LADY BICYCLISTS.
A Fascinating Sport for Women.
Costumes Worn Across the Bay.
Gossip About the Most Prominent Riders of the Silent Steed.
Over the bay cycling is all the fad among the feminine portion of the community, and the fashionable girl who does not cycle is not in it at all. It is the proper exercise and has superseded almost every other, even tennis. In Oakland and Alameda probably 200 women own wheels of the finest sort, and every evening between 5 and 8 o'clock bright metal wheels flash along the pavements and over the smooth macadam.
The popular route which the Oakland ladies travel is over the new paved street which connects East Oakland and Alameda, over the new bridge across the estuary, through the whole length of Alameda, which is remarkable for its broad, new, smooth roadways, and back by way of Webster street, thus forming a circuit of about twelve miles. The more experienced women riders sometimes take the trip to Haywards and San Lorenzo, this being the famed triangle, so largely affected by male riders. But this is a long and dusty ride, over twenty miles, and on the return trip there is always an annoying and retarding wind. So only the experienced women riders undertake this test of endurance and speed.
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| MRS. LANG OF ALAMEDA. |
The costumes worn by the lady riders are not bizarre, but they are pretty, convenient and decidedly striking and effective. The skirts are nearly all made after the same pattern, gored and scant in front, with the fullness all in the back. The most convenient ones are four or five inches from the ground when the wearer is standing. Some of the lady riders wear them the ordinary walking length, but when riding these are too long and are apt to get tangled in the wheel. With these skirts light shirt waists are worn of any desired thinness and a jacket of the same material as the skirt. These jackets are either Eton or blazer, and when the sun is hot they can be removed and strapped to the seat. An outing dress, made short, seems to be the most desirable and serviceable for a bicycle dress, and this is the uniform which has been adopted by the ladies' bicycle club in Alameda. The material of their sensible suits is dark-blue storm serge, while the shirt waists are cream color. Their jackets are of the blazer style. Most lady riders acknowledge that it is much better to ride without corsets, and with the shirt waists this is specially desirable, as it affords free play to the muscles of the waist. Petticoats are also a useless incumbrance and should never be worn.
George Faulkner, who has taught many of the lady riders, says that they learn both the mounts quite easily, including the Boston mount. This is remarkable when one considers that they are hampered with skirts. When they become experienced riders, they ride with a grace unknown to male riders. But some women make the mistake of bending back too far in their efforts to escape the bicycle bend which they have read about. As a consequence they sit too erect. A slight bend from the waist forward is more graceful and comfortable.
The chief difficulty of women learning to ride is in their timidity. Then their skirts get tangled in the pedals, and this bothers them. Very often the teacher supports the pupil by means of a belt around the waist. When this support is withdrawn, the pupil gets along all right, until she discovers that she is alone, and then she promptly loses her balance. Children learn in one lesson because they are so perfectly fearless. They do not fear broken bones.
The lady riders in Oakland are distinguished by their pretty wheels. Many of them are nickel or copper plated and almost all have cushions or pneumatic tires and very springy seats, as these give a more graceful carriage to a woman rider.
There are about fifteen ladies who ride in a body. All of these are residents of Clinton and the neighborhood. There are many isolated riders throughout the city. Among the best riders - those who take long trips - are Miss Mary Varney, Mrs. George Mason, Miss Bertha Crouch, Miss Hawley, Mrs. Irwin, Miss Marzery Irwin, Miss Trace Mason, Mrs. Swayzee, Mrs. Samuel Smith, Miss Luella Marx, Miss Leet and Mrs. George Rodolph.
In Alameda there are a great many women who ride, and not only this, but they have effected a permanent organization. At first they were organized as an annex, but now they have separated from the men's club and are an independent body, although the members of the two clubs frequently ride together.
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| MISS LIDA PHELPS. |
The Alameda Ladies Club started in March, 1892, and now numbers thirty-nine members, of these ladies twenty-nine have been members of the California division of the league and eight are still active members. These league members all wear the badge in the lapel of their blazer uniforms. The captain of the Alameda club is at present Mrs. Heacock. During the summer the club go on long rides, and when it is too wet they give social entertainments. Among the prominent members of the club are Miss Phelps, the secretary: Miss Hunt, Miss Elliott, Miss Nixon, Mrs. Mayrisch, Mrs. Souther and Miss Lang. Of these Miss Phelps, Miss Hunt. Miss Nixon and Miss Elliott have made the journey to San Jose. Miss Phelps made the trip accompanied by two men riders. She covered the distance in five hours, and was the first of the two to arrive. Miss Phelps has ridden for four years and is a tireless and skillful rider. She has made the trip to Skagg's Springs on her wheel. She has been secretary of the club for ten months and has been indefatigable in her labors to build up the club.
Mrs. Mayrisch has the distinction of being the most daring rider in the Alameda Club. She takes her little child with her every day when she rides. The baby is less than a year old and is securely strapped on a seat just over the front wheel. So the mother and baby ride tandem and no matter how the wind blows, the baby seems to like it, and no matter how thick the vehicles, the mother never seems to fear a collision.
In San Francisco there is no longer a ladies' bicycle club. All of the organizations which have existed under that name have disbanded. Of course, there are many lady riders who go to the park almost daily, but comparatively few of them have ever taken any of the long rides. There are also a few league members among the San Francisco ladies who cycle.
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