Ten thousand miles on a bicycle by Bagg Lyman Hotchkiss 1846-1911

Author:Bagg, Lyman Hotchkiss, 1846-1911
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cycling
Publisher: New York, Karl Kron
Published: 1887-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

the story of how I then continued the trail 200 m. to Springfield in September has been told on ppi 169-173, 146-148, I3Z; and of my December ride back to New York, on pp. 122, 134, 136. On the 24th of December, in the midst of a driving snow-storm, I rode my wheel from Washington Heights to Washington Sqtiare, ^\ m., and stored it in my chambers, with the vow not to mount it s^in "ttntil sifter the publication of my book." Hence, for more than a year I've bad not even a taste of wheeling. That final ride was my 44th on " No. 234, Jr.," during 8 months, and brought its record up to 1,408 m.,—showing a daily average of nearly 32 m. I fell with it on the 324th and 836th m., and dropped it on the 667th and 1,407th m.—bending the 1. crank in the latter case, and the handle-bar the other times. When I reached my April starting-point in Hartford (Dec 4), I completed a continuous circuit of 1,050 m. of separate roadway (excluding all detours as well as repetitions); and less than 250 m. of that circuit had been included in the 5,000 m. previously explored by me in riding twice that distance on a bicyde. This fact suggests the readiness with which even the most experienced of riders may lay out a pleasant course through country which is entirely new to him. The good touring routes are practically inexhaustible.

The compiler of the " League Road Book of Pa. and N. J.," described on p. 177, H. S. Wood (b. Dec. 18, i860), of Philadelphia, has supplied for me the following details of his 215 m. ride from Staunton to Gettysburg and Columbia, which I have already alluded to (pp. 317, 383) as the longest three days', straightaway run yet reported in America : " Starting from S. at 6 a. m.. May 23, 1884, i h. after completing an all-night, sleepless ride by train from Waishing-ton, I reached Harrisonville at 9, and Newmarket, 44^ m., at 11.10. Between 2.20 and 4,1 rode from N. to Edinburg, where a storm stopped me till 5.40, when I wheeled 5 m. in a hard rain to Woodstock, at 6.20, completing thus a run of 63 m. in 6| h. of riding. The weather was warm and calm, and the next day's was very hot, with a light breeze at my bdidc; while the road surface in the bottoms was heavy from the rain. Leaving W. at 8 a. m., I reached Hagers-town at 6.30 p. M., a run of 73 m. in 7I h. of riding. My longest stop was at Winchester, i| b., ending at z.2o; Bunker Hill, \\\ m., was passed at 2.45 ; Martinsburg, 10 m., at 4, and Will-iamsport, 14 m., at 5.35. On Sunday, I covered 79 m., H. to Columbia, 7 a. m. to 7.45 p. m. About half the road was very poor, and my riding time of 10^ h.

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