in dealing with the racing men, , records; the path, , and ; matters thereunto connected. „. .;, „ ■,;.,.:■..■>/.

It would have done your heart had you been thera tq.seja the joyful faces of the large batch of. .Essex roadnaende.rs who- were entertained the--otlier. evening ; at the expense of local cyclists— in the Castle Hotel, Woodford. A wonderfully useful friendly feeling exists between the users and menders of roads in several districts throughout ; consequently many rough places are smoothed over and many loose < stones removed . The road menders, recognise that one good turn deserves another. I should like to see this movetrie'nt extended in a larger degree than at present.

The first touch of spring weather, came- "to" cheer us" winter-sickened Londoner j last week end;. and well was tha l t welcome even marked ! Thousands of cyclists swarmed about those highways arid byeways so dear to the "heart" of the consistent wheelman.

Corrugated plates are now being used in the manufacture of gear-cases. It is bscorning to be recognised that corrugated material gives exceptionally good results in connection with the manufacture qf cycie components, owing to its, increased strength.

Twenty thousand people weie present at Olyuipia on Saturday afternoon, when the first events of a long series o.f professional cycle races were decided. Men and women took turns in speeding o'er the "saucer" track, at .the. big house, of entertainment v by i Addis.on Road. The banking, of . the path is of a description, bound to. create sensation; and,, indeed, to witness a crowd, of men "taking jbhe^crners'' ia one of the mos.^ hair : riping|^^ii§ncQs I have known. The result of a■, spYfP" at one of . these , corners would be apparently appalling, biitthe competitors -j-aye, Q,yen. thp3e of. ; the fair sex-^— rush around, in spite of the. startling ■ angle of their maohines and bodies^

with as little concern as though they •were toddling quietly along the Ripley Road. And the crowd thoroughly appreciates the sensation.