Amateur Cycling with Hints on Training
Contents
- G.L. Hillier and W.G. Bramson explain their purpose: to give the cycling novice an impartial, experience-based guide to the machine's history, riding technique, dress, racing, and institutions, written by authors with no commercial ties to the trade.
- Traces the cycle's origins from Baron von Drais's dandy-horse and Kirkpatrick Macmillan's crank-driven machine through Pierre Lallement's velocipede, the Coventry trade's birth, and the successive development of the ordinary, tricycle, safety bicycle, and Dunlop's pneumatic tyre.
- Practical instruction on acquiring balance and riding position, the importance of ankle action with air tyres, suitable shoes, recommended practice distances, and advice on hill climbing.
- Detailed guidance on hygienic cycling costume for men and women — advocating animal-fibre fabrics, loose knickerbockers, proper shoes with good grip, suitable headgear, and waterproofs — with notes on club uniform, badges, and dress for juvenile riders.
- Introduces track racing for the beginner, covering major velodromes (Cambridge, Crystal Palace, Paddington, Herne Hill), the art of race-riding, the importance of judgement over mere speed, and the rules of the National Cyclists' Union.
- Covers the touring cyclist's machine and accessories, clothing, route planning, daily distances, physical preparation, and the Cyclists' Touring Club — its rise, membership conditions, uniform, and practical value to the road cyclist.
- Explains the object of athletic training, differences in riders' natural capacity, daily training schedules (morning and evening work, sprinting), rubbing down, baths, racing clothing, diet, and the role of trainers and track attendants.
- Argues that skill matters more than strength in cycling, recommends the safety bicycle for women, and covers machine adjustment, mounting technique, brake power, suitable dress, saddles, lamps, and bells for lady cyclists.
- Addresses parents' concerns about children cycling, recommends appropriate machines (light, low-geared, narrow-tread), advises on handlebar and saddle adjustment, warns against the 'Scorcher' pose, and discusses clubs and companions for young riders.
- Surveys tyre development from solid rubber through early pneumatics to the Detachable Dunlop, Clincher, Michelin, Seddon, Boothroyd, and tube types, comparing their road qualities, repair difficulties, and the pumps and valves needed to maintain them.
- Reviews notable cycling records and achievements — road and track — to show the cycle's capabilities as both a sporting and a practical transport machine, and to inspire the ambitious amateur.