Those who have thought the rage for velocipedes would be fleeting and
evanescent, have found themselves much mistaken. Velocipede “Schools,”
“Halls,” “Rinks,” “Institutes,” and “Academies,” have sprung into
existence with mushroom rapidity. There are scores in our large cities,
and one or more in almost every country town. They secure a patronage
which is not only surprising, as indicating the extent to which the
enthusiasm prevails; but also as showing that the desire to ride is
not confined to any particular age, or to any class of persons. We
have seen astride the bicycle in the same rink, the old and the young,
the fat man and the lean, the doctor, who does not believe that the
fashionable exercise develops one set of muscles to the detriment of
others; the clergyman, a regular muscular Christian; and the newsboy
who has sold his papers in the cold and rain to accumulate the funds
to make him as much the privileged character as any nabob. We have
witnessed the lawyer, the tradesman, and the mechanic, spinning with
ease and grace. We have watched the lounger who fringes the edge of
society with his delicate moustache, making his languid attempt;
we have seen the artist mount his Pegasus, and the professor of
literature, striving with noble persistency to emulate his much envied
tutor. There is a marked fascination in the exercise which affects
alike the spectators and the participants. Those who come to look,
remain to ride; and those, who once bestride “the wheeled Rosinante,”
refuse to quit until they have tamed the unaccustomed steed.
It is very amusing to watch the eager pupils, going through their
novitiate. The beginners mount, struggle, perspire, and tumble in all
directions and shapes; and blunders, awkward movements, collisions, and
shipwrecks follow each other in constant succession. The more advanced
ride with “This one thing I do,” manifest upon every feature; and one
would suppose, from looking at their compressed lips, knit brows, and
fixed eyes, that they felt they were guiding, like Phaëton, the horses
of the Sun. The graduates and proficients ride with charming ease,
carelessness, and control.
“The early bird catches the worm,” is a proverb particularly applicable
to those who first started velocipede schools. All the rinks, schools,
academies, and “velocipedagogues,” do a large business; and their
machines pay for themselves in a short time.
The fever is not confined to the Eastern and Middle States, but rages
throughout the South and West. In some of the velocipede riding halls,
a charge is made for a series of ten lessons; at others, there is an
admittance fee, and a certain price per hour for using the machine. In
our cities, we have them to suit all classes and conditions of people.
They range from the rinks in common localities, with their sawdust
floors, cheap machines, and nominal admission fees, where the “timid
toddlers” go it alone, to the schools in the marble blocks, with their
French machines and experienced teachers.
As our knowledge increases, our tastes become more luxurious. The
plebeian is content with his wagon, but the patrician must have his
_coupé_. The beginner asks no better accommodation than is afforded by
the New Bedford machine; but one of the “do it gracefuls,” or one of
the “fancy few” must have spring work, ornamental mountings, bright
varnish, and no sawdust under him; else he fails to experience the acme
of bicycular enjoyment.
Among the most popular velocipede schools in New York city, are those
of the Pearsall Brothers, corner of Broadway and Twenty-second Street;
Hanlon Brothers, corner of Broadway and Tenth Street; Calvin Witty,
638 Broadway; Mercer & Monod, No. 3 Williams Street; and Barber &
Pendleton, corner of Broadway and Forty-seventh Street.
The Pearsall Brothers formerly occupied prominent and lucrative
positions with Messrs. Gurney & Son, photographers. They foresaw the
future popularity of the velocipede, and abandoned photography for
velocipeding with immediate success. They opened the first school in
New York, and have the names of some five hundred or more pupils on
their lists. They have a velocipede ware-room under their hall.
The Hanlon Brothers, well-known as gymnasts, have the reputation of
being the best riders in the country. Their hall is the largest in
New York, and is furnished with twenty-five first-class machines.
They lately gave a “Velocipede Reception and Hop;” and exhibited many
graceful and daring feats upon the bicycle; afterwards other gentlemen
also gave proof of their skill, among them, Charles A. Dana, Editor of
the “New York Sun,” who is an expert rider.
The largest and most popular school in Brooklyn is under the direction
of Mr. A. C. Burnham. At all these schools, velocipede receptions and
exhibitions are of almost nightly occurrence, and create much interest.
