330 The American Angler 
is the kind of beast that can be trusted for all 
kinds of service, and even look well with bad 
treatment. You feel satisfied with yourself 
for having bought the best, and look back with 
a sigh of relief to the fact that you were not 
inveigled into buying the animal which you 
came so near purchasing for the simple reason 
of saving afew dollars. Probably an acquaint- 
ance who did buy him has found, to his regret, 
that ‘‘allis not gold that glitters,” and that 
the beast which seemed such a good bargain 
has turned out to be a stumbler, a bolter, a 
kicker and what not, until he finally broke 
down altogether, and had to be sold for little 
or nothing, proving that a cheap purchase is 
not a good purchase—an extravagance, rather 
than economy. 
In this age of bicycledom, when the whole 
world is or would be a-wheel, it doesn’t take 
long for the man who starts out to purchase a 
bicycle without knowing one from another to 
find thal there are just two classes of bicycles. 
Some Wheelwomen. 
“Tf there's anything on wheels that amuses 
me more than some of these so-called new 
women, I don’t know what it is,” half growled 
the dyspeptic oid-timer to the editor of 7he 
Wheel. ‘‘ Look at that one over there, for in- 
stance. She has a Derby hat, the latest 
fashion in bloomers, and a diamond frame 
wheel, and vou can see by her face that she is 
well satisfied with herself. But look at her 
feet, will you! 
‘‘What’s the matter with them ? 
en's sake, where are your eyes? 
see she is pedaling like an ostrich ? 
‘“Theidea of wearing high-heeled shoes and 
riding with the hollow of her foot on the pedal. 
That's the way half of them ride. It’s a won- 
der to me they don’t knock their ankles out of 
joint, and, if the truth were known, I'll bet 
the price of two beers that most of them have 
got barked ankles. Don’t seem to me as if 
they try to learn anything. That woman has 
been coming to the academy since last winter, 
and she seems to know as much now as she 
did then. They pay too much attention to 
their clothes and too little to their wheels and 
theircomfort. Take the mere matter of pedal- 
For heay- 
Can't you 
ling. If these women would take a cue from 
us brutes, they could easily improve their style 
and their power twofold. How? Why, by 
simply cutting slots in their shoes as we do. 
The shallowest slot is better than none at all. 
You yourself are a rider and know how this 
not only makes your pedal better and keeps 
your feet from slipping, but nearly doubles 
your power when it is needed most—on uphill 
work. It ought to do as much for a woman, 
and it would be a good idea if you suggest it 
in your paper. 
‘“There’s another thing about that fairy on 
the diamond frame that makes me _ smile. 
Notice her leggings. Fit like gloves, don’t 
they? Now, what's the sense of wearing 
them at all? They must be warm and must 
bind her legs to an unnecessary degree, and 
as stockings would give her greater freedom of 
muscle, and show off no more of her curves 
than do the leggings, I can’t understand what 
brand of prudery or reason it is that makes 
them cling to the leggings. I dont take much 
stock in bloomers, but when a woman elects 
to wear them I like to see them play the game 
to the limit and get all that there is supposed 
to be in that style of dress. 
“Then there’s that little woman,” continued 
the veteran, indicating a mere armful of fem- 
ininity. ‘‘She’s got her saddle as low as it 
will go, while her handle-bar is almost under 
her chin, and her arms are akimbo. I'll be 
danged if I can see how women can control 
such wheels. it's no wonder so few of them 
can climb hills comfortably. But it isn’t alto- 
gether her fault. She couldn’t get the handle- 
bar lower if she wanted. The manufacturers 
are to blame. It seems strange to me that no 
one has pointed it out before. What's wrong ? 
Why, they've been making one height of seat 
stem, and one height of steering head serve 
for all sizes of women. It isn’t so bad for tall 
girls; they can raise the saddle-post. But the 
short women are notsolucky. They can lower 
the saddle, of course, but owing to the length 
of head, the handle-bar can be brought only so 
low and nolower, which at its lowest is far too 
high for a woman of short stature. That's 
why so many of them have their bars almost 
‘under their chins, and look so deucedly un- 
natural and uncomfortable.” 
