Bicycling For Ladies - free ebook by Maria E. Ward

Bicycling for Ladies With Hints as to the Art of Wheeling—Advice to Beginners—Dress—Care of the Bicycle—Mechanics—Training—Exercise, Etc., Etc.

BY MARIA E. WARD ILLUSTRATED New York: BRENTANO’S Copyright, 1896, by BRENTANO’S BICYCLING FOR LADIES...

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PREFACE

I have found that in bicycling, as in other sports essayed by them, women and girls bring upon themselves censure from many sources. I have also found that this censure, though almost invariably deserved, is called forth not so much by what they do as the way they do it. It is quite natural to suppose, in attempting an unaccustomed exercise, that you have to do only what you see done and as others about you are doing. But to attain success in bicycling, as in other things, it is necessary to stu

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CHAPTER I. Possibilities.

Bicycling is a modern sport, offering infinite variety and opportunity. As an exercise, at present unparalleled, it accomplishes much with comparatively little expenditure of effort; as a relaxation, it has many desirable features; and its limitless possibilities, its future of usefulness, and the effect of its application to modern economic and social conditions, present a wide field for speculation. Bicycling possesses many advantages, and is within the reach of nearly all. For the athlete and

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CHAPTER II. What the Bicycle Does.

The bicycle has been evolved—a mechanism, propelled solely by human power, capable of quadrupling the distance traversable by the pedestrian. The simple, light, and almost universally accepted machine is constructed to stand a strain tremendous in proportion to its weight; for the modern machine weighs only twenty pounds, and it may be lighter, though for some purposes it should be heavier. The bicyclist is virtually mounted on a set of casters, which propels the weight with much greater ease th

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CHAPTER III. On Wheels in General and Bicycles in Particular.

The form of the wheel is very ancient, its construction modern, even recent. Its evolution has been gradual. First came the round stick or roller, placed beneath a weight; then a roller with its central portion shaped and thinned to lessen friction; then two disk-shaped sections of a log, connected by a bar upon which they revolved, replaced the clumsy stick. Each wheel or disk then began to receive separate attention. There was the wear on the edge or rim to be considered, and it was found that

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CHAPTER IV. For Beginners.

Mount and away! How easy it seems. To the novice it is not as easy as it looks, yet everyone, or almost everyone, can learn to ride, though there are different ways of going about it. Unless the beginner is one of those fortunate beings who mount, and as it were, wheel at sight, little need be said about instruction at this stage of proceedings if a bicycle school is within reach. A few suggestions may be desirable, however, even with a competent instructor. Nothing more quickly exhausts one’s s

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CHAPTER V. How to Make Progress.

You have learned to wheel a bicycle,—have had some lessons, can take the machine and mount it, wheel a little way, and fall off; or can wheel for some time without a dismount, but feel utterly exhausted after a short spin. You have accomplished what you attempted,—you can wheel a bicycle; but you feel dissatisfied. You have tried to ride with friends, perhaps, and have had to give it up; yet you feel that you should be able to do what others have done and are doing all the time. It is very disco

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CHAPTER VI. Helping and Teaching; What to Learn.

Accuracy is the first principle of cycling; and the would-be bicyclist should learn as early as possible that ease of movement and precision of movement are inseparable; and that bruises and bumps and wrenches, though they may have an educational value, are not a necessary accompaniment of the sport. The skilful instructor need never allow a scratch or a bruise. Some people want to learn everything at once; but only so much should be done at each attempt as can be done accurately, if it be only

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CHAPTER VII. A Few Things to Remember.

Two important points for the bicyclist to study are avoidance of road traffic and consideration of the surface ridden over. The law of the road applies to all traffic passing over the road; the law of mechanics to the surface of the road as it affects the bicycle and the cycler. In cities, on much-used thoroughfares, careful work, quick eyes, experience and caution are demanded to insure safety. The law of the road, “Keep to the right, pass on the left anything going in the same direction,” is e

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CHAPTER VIII. The Art of Wheeling a Bicycle.

There are three very important methods of controlling the bicycle, namely, steering by the hands, guiding by foot-pressure on the pedals, and guiding by the swaying of the body; and these methods may be used separately or in combination. The wheels are kept in motion either by pedaling, or simply by gravity in descending a grade. The use of the hands on the handle-bar is two-fold for the inexperienced—for steering and for correcting undue pressure on the pedals. The hand opposite the pedal that

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CHAPTER IX. Position and Power.

The racing wheelman has adopted a position that has received much censure—a position accepted as the one enabling applied power to produce the greatest speed. If this position is analyzed and compared with the erect position, several interesting features may be noted, and by comparing the two positions, important information may be gathered. The bicyclist seated upon the saddle, not against it, has little power for work. The thrust is downward; there can be no forward push or backward thrust, un

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CHAPTER X. Difficulties to Overcome.

There is the mounting difficulty and the steering difficulty and the pedaling difficulty; and then there is the general difficulty of doing all these things together. The first thing to do after learning the theory of starting and stopping the machine is to make it go. No matter what happens, keep it going, the faster the better, until a taste is acquired for the pastime; until the going-forward-forever idea seems to have taken possession of you. Then you want to try it again, but mounting seems

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CHAPTER XI. Dress.

