Edited by Harley M. Leete Seventy-nine lively and informative articles from

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America's most-,popular cycling magazin.e I

$9.95

OVER 70 ILLUSTRATIONS

The Best of Bicycling !

Eight years ago, Bicycling! Magazine (formerly American Cycling) began publication as a bi-monthly mimeo­graphed journal, devoted exclusively to bicycle competitions. Since then, because of increased general interest in the sport, the magazine has grown in both scope and quality to the lively monthly it is today.

The popularity of BicY'cling! has prompted this unique volume-an an­thology of the best of hundreds of arti­cles which reflect the interests of both the professional cyclist and the arm­chair enthusiast.

Many people believe there is no bet­ter way to see a country than from the seat of a bicycle. This attitude is felt in the excitement and delight that emanate from these pages. There are articles on the most colorful cycle racing events in the world, fun-filled cycle tours, the ef­fects of cycling on the human body, and helpful hints from the professionals on what to look for when buying a bicycle.

-You will read the harrowing tale of Dervla Murphy, a young woman who bicycled almost around the world in 1963-despite being swept away by floods and threatened by bandits in Turkey, and attacked by wolves in Yugoslavia.

(Continued on back flap)

(Continued from front flap)

-You will learn about the record­smashing Keirin racers of Japan.

-You will find a fascinating piece about a daredevil who reached speeds of 127 miles per hour on his bicycle.

Not to mention a twelve-year-old's Mississippi bike hike, a professional roadman's training advice, and a race that takes you up stairs, across rain­swollen creeks, and over bales of hay!

For the serious cyclist there is a wealth of expert technical advice-from recommendations on the best wheel size, gearing, and brakes to advice on how to ride in the rain without getting wet.

And an important section of the book is devoted to the health aspects of cycling and how best to use this sport to stay fit.

THE BEST OF BICYCLING/For the general reader-fascinating. For the bicycle enthusiast-indispensable.

Jacket design by Carl Smith

Photograph by Taeke Henstra/Panorama Camera Press(Text & Illustrations) London

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"There are times when a bicycle can be a pair of wings, a joy and a wonder."

-Harley l\1. Leete

Contents

Worldwide Touring: Adventures on Two Wheels

Touring in the United States

Con1 petition Cycling

Cycling for Radiant Health

Equipment and Techniques

Bikeways and Trails-ANew Cycling Frontier

The Romance of Cycling's Golden Age

Feminine Freewheeling

Fun Is Where You Find It

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27055

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Natu1·ally, there are many who love the sport of bicycling. It gives a kingly ease . . . or devilish challenge . . . depending on which portion of the Earth~s physiognomy, the uphill or downhill side, you are tickling with your bicycle wheels. Of the many whom cycling fascinates, some return the good they receive in full and overflowing measure. These bright spirits have helped to create and nurture Bicycling! magazine.

Ranking high in this good company is a great roadman and leader in cycling realms, E. Peter Hoffman. Pete edited and published the maga­zine for seven years with the fervor of true devotion.

The technical contributions of Fred DeLong and the travel stories of Dr. Clifford Graves have been of great value and charm.

Bicycle-making titans Ray Burch and H. M. Huffman, ]r., have ex­erted, through the years, a dynamic and almost fatherly influence on the magazine's economic progress.

In editing this anthology, I have been simply a caretaker, selecting and organizing the inspired work of others. They are too many to list here, but I can and do acknowledge our debt and deep gratitude to them all.

Please direct all correspondence relating to the materials in this book to:

Bicycling! Magazine 256 Sutter St. San Francisco, California 94108

Second Printing

SBN: 671-27055-9

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 70-102883

Copyright, @, 1970, by Harley M. Leete

HML

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper.

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada by Trident Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 630 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10020

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

INTRODUCTION HARLEY M. LEETE

11

Worldwide Touring: Adventures on Two Wheels INTIMATE JAPAN-DELIGHTS OF RURAL CYCLING 15

CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D.

WILD PONIES-AN ENGLISH JOURNEY WITH NINA 26 M. BAGLEY

TRUFFLE TOUR OF FRANCE CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D.

GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL ON THE CANADIAN PRAIRIE LANNY SALSBERG

NORWEGIAN ADVENTURE M. BAGLEY

THE PERILS OF DERVLA MURPHY CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D.

