The Cycle, Vol 1, No 4
Articles in this issue
- Dr. Charles F. Page of Boston argues that sedentary workers must treat physical exercise as a necessity equal to food and sleep, tracing how indigestion, heart disease, and insanity all stem from insufficient movement. The editorial concludes that no form of exercise yet devised offers the pleasurable qualities of the cycle.
- "Jam Satis" continues Part IV of a historical survey of cycle design, contrasting sociables and tandems in detail — their balance-gear arrangements, convertibility, weight penalties, and the three leading tandem types (Centaur, Humber, and Club). The author shares fifteen months of personal Humber experience, rating it the most satisfying tandem despite its brake limitations on hills.
- A mock-biblical comic sketch, signed "Merrie Wheeler," in which the entrepreneur Conscience builds an ear-splitting cycle horn only to face outrage from neighbours and ultimately destroy the instrument by blowing it too hard.
- Correspondent "5678" reflects on whether the ordinary bicycle will regain popularity now that safeties and tandems have drawn attention away from it, quoting an English rider's case for the ordinary's superior speed, simplicity, and touring feel. The writer also calls on readers who have ridden each of the five tandem types to write in and compare their merits.
- A letters section opening with "Cyclos' Comments," a long contribution from "Cyclos" who welcomes The Cycle, defends the Racing Board's enforcement of the amateur rule as a matter of plain duty even while criticising the rule itself, opposes road racing on public highways, and nominates Chief Consul Kirkpatrick of Ohio for L.A.W. president.
- "E. M. G." questions whether there ever was a genuine public sentiment in favour of the amateur law, noting that clubs and the cycling press are overwhelmingly condemning the Racing Board's recent suspensions, with not a single club yet endorsing the Board's action.
- "Lynn" reports that makers' amateurs he has polled are prepared to accept the compromise classification proposed by correspondent "Barney," urging the League to adopt a liberal rule rather than force an amateur-or-professional split that could fracture the organisation.
- "Cy" poses a bicycle-trade arithmetic puzzle that kept his club debating until the small hours: A sold a bicycle to B for $50, bought it back for $45, and resold it for $65 — how much did A gain?
- The Suffolk Wheel Club of South Boston has planned a three-day, 113-mile North Shore tour for 3–5 July under Captain Gideon Haynes, with the detailed daily itinerary running from Boston through Lynn, Gloucester, Cape Ann, Newburyport, and back.
- A tabulated summary of road mileage ridden by members of the Chicago Bicycle Club for January, February, and March 1886, showing a total of 2,018½ miles across sixteen named riders, led by Kintz with 2,302 miles.
- A technical report on the Facile Company's experimental rear-driving geared safety, explaining how the Facile lever action is retained via a connecting-rod to a single chain-wheel, and describing the firm's new ball-bearing steering head and an innovative piano-wire spoke system for a tangent wheel of exceptional lightness.
- The Stamford Wheel Club correspondent describes moonlit evening runs along Long Island Sound, notes that prominent local businessmen are taking up the Facile tricycle, and reports a Hartford-to-Denver tourist passing through and the deliberate bad roads that need gravelling.
- The L.A.W. entertainment committee announces its programme for the Boston League Meet: a forty-piece orchestral concert on 27 May and a fifty-man minstrel show with German Turners' gymnastics display on 28 May, both at Music Hall.
- St. Louis wheelmen are already designing illuminated cycles for their parade during athletic week on 14 September, with schemes including the Cleveland "Demon Drill" squad and a competitive torch drill on Lucas Market Square.
- A miscellany of short news items, opening with a mock-Gilbertian verse "Anent the L.A.W. Parade" by "Pedals," followed by notes on Chief Consul Ducker's assumption of the League Meet cash department, the League programme printing contract, Missouri division meeting plans, and miscellaneous trade and membership items.
- Racing correspondent reports on the disputed fifty-mile match at Washington Rink, Minneapolis between John S. Prince and W. M. Woodside: Prince took a severe header at the forty-seventh mile after a boy crossed the track, and the referee awarded a draw on a claim of foul, receiving unanimous applause.
- A directory of newly elected officers for cycling clubs across the United States and Canada, covering clubs in Columbus, Newton, Hamilton, Melrose, Canton, New York, Chicago, Flushing, Chelsea, St. John, Quincy, Norwalk, Elmira, Mt. Vernon, and Orange.
- Trade notes led by Gormully & Jeffery testimonials from Chief Consul J. O. Blake and Albert Schock himself on the American Champion bicycle, confirming 1,009¼ miles ridden without mechanical fault in the Minneapolis six-day race.