UNKNOWN UNKNOWN

Otago Witness, Issue 2499, 5 February 1902, Page 51

UNKNOWN UNKNOWN

Ii hap fcs3n iruly said thai one dose acl nieei. with the same n"«r.iber r>i -wfc&3lEien. out. upon the roacla as in. the years from 1896- to' IbS8" The "question frequently put to me ii contained in thesre words: — "ULotf ia it tfaai r you dou'c give up riding liks •ao • rrA^f^ others?" And, again, it has bsen. eaid, "Yc.iare still sticking to tha bike, 1 see; you must like it."" Ecom a persona! point of view I rather like ths fewer numbers, and cannot se«« the force, or necessity,, ox even.' reason why I shcv.ld desist, u;*rsly b*c-?.ii*r every Jack, Tom and Harry that us'sd lo swarm over the ro?.3s, and more ofter. fcl:*,r. not disgust people with fch» p?.'.bims, to longer live on a bicycle. Thia is to :ais r»c rea?on why I should give up jomethiu;* which has given me more snjoynioai — vac^t rest, more change, mora absolute knovrlecU;* of ths country in which I dwell, and tke habits of tha people — than v.nythisg els*- <A C [ kindred nature.

Many of these trho adopted ths mu rhino as a pastime in the period of the boom did so simply because ' it jwj<b the fashion; othsrT because of the great paco to be obt« ; ned7 and the long distances to be covered by ifc use. But what did these kaow cf the ohans. of wheeling? Neither class got one quay tax of the good out of the ms/chine fcbsri. was fe> it. Mileage v/as tne scorcher's god, and my. benefit ho received waa due to no effort O! desire of hi?. Only tvo or threw years ago almost every rider one happened to pac« mistook it as a challenge, and »I';her taskl^d you right away or else shadow«d you naeil .the first hill was reached, when he would extend himself, and eurict away up the bill like one possessed. Sometimes, of course, he fell in. No one will" regret the absence of the scorcher. Neither is the habit of "tail.ing on" so prevalent. That class of ride* constitutes a Urge proportion of 'those who have relinquished the wheel, much in the same way ac they probably drop everything else they may adopt ; there is no consistency in them. Yet the number of cyclists of today that ride for pleasure and health is very much larger than in the years immediately preceding the boom, while those who us* the machine for convenience, aye, and even from necessity, show still greater numerienJ strength. There is just ao much pleatur* to be had out of the wheel to-day — mere, in fnct, for the machines are in every way superior — as there was when the people vreiu crazy about it. And there are some whn realise this even now, for the roads are not deserted as wo would think to hear all the talk. The comparison ib made with the time of the boom, 2nd neesoearily there ie • bis difference.

That it will become still -more popular I've, not a doubt. It will not come with a rush a 6 it did once ; such a thing rarely happens twice. A good thing cannot be kept dowa, and the bicycle is distinctly a good thing, viewed as a pleasure vehicle eoleJy, and although overlooked for a while, in the end in will surely be recognised. When it is, the cycle will be enjoyed in a more rational manner than formerly, and its popularity will be more lasting. There are certain penalties to be paid for popularity, and tb^j pastime is, in my humble opinion, muolv more enjoyable than when it had tnyM »' throng of followers. Touring v/hee\n\sn era slowly but surely recovering their gool nametj with hotelkeepers, wrested from them by, the influx of sorts and conditions cf riders into their ranks who arrogantly claimed preposterous concessions.

The northern papers state that there -*>^ some probability of the daily steam 6ep^: vice between New Plymcmh <&& Aucfc£ land being abolished as socy v the holida^ season is properly oyex, ';