THE ANGLING CYCLIST. 



[We solicit for publication, under this department heading, contributions of interest to Angling 

 Cyclists, particularly outings on the wheel to fishing waters.] 



Eras in Cycling. 



The wonderful demand for bicycles which 

 developed during 1895 — a demand so great and 

 so wholly unexpected that the bicycle factories 

 of this country, working night and day, could 

 not supply it — is not without parallel. In- 

 deed, says Godey's Magazine, the history of 

 the bicycle in America can best be likened to 

 a series of three great waves, this, of course, 

 assuming that the curious and fantastic two- 

 wheeled and man propelled vehicles of the 

 distant past may with propriety be termed 

 "bicycles," 



The first wave reached its greatest height in 

 1819. Quotations from a publication of that 

 year state that " excitable citizens were in an 

 ecstasy of astonishment and delight over 

 the introduction of the ' dandy horses,'" and 

 that *' the manufacturers could not appar- 

 ently meet the demand of the ' velocipeders.' " 



As with all waves, this receded, and "the 

 people who had purchased machines at high 

 prices gave them away as playthings to 

 grown up boys." 



In 1868-69 another cycling wave precipitated 

 itself on these shores, and swept the country 

 from end to end. The velocipede factories 

 worked over-time, but could not equal the 

 demand; "riding academies" were over- 

 numerous; "velocipede receptions" were 

 nightly occurrences, and attracted the fash- 

 ionable element. At one of the "receptions" 

 it is recorded that "among the gentlemen 

 who gave proof of their skill was Charles A. 

 Dana, who is an expert rider." 



The annexed reprint, from a record of 1868, 

 is of unusual interest at this time, and shows 

 how closely history has repeated and is repeat- 

 ing itself : 



" Several months have passed since we 

 heard of a two-wheeled contrivance, called 

 ' bicircle,' or ' veloce,' by which it is possible 

 for an active Frenchman to traverse ten miles 

 of the streets of Paris in a single hour. The 

 fever which raged so high there seems to have 

 broken out in America. Schools for the in. 

 struction of velocipede-riding are being opened. 

 Youngsters ride down Fifth-ave. with their 

 school-books strapped in front of their veloci- 



pedes, and expert riders cause crowds of spec- 

 tators to visit the public squares, which af- 

 ford excellent tracks for the light wheels to 

 move swiftly over. The Rev. Henry Ward 

 Beecher has secured two of the American ma- 

 chines, and other gentlemen, well known in 

 the literary and artistic world, are possessed 

 of their magic circles. One of them takes his 

 ride of nearly ten miles daily, and saves time 

 as well as enjoying the ride. A number of 

 persons are already making use of the veloci- 

 pede as a means of traversing the distance 

 between their homes and places of business. 

 Professional inventors are now laboring to 

 bring it to American completeness, and the 

 few dealers in New York are doing quite a 

 driving business. Their prices range from 160 

 to $100, about the same as in France. The 

 weight of a medium sized machine is about 60 

 pounds, and the size of driving wheel most in 

 favor from thirty to thirty-six inches. The 

 winter season is not favorable to veloce- 

 riding, but with the opening of spring we may 

 expect to see the two wheeled affairs gliding 

 gracefully about the streets and whizzing 

 swiftly through the smooth roads of Central 

 Park." 



Disadvantages in the " Narrow Tread." 



In a sensible and practical article in The 

 Wlieel, Charles A. Duryea, among other sensi- 

 ble things, writes as follows : 



If the rider is simply a " scorcher"' and rid- 

 ing at high speed over perfect roads, the nar- 

 row tread may not be a disadvantage, but if 

 he encounters bad roads he will find that his 

 forks are so close to the tire that mud clogs in 

 the forks near the tire seriously— so seriously 

 that the additional friction on a single muddy 

 ride is far more detrimental than the supposed 

 gain of the narrow tread the whole rest of the 

 season. In fact, one of the reasons why many 

 of our riders do not ride in soft weal her is be- 

 cause of the too close build of their machines. 

 It is not an uncommon thing for mud to pile 

 up on the forks of a narrow tread machine 

 until it interferes with the chain and sprocket. 



Another detrimental feature of a narrow 

 tread is the necessitv for better bearings, bet- 



