PICKING UP A BICYCLE.
Uncertain attempts at mounting are very fatiguing. Get some one to mount and start you when off for the first long outings; the energy saved can be better utilized in wheeling. Do not be afraid to wheel over small inequalities if their direction is at right angles to the direction of the bicycle; but avoid all ruts and depressions parallel with the wheel’s direction. It is easy to slip into them, and difficult to get out of them without a spill.
Never eat a full meal before starting on a bicycle trip; if possible, set the time for starting at least an hour after eating. Ten, twenty, and thirty miles are often covered after the first or second trial. It is better to sit on your wheel and pedal slowly than to dismount. Getting on and off, stopping and starting, are much more fatiguing than wheeling; and it is well to economize your strength at this stage. Always see that the tool-kit is in place on the bicycle, and never go far without a wrench and a screw driver.
The tires also should receive close attention; they should be properly inflated, and the hand-pump carried on a convenient place on the machine. It is never well to use a tire that is not property inflated. Avoid all broken glass, nails, etc., and do not rest the wheel against a barbed wire fence.
The wheeler who desires to succeed cannot too soon begin to observe and take notes. Early learn to use the wrench yourself, and study how to apply that instrument properly. Study the different parts of the bicycle, and note how they are put together; and particularly observe each nut and screw, and determine its purpose. Each nut must be at its proper tension to hold securely. Study the valves of the tires and learn their construction; and be sure you know how to apply the pump-coupling properly. Learn the names and uses of the different parts of the bicycle, and study their construction. This is mechanical geography, if I may use such a term. Learn to care for your health and how to prepare your system to resist fatigue. Then you will find that you have mastered the subject, and are prepared to avail yourself of the many pleasures of the sport.
The oftener discouraged, the oftener the opportunity to hope again. The art of bicycling is a purely mechanical attainment; and though its complications may at first seem hopeless, sufficient practice will result in final mastery.
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 walking the machine about and standing it up. This exercise is helpful, for walking a bicycle about requires a series of accurate movements, and accurate movement is necessary in learning mounting and propelling.