CYCLING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue XIX, 9 May 1896, Page 533

CYCLING.

IT is not too much to claim that cycling is an ideal exercise. It must necessarily be taken in the open air ; there is constant change of scene and thought and long rides, pleasant companionship and varied routes of interest, which give an absolutely complete change from the usual modes of occupation. It is all these which make riders enthusiastic. A short time on a wheel will start a sluggish circulation into healthy activity, quiet a strained nervous condition, refresh tired muscles and clear a muddled mind ; calm and invigorating sleep is insured as well as a good and healthy appetite and perfect digestion.

The average gear on wheels this year is about 66'. to 68. For ordinary riding purposes the gear should certainly not be higher than this, as it will be found hard to propel the wheel up a hill or against a strong wind. Do not let so much of the talk about how easy it is to acquire speed with a high gear lead you into ordering your wheel too highly geared. The saving in the number of pedal revolutions on a very high gear is not nearly so great as is commonly supposed, and it can be set dowu as a truth that if you wish to go fast you must pedal fast, while it is also true that the exertion required

to make each revolution of the wheel increases proportionately to the height of the gear. The best average gear, it has been fount) from experience, is 66‘ 2 .

The lastdividend paid by the Humber ’Cycle Company was 48 per cent. The turn out of the company’s factories up to January 31st is understood to be over too per cent, in excess of that of last year, so that the price the shares will eventually reach becomes a matter for conjecture and wonderment. The new undertaking, with the comparatively small capital of £200,000, will take over the retail and wholesale business of the Humber Company—in fine, they propose to buy up the whole turnout of the works. The issue will be made by a well-known citv house, with the shares at a small premium. It is more than probable, therefore, that fancy prices will be realised.

Count Magre, the little man who married Tom Thumb’s widow, and who is 30 inches high, has just ordered a bicycle for his own use (says the Era). It is to cost sixty guineas, though it will be the smallest ‘ bike ’ on record. The dimensions include a 14-incli wheel and a t2-inch frame, and the weight is not to exceed lolb. His wife, who still retains the name of Mrs Tom Thumb, pays for it, and shows indications of being herself tempted to indulge in the universal craze for wheeling. She still drives about in the tiny carriage drawn by Shetland ponies given to her by Queen Victoria. The little lady is now fifty-five years old, and her Italian husband is forty-seven. They live in Indiana (U.S.A.).

In the year 1884 D. J. Canary, probably one of the cleverest of trick-riders, attempted to ride down the steps of the main entrance on the east side of the Capitol, Washington. His first essay was to attempt the descent upon an ordinary bicycle, and this was accomplished with comparative ease. Next, he detached the saddle, backbone, and rear wheel, preparing to ride down upon the front wheel only. This, however, was a trick that had been the subject of no previous practice, and Canary commenced by taking the steps in sections. He had ridden down the last two sections, and was about toessay the complete descent from top to bottom, when he was stopped by the Capitol police. An enormous crowd had assembled to watch this feat, and, being disappointed, they had nothing left but to howl at the police for having interrupted the sport. American police can, however, stand a good deal of this sort of thing. Some years afterwards —namely, in October, 1891 —Canary rode down the full length of the same steps on a solidtyred safety bicycle, the pioneer of which was the Rover, and this is practically the only pattern of bicycle in use to-day. These were the only times the Capitol steps have been descended upon bicycles, so far as I am able to ascertain.

Another freak feat was accomplished for a small bet, and might easily have cost the rider his life. During October, 1877, W. S. Maltby, a member of an American team of bicyclists then making a tour of Great Britain, rode the front wheel of his bicycle along the wall of the North Pier, Aberdeen. This wall was twenty-five feet in height and twenty inches in breadth. The feat was one of exceptional daring and skill, and was certainly of a character to endanger the life of the adventurous rider. There was a boat in attendance below ready to render any assistance in case of need. Luckily, however, there was no hitch of any kind, and the adventurous feat was accomplished in a very short space of time. On the following day the same rider repeated the performance in the presence of about three hundred people. Evidently Maltby was prepared for failure, because he dressed himself in light racing costume, which would have incommoded him but little had he obtained an involuntary immersion. This daring freak had its origin in a wager of five pounds, and, considering its hazardous nature, Maltby must have either held his life very cheaply, or else possessed considerable confidence in his own ability. The same rider adopted a similar method of progression across the sea-wall near Melbourne, and with equally satisfactory results.