THE DAY MY BICYCLE SAVED MY LIFE CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D.

GOING DUTCH MARIUS LODEENSEN

MEXICO IS A MUST RoBERT STREETER

THE CYCLING SCENE IN THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN E. PETER HoFFMAN

31

40

47

52

58

64

70

73

Touring in the United States HUFF 'N' PUFFERS DISCOVER CALIFORNIA 81

CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D.

SAFARI TO MAUl 91 NATALIA PURITON

GENTLE JOURNEY-THE POTOMAC RIVER VALLEY E. PETER HoFFMAN

5

98

6

SMALL BIER-TOUR OF OHIO'S BACK COUNTRY MARIUS LODEENSEN

AUTUMN IN VERMONT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE HARTLEY ALLEY

COVERED BRIDGES- BUCOLIC ROMANCE OF AN INDIANA TOUR

JoHN FLICK CYCLORAMA-OZARKANA

E . PETER HoFFMAN PAKA TAKAN IN THE CATS KILLS­THE GREAT EASTERN RALLY

DENSLOW DADE RIDE OF THE FALLING LEAVES

E. PETER HOFFMAN TOURING THROUGH TEXAS

RosE GRAHAM PHANTOM OF THE ROCKIES

PAuL ScHWEMLER

Contents

100

104

107

109

112

114

116

121

Competition Cycling

BLOOD AND THUNDER IN THE TOUR DE FRANCE ELIZABETH BOURQUIN

MEXICO '68-THE FRENCH ARE MASTERS OF THE VELODROME

E. PETER HoFFMAN

KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOR, COURAGE, AND CUNNING-NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

E. PETER HoFFMAN ASPEN ALPINE CUP

E. PETER HOFFMAN PORTLAND'S FINEST HOUR

E. PETER HOFFMAN INCREDIBLE NEVADA CITY

E. PETER HOFFMAN

THE SLEEPING GIANT-INTERCOLLEGIATE CYCLING DoNALD CouLTON

CYCLO-CROSSING-A SPLASHING GOOD TIME E. PETER HoFFMAN

HARE AND HOUNDS CHASE ROBERT BARRISKILL

TIME TRIALING FOR TOURISTS PETER KENDAL

PROFESSIONAL ROADMAN-HIS EXPERIENCES AND TRAINING ADVICE

FRANS p AUWELS .

131

136

142

150

156

164

166

170

173

175

177

Contents

SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROADMAN SPRINTER? DoNHowARTH

DATE WITH DEATH CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D .

7

181

184

CYCLING IS NO CURE-ALL, BUT .

Cycling for Radiant Health

191 FRED A. BRANDT, M.D.

THE HUMAN MACHINE V AUGHAN THOMAS

MUSCLE ACTION FINLEY p . GIBBS

CIRCULATION FINLEY P. GmBs

NUTRITION FINLEY P. GmBS

HEALTH SECRETS OF A CYCLING DOCTOR CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D.

