Why the Bicycle Persists

1904

Prophets are the great speculators in "futures," and in that sort of gambling the "bears," who see calamities ahead, are usually losers. Nothing has been the subject of more pessimistic forebodings during the last few years than the bicycle, yet this spring the wheel comes out again, almost as numerous and as popular as ever.

Automobiles, it is true, have greatly increased in numbers, and they have been looked upon as the supplanter and successor of the bicycle. "Americans like to travel fast," said a man, recently, "but they don't want to work for it. That is why the automobile appeals to them." There is some truth in the remark, but the fact remains that most of us must "work for it."

The bicycle is the poor man's automobile, and a good one. It does not bother him about starting or stopping, does not often get out of repair, requires no outlay for fuel; yet it makes him master of a wider circle of country than he could possibly command without it, and pays him handsome dividends in health and strength for every pound of energy he spends in propelling it.

The time of the "scorcher" and the "century run" is past, and the era of sensible wheeling has come in. Those who own and buy bicycles now are those who use their wheels for exercise; for recreation and as practical vehicles. They would cling to their hobby tenaciously even if their own experience had not been enforced by medical approval, which is now overwhelmingly with them. The bicyclists for years to come will continue to outnumber, as they have in the past, the devotees of every other pastime. — Youth's Companion.