416 



RECREA TION. 



BICYCLING. 

 x 



HOW TO TRIM A TANDEM. 



Buffalo, N. Y. 



Editor Recreation: In January Rec- 

 reation I read an article advising that the 

 woman occupy the back seat of the tandem. 

 This is entirely wrong. 



By all means have the woman on the 

 front seat. The necessity for an instant dis- 

 mount may arise in a moment, and failure 

 to so dismount and stop the tandem may 

 mean a smashup. The causes for such an 

 emergency are numerous. A reckless 

 driver suddenly pulling in front of you, or 

 crowding you into the gutter, or off into a 

 side rut, are a few of the most common. 

 Last summer a heavy wagon recklessly 

 driven out of a side road, suddenly ap- 

 peared directly in our path. By dismount- 

 ing and using all my strength I stopped the 

 tandem just in time, or we should certainly 

 have had a serious accident. Had I been 

 on the front seat there is no telling what 

 might have happened. It takes skill and 

 strength to suddenly stop a tandem, and 

 the woman is not the one to do it. 



Many a time in city riding you will find 

 yourself crowded by a team or teams, and 

 the only safe way out of the difficulty is a 

 dismount — sometimes a quick one. The 

 front seat rider is helpless in such a case. 



In riding on a muddy stretch of road, or 

 on any slippery place the rear rider must be 

 depended on to prevent a fall, and he must 

 be quick and strong in case of a slip. 

 Again, suppose a chain breaks when going 

 down hill — and this is not at all uncommon 

 — it is the rear rider who alone can stop the 

 wheel. It is no easy job to stop the mo- 

 mentum of a tandem. I know by experi- 

 ence. Certainly few ladies could do so. 



The idea of having the lady on rear seat 

 so she will not be first in case of a head on 

 collision is like bolting the second story 

 windows to prevent burglars, but not pro- 

 tecting those in the lower story. A head- 

 on collision is rare and the other emergen- 

 cies I have mentioned are common. I 

 would never take a lady out on the rear 

 seat of a tandem because I think it is a 

 dangerous practice, as ordinary riding goes. 



Aside from the seriously practical side of 

 the question the front seat is pleasanter to 

 ride on and should be given to the lady. 

 She can see better from there, and the work 

 is lighter. 



It often happens that you want to stop 

 a minute to speak to someone; or to wait 

 for a bad tangle of wagons to clear up; or 

 perhaps to take a breath at the top of a hill. 

 In such a case the lady need not leave her 

 seat at all, and it is surely pleasanter for her. 



Now about one rider " pulling against 

 the other " in steering. This only occurs 

 when there is some obstruction, as a rut, or 

 a team, or a mud puddle, to be avoided. It 

 is perfectly easy, to agree as to the best 



route, or the steering may be left entirely to 

 the man or to the woman. When among 

 teams, or on a bad road the more experi- 

 enced rider should be allowed to do all the 

 steering, and there will be no trouble. 



Still another reason for the woman oc- 

 cupying the front seat is, that the rear rider 

 does harder work and the lighter rider 

 should be in front. 



Only when the woman is stronger, heav- 

 ier and the better rider should she occupy 

 the rear scat. T. D. 



THE CYCLE SHOW. 



This year's Cycle Show, held at Madison 

 Square Garden, was one of the best ex- 

 hibits of bicycles ever held in this country. 

 From a mechanical standpoint, and from 

 the standpoint of attendance the show was 

 a decided success. 



The chief interest was shown in the ques- 

 tion of gears, the chainless wheel receiving 

 a marked preference over the old style ma- 

 chines. Great improvement has been made 

 in this style of bicycle since it was last put 

 on public exhibition, and the devotees of 

 the sport regard it with more favor than 

 ever before. The most prominent novelties 

 shown were the " pin and roller," the " spin 

 roller," the " ball gear," the " bevel gear," 

 and the " spur gear." The idea seems to 

 be to embody simplicity and strength, 

 which in most cases gives beauty. 



The lines of this year's models are about 

 the same as those of '97 and '98. The same 

 sized tubing is used, and the low frame and 

 short head have been preserved. 



As to colors, the general trend is toward 

 the gay. The rims of the wheels are enam- 

 elled to match the frames, and some of the 

 effects obtained are beautiful, while others 

 are startling. 



Piano wire is being used for spokes, and 

 twisted spokes with bevelled faces are used 

 on the fancier machines. 



Other interesting exhibits were the motor 

 carriages and the acetylene bicycle and car- 

 riage lamps. 



Are you a fly fisherman? If so, why not 

 send me 2 subscriptions to Recreation 

 and get a dozen high grade assorted trout 

 flies, listed at $1 ? Or 3 subscriptions and 

 get a dozen high grade assorted bass flies, 

 listed at $2? 



Do you ever camp out? If so, why sleep 

 on the cold, hard ground? Why not take 

 with you a pneumatic rubber mattress? 

 You can get one for 25 subscriptions to 

 Recreation. 



In making remittances to this office, 

 please use New York draft, or money or- 

 der. Checks on out of town banks cost me 

 10 cents each to collect. 