The matter of dress for bicycling is quite important from the hygienic standpoint. Clothing should be most carefully selected, with the view to an equal distribution of weight and an even thickness of material; it should have no constricting, no tight bands anywhere, but should permit of absolute freedom of movement, and be warm enough to prevent chilling through too great radiation of heat, yet porous enough to allow of free evaporation. All seasons of the year permit of cycling; the bicyclist

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CHAPTER XII. Watch and Cyclometer.

Suitably attired, with a bicycle of the latest model and most perfect construction, it matters little whether the residence be in town or country, for the largest city is soon left behind. The country, when the highway ceases to be passable, is easily traversable on the foot-trodden pathway beside it. Wherever the foot has trodden, the wheel may follow, if the path be well defined; and as the wheel can be carried easily, there is no limit but the limit of endurance in crossing country that canno

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CHAPTER XIII. Women and Tools.

Most women can sew on a button or run up a seam; sewing, in fact, is regarded rather as a feminine instinct than an art. There are many capable people in the world, both men and women, who can comprehend at a glance the use or the application of an article or an idea—people who instinctively use their eyes and hands with ease and accuracy; there are others who learn more slowly to use their mechanical senses; and there are also those whose attention has never been called to certain simple mechan

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CHAPTER XIV. Tools and How to Use Them.

“A nut is a piece of metal adapted to screw on the end of a bolt.” “A bolt is a stout metallic pin adapted for holding objects together.” The nut is to the bolt what the knot is to the thread, to keep it from slipping through. Iron and steel are fibrous materials, and very hard; though strong, they are also brittle. Indeed, these metals, and metals generally, resemble molasses candy in their nature more than any other familiar substance that will serve for illustration. When heated, they become

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CHAPTER XV. Solving a Problem.

When choosing a wheel, you should know what you want and why you want it. Machines are built for special purposes, and any reliable dealer can help you in selecting a machine and will guarantee satisfaction. Bicycles wear out, of course, but with proper care they may be made to last a long time. Careful examination of your wheel should always be made before starting for even a short ride; and on returning it is well to test gear and pedals, to look at spokes and tires. Any needed repair can be n

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CHAPTER XVI. Where to Keep a Bicycle.

Almost anywhere that a bicycle can stand or hang will do for a place to keep it; and almost any place will do to go to work on a bicycle—the roadside, the lawn (though the grass is worse than a haystack to lose things in), anywhere, in fact, that may suit your convenience. The accessories of the bicycle should have places where they may always be found, and the bicycle itself should be kept where it will be undisturbed and where it may be kept free from finger-marks, dust, and oil. With the bicy

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CHAPTER XVII. Tires.

In the older forms of wheel, the tire did duty in protecting and strengthening the wheel and holding it together. In the bicycle wheel, the rim is the strengthening and supporting contrivance. The tire protects the rim, and acts as a spring cushion as well, receiving shock and jar. The solid rubber tire was an advance over the old steel tire on the bone-shaking machine, as it was called, in the days when the bicycle was still in its experimental stage. The solid tire was narrow, and after a cert

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CHAPTER XVIII. Mechanics of Bicycling.

All applied mechanical power is the application of lever movement (and lever movement is but the effect of applied power), either simple, compound, or complex. In the bicycle propelled by human power, we have a series of lever movements, initiated and executed by the highest and most effective mechanism known—the human body, applied human power. There is the seat of power, the point of application, and the object. The bicycle or object is so constructed that it continues the application of power

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CHAPTER XIX. Adjustment.

In bicycling, the word “adjustment” means much, for the movable parts of the bicycle must be adjusted to suit the requirements of the individual bicyclist, and the mechanical parts of the bicycle’s construction adjusted so that they will work together properly. In a machine properly adjusted, the chain and other gear should run smoothly, the chain be neither too tight nor too loose, and the sprocket-wheels exactly in line. The bicycle wheels should run true and be exactly in line with the frame,

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CHAPTER XX. Exercise.

How shall be determined the proper amount of exercise for any individual? The human body is constructed for use, and will suffer from want of use, rust out, as it were; and it will suffer from over-use if any one set of muscles or any one supply of nerve power is overtaxed. Exercise, in some form, is necessary for every one; work is necessary; recreation is necessary. Rest is to recreate, to renew. The food that we eat is digested and made into blood; the blood flows through the system of tissue

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CHAPTER XXI. Training.

If you intend a fifty-mile or a week’s trip awheel, it will be very necessary to accustom yourself to the work before attempting a distance you have not yet covered. Suppose, though your muscles are unaccustomed to long-continued exercise, that you know how to wheel a bicycle and are anxious to go with your friends. They perhaps wheel for an hour or two hours daily, or for several hours twice a week. They are afraid to take you with them; and you feel sure that you can go as far as they do, and

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CHAPTER XXII. Breathlessness; The Limit Mechanical.

Seated awheel, the bicyclist feels master of the situation. The bicycle obeys the slightest impulse, moving at will, almost without conscious effort, virtually as much a part of the rider, and as easily under control, as hand or foot. It is because weight is supported and friction overcome that the bicyclist loses consciousness of effort as he moves, with seemingly no limit to endurance. A trouble often experienced is breathlessness. For this there are several causes. Sometimes the machine is st

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