Amateur Cycling with Hints on Training

By G. Lacy Hillier and W. G. H. Bramson189011 chapters33 images

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Contents

• Introduction (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter I: The Birth of the Cycle (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter II: How to Ride a Cycle (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter III: Dress (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter IV: The Racing Path (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter V: Touring (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter VI: Hints on Training (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter VII: Cycling for Ladies (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter VIII: Juvenile Cycling (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter IX: Tyres (opens in a new tab)

  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.
• Chapter X: What Has Been Done on the Cycle (opens in a new tab)

  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.