195

199

203

205

208

YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU E. PETER HOFFMAN

Equipment and Techniques

215

FOUR ON A VOLKSWAGEN ROBERT BARRISKILL

WHAT BICYCLE FOR TOURING? FREDDELONG

PACKING FOR TOURING-KEEP IT LIGHT! DEux RouEs

HE LEADETH BEST WHO LEADETH NOT DANHENRY

HOW DRY I AM DEUX ROUES

THE "TWICER" FREDDE LONG

TANDEMING TECHNIQUES FRED DE LONG

HANDLEBARS AND RIDING POSITION FRED DE LONG

SCIENTIFIC SETTING OF SADDLE POSITION V AUGHAN THOMAS

PROPER FITTING OF THE MODERN DROP HANDLEBAR FREDDELONG

CLEATS AND THEIR POSITIONING DAVE STAUB

217

219

225

228

233

236

238

241

244

248

252

8

UNUSUAL MACHINES F. R. WHITT

WHERE ARE WE GOING IN BICYCLE DESIGN? DAvii> CoRDON WILsoN

THE RECUMBENT BICYCLE DAN HENRY

THE CHECKERED FLAG SPECIAL CHARLES R. SIPLE

SADDLE AND SPRINGS-SOME ORIGINAL THINKING DANHENRY

STRESS, STRAIN, AND WHIP FREDDE LONG

THE STORY OF THE PNEUMATIC TIRE P . D. PATI'ERSON

TIRE DISCRIMINATION FOR THE CYCLIST D. R. HENSON

Contents

253

258

263

266

269

272

277

281

Bikeways and Tmils-A New Cycling Frontier

200,000 MILES OF BIKEWAYS 287 E. PETER HOFFMAN

CORNUCOPIA OF DELIGHTS-FLORIDA BIKEWAYS 291 CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

NEW FRONTIERS IN NEW YORK CITY 294 GuRDoN STUART LEETE

FRESH AIR, GREEN GRASS, FOR GHETTO YOUTH 296 AMERICAN YOUTH HOSTELS

BICYCLING BLUEGRASS STATE 298 Louisville Courie1· Journal-Times

OHIO IS A WORLD ON TWO WHEELS 300 E. PETER HOFFMAN

The Romance of Cycling's Golden Age

VELOCIO, GRAND SEIGNEUR 305 CLIFFORD L. GRAVES, M.D.

A PENNY-FARTHING FOR YOUR HEART, DARLING 313 CHARLES E. PRA TT

FIRST ACROSS AMERICA BY BICYCLE 324 lRVING A. LEONARD

ADOWN THE SUSQUEHANNA'S SIDE: A HIGH-WHEEL CLUB RUN IN 1883 330

F. EMMET O'BRIEN

TRANS-ASIA BIKE TOUR IN 1890 335 IRVING A. LEONARD

FUZZ ON WHEELS-COLORFUL COPS CUT CRIME 339 Law & Ordm· MAGAZINE

Contents

A CYCLING ARTIST COUPLE IRVING A . LEONARD

SHA W AND WELLS, ARDENT CYCLISTS CHARLES NEWTON

MOUNT WASHINGTON IRVING A . LEONARD

VALIANT VOYAGER IRVING A. LEONARD

WHEELMEN OF THE PAST CENTURY E. PETER HOFFMAN

THE 1,350-MILE SUMMER }ACKWOLFF

BICYCLE WIFE EvELYN P. MuRRAY

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT ON THE WAY TO THE SUPERMARKET

J. RAY CHENOWITH

FROM HOOPSKIRTS TO NUDITY-

9

343

347

350

354

358

360

Feminine Freewheeling

371

373

THE BICYCLE'S EFFECT ON WOMEN'S DRESS 375 BICYCLE INSTITUTE OF AMERICA

THE NEIGHBORLY THING TICK! LLOYD

A MISSISSIPPI BIKE HIKE DUANE THOMPSON

WHY NOT BICYCLE TO WORK? ROBERT PETERSEN

HOW TO ORGANIZE A BIKE CLUB E. P ETER HOFFMAN

PROFILE OF A CYCLE TOURIST PIERRE ROGUES

380

Fun Is Where You Find It

385

388

392

395

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN WHEELMEN E. PETER HOFFMAN

397

FUN IS WHERE YOU FIND IT 400 JoHN FULTON

394 The Best of Bicycling!

a notice). Radio, television, newspapers, posters, and handbills are also at your disposal. .

For the open meeting have a well-prepared agenda. The meeting should consist of two major parts: explanation and action. The explana­tion, or program, part of the session can be presented by using short talks, bicycling movies, demonstrations, and other devices that will hold your audience's interest while building enthusiasm for the club.

Since no club business can be carried on without a constitution, the first order of business is to elect officers and adopt a constitution.

Embellishments that will help the first official meeting are refresh­ments, name tags, a "welcome committee" to make each guest glad he came, paper and pencils in case on-the-fence guests want to make notes to take home and think it over.

It is wise to collect dues as soon as possible. One way of enticing members to be "in good standing'' quickly is to set a date that will close charter memberships. Everyone who pays his dues before this estab­lished date will be enrolled as a "founding father," a point of pride once the club proves its permanence.

Once your constitution is set and officers elected, you're in a position to form working committees to carry out activities.

If regularly scheduled rides are your main purpose, a committee should be formed to plan these rides well in advance, and see that the schedule is published and sent to all club members. The ride schedule should also be posted in local bike shops, at college campuses, and sent to other clubs within your area. Also, each ride should be led by a ride captain, who can be appointed pro tern for specific rides. If you plan to promote a race, a rally, or even an interclub ride, committees should be established for these purposes. You may wish a committee to be re­sponsible for social events, such as a club Christmas party or annual awards banquet. And if awards are to be given to members for their participation or accomplishments in club activities, you will need a committee for this.

By all means, don't overlook a membership committee for further recruitment. This is the lifeblood of any good organization.

Fun Is Where You Find It

PROFILE OF A CYCLE TOURIST

395

PIERRE RoQuEs

November 1965

Writing in Miroir Cyclisme of June 1965, Pierre Roques gives a neat and hilarious description of the cycle tourist. According to Monsieur Roques, a cycle tourist has these characteristics:

He is eccentric. He is extremely fond of physical exercise, but he does not give a hoot for competition. He despises fashionable hotels and would rather stay in a quaint old hostel. He is bored with small talk but fascinated with a whispering tree. He can give you the name of every little village in a hundred-mile radius but he does not know the latest football score.

He is bullheaded. He undertakes tours that are completely beyond reason. The more tired he gets, the less he admits it. Then, when he is back, he wants to show you his pictures, exhibit his souvenirs, lick his wounds. Even when his tour has been a complete washout, he will tell you that this was the best one he has been on. For him, the bicycle can do no wrong.

He is fussy. You should see him when he discovers a scratch on the frame. You should see him spit on his finger to wipe off a smudge. You should see him filling his bags with all sorts of ridiculous articles. You should see him trying to take a picture: his body contorted, his neck twisted, his face convulsed, his duff in the brambles, all to get his eye to the viewfinder.

He is nosy. Invariably, he leaves the highway to explore the byway. Then, when he still has miles to go, he stops to poke around ancient buildings, size up rustic bridges, fathom gurgling streams. Completely unconcerned, he drags his bicycle through dingy alleys of decrepit vil­lages. Night or day, he is always on the prowl.

He is incomprehensible. At the very moment his train gets to the mountains, he gets off to continue on his bike. Then, after crossing the

396 The Best of Bicycling!

highest passes, he pitches an impossibly small tent in a far-out corner while everybody else settles down in a normal tent in a normal spot with normal people. Apparently, he is not happy unless he does battle with weather, barriers, and terrain.

He is illogical. He does not want anything to do with racing, but he pushes himself to the limit on a century run. He belongs to all sorts of touring societies but he rides mostly alone. He will start on a long ride against the wind, knowing full well that the wind will turn when it is time to go back. When you stop your car to offer him a lift, he says no thanks, even though sweat is streaming down his face.

He is prejudiced. In full knowledge of his shortcomings, he does noth­ing to correct them. He does not even try to deny them. Instead of lis­tening to normal, sensible, rational people, he gives them the cold shoulder and goes merrily on his way. It is as if he lived in a different world. All he cares about is his bicycle. On his bike, he is brisk, bright, and easy. Off his bike, he is dreamy, drippy, and droopy.

Riddled with these taints, vices, and infirmities, he is really nothing but a freak. In polite company, he should be banished and not be­friended, rejected and not adopted, dismissed and not pitied. He will thank you!

Fun Is Where You Find It

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN WHEELMEN

397

E. P ETER lh>FFMAN '

August 1965

Once upon a time, there lived an organization called the League of American Wheelmen. It was an institution that played a vitally impor­tant part in fostering and promoting the cycling movement in America.

When cycling was very young it needed care, encouragement, and protection. The L.A.W., as the league was commonly called, fought for the right of wheelmen to use the public streets and highways. It started the good-roads movement in the late 1880's. It opened the parks and drives to cyclists. The objects of the league were "to promote the gen­eral interests of bicycling, to ascertain, defend, and protect the rights of wheelmen, and to encourage and facilitate touring."

In the early 1880's a bicycle-touring wave hit the United States. Wheelmen began to venture on long tours into strange parts of the country. The league established a touring bureau to furnish information as to routes, maps, etc. Members were asked to send in detailed infor­mation regarding their routes. Each state division gathered information relating to its own roads, and many of the divisions published road books. Hotels that granted reduced rates to league members were listed, together with railroads that carried bicycles as baggage. It was the league, by the way, that finally forced the railroads to make this con­cession.

Starting its second decade with a membership of over 18,000, the league enjoyed a truly remarkable growth. In 1893 there were close to 40,000 members. Then the well-remembered bicycle boom started. Fashion set its stamp of approval on cycling and everybody wanted a bike. The cycle industry expanded tremendously. In 1895-96 there were about three hundred bicycle factories. Production reached a top of

398 The Best of Bicycling!

nearly two million bikes in 1897. League expansion kept pace with the -cycle trade until the membership soared to an all-time high of 102,636 in 1898. Many famous people whose names have become part of our nation's history were members of the league, including Orville and Wilbur Wright, Commodore Vanderbilt, and Diamond Jim Brady.

Then the bubble burst! The public, excepting the real cycling en­thusiasts, turned from the bikes to the new "horseless carriage," and bicycle production dwindled along with the cycle industry. The league lost membership drastically, and by 1902 only 8,629 remained. Each year more members deserted the sinking ship. The league did not cease to function, however, and was carried on through the efforts of its secre­

tary, Abbot Bassett, until1942. Once upon a time may seem like eternities ago. Yet today, right now,

cycling in America is struggling through a period closely paralleling the time when L.A.W. was organized. The industry has reached an all-time high. Millions of bicycles are being bought yearly by a health and recreation-oriented public. Higher incomes and increased leisure time along with the need to escape the hectic pace of modem society has led to a rediscovery of the delights of cycling.

The problems facing today's cyclists are very similar to those that faced the league in 1880: Denial of right of way, expanding freeway systems, and the menace of the "horseless carriage"-multiplied mil­lions of times over.

One of the greatest assets of the league was its influential power as a large collective body. All the members working together achieved more than if the same individuals had worked separately or without a com­mon goal.

The first case affecting the rights of the wheelman with which L.A.W. dealt was the Haddenfield (New Jersey) Turnpike Case. The Pike Com­pany refused to allow bicycles on the pike. The league proposed making a test case and supported the Philadelphia Club in starting suit. The company backed down and revoked its anticycling policy.

In 1879 the New York Board of Commissioners excluded bicycles from Central Park. L.A.W. decided to take the case to court. For eight years the sh·uggle went on, and finally, in 1887, the "Liberty Bill" was signed by Governor Hill revoking all laws discriminating against bi­cycles and established the rights of wheelmen to ride on any parkways, streets, or highways in the state of New York. Many states soon followed with the passing of similar bills.

L.A.W. fought and won many cases in which drivers had crowded cyclists off the road or had deliberately run them down.

Fun Is Where You Find It 399

Now, after many years of inactivity, the league is being reorganized. During the early months of 1964, Joe Hart, onetime officer of the na­tional League of American Wheelmen and active cyclist with the Co­lumbus Park Wheelmen, set out to promote a reunion of former Chicago Council League members. With the help of Ben Altman of the Wander­ing Wheelmen and Art Clausen of the Ramblers, the reunion was a complete success.

But most important, the revival of the national organization was initiated. A national convention was held on July 2 and 3 of this year, officers were elected, and the League of American Wheelmen again be­came a reality.

Inquiries from individuals and touring clubs are enthusiastically in­vited. For information, write to Mrs. Dorothy Hart, 5118 Foster Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60631.

400

FUN IS WHERE YOU FIND IT

The Best of Bicycling!

JoHN FULTON

November 1968

A mound of dirt, a bicycle . . . and the nerve to take a tumble . . . That adds up to fun?

Well, it can. If you're a young8ter and you have enough imagination to see yourself daringly zooming a motorcycle when you're really strad­dling a mini-bike!

The dirt's for real. So are the hills and gullies and the huge mounds of dirt in the vacant lot down the street.

Bump humps. Dump humps. Mini-mountains. Zooo-o-o-m! Ride around the dusty craters at a forty-five-degree angle. Nerve and heart the heroes of the Tour de France would envy. And at the end, home. Washing machines. Band-Aids. Hearty dinners.

And Mom.

He's down!

"When both wheels are off the ground, ,_ _ _... you fly over a hill," says Gene Carpenter.

TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL/ JOHN FULTON

Slam the brakes! A cloud of dust. A safe and sudden halt.

"I want to go up. And up." Steve W at­kins tops a mound.

TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL/JOHN FULTON