Messrs. Crawford & Co., of Philadelphia, have a large school, corner of
Eighth and Callowhill Streets, where they use a velocipede of their own
construction, in which the rear wheel is used as the guiding wheel.
Messrs. Mercer & Monod, of New York, have a flourishing branch school
in Philadelphia.
The Pearsall Brothers have one in Detroit, Mich., and another in
Chicago, Ill. The large Zouave Hall in Chicago, under the direction of
Geo. D. Miles, has become a noted velocipede academy. The Nicholson
pavement, much used in Chicago, is admirably adapted to this kind
of propulsion, and the riders soon leave the rinks for the streets.
Chicago hails any invention of a fast nature, and the velocipede has
already become a practical institution there.
There is no place where the velocipede _furore_ has developed more
rapidly or to a greater extent than in Boston. There are over twenty
schools and rinks in the city; and no less than eleven on Washington
Street, between the Old South Church and Chester Square. The first
school in Boston was opened by S. T. Derry of the firm of Wm. H.
Sargent & Co., at 155 Tremont Street. At this school the course of
instruction is thorough and complete, and all pupils graduate experts.
Six different sizes of French pattern velocipedes are used, and the
scholar is advanced from one to the other, according to progress.
Though this is a private school, there are the names of hundreds of
graduates upon its lists. Mr. Derry is an accomplished teacher. He has
several other schools under his charge, and has made arrangements to
lease the Skating Rink for the same purpose.
The first public rink opened in Boston, was near Bowdoin Square (No. 7
Greene Street), and has been deservedly popular. The proprietors have
had branch rinks in Cambridgeport, Brighton, and other neighboring
towns.
The fashionable Horticultural Hall was transformed into a first-class
velocipede academy for a limited time. This academy was provided with
coat rooms, dressing rooms, and other conveniences; and with seats and
accommodations for ladies. Tournaments and races here followed each
other in rapid succession.
Among the other popular rinks in Boston, are those of Kimball
Brothers, 113 Court Street; Walter Brown, 179 Court Street; Horace M.
Sargent, Boylston Hall; Macy & Butler, 90 and 92 Tremont Street; at
334 Washington Street; at Arlington Hall; and at Riddle’s Carriage
Repository, Haymarket Square.
The two best and largest rinks in the United States are to be found at
Harvard Square, Cambridge. One of them has twelve thousand square feet
of floor, and twenty-five good machines. The other, built by Mr. John
C. Stiles, is in the form of an amphitheatre, and has a circular course
of a little less than an eighth of a mile in length. Only part of the
track is under cover. At night, this rink is brilliantly lighted, and
the scene is at once novel and inspiring. Scores of riders rush madly
after each other at break-neck speed, round and round the arena.
We have seen an expert whirl over the course in seventeen seconds,
which is nearly as good time as any recorded abroad, and better than
any heretofore made in this country. The students of “Old Harvard”
crowd these rinks; the billiard halls and other places of resort are
deserted, and all are eager votaries of the fascinating art.
“WHERE SHALL WE RIDE?”
But one thing is likely to interfere with the bicycle campaign in our
large cities and towns; and that is the difficulty of finding suitable
places to ride in. Our latest hobby is already ridden with remarkable
fury in the streets, and will continue to be so, by those who make
the machine a means of utility. Foot passengers, however, claim the
sidewalks as their exclusive rights; and will hardly be pleased to feel
in perpetual terror of--
Bicycles right of them,
Bicycles left of them,
Bicycles front of them,
Rolling and tumbling;
and those who ride for amusement, are anxiously looking for suitable
places, where they can do so without annoyance to passers, or being
interfered with by them; where they can see and be seen; and where
their skill can be admired.
But velocipede tracks are now in preparation. Race-courses will be
free to the bicycle, velocipede stables will open in their vicinity,
and the proprietors will rapidly line their pockets. All the skating
ponds will be metamorphosed into velocipedariums and velocipede rinks.
These will make capital exercise grounds, where numberless riders can
make their graceful curves to the music of a good band; and where, in
hot summer weather, they can be protected from the sun by awnings. The
large parks will be open to velocipedestrians.
It has been currently reported that the Commissioners of Central Park,
New York, have prohibited the driving of the bicycle there; but the
rumor is without foundation. No such interdict will be issued, unless
the blooded horses object to the novel machine, by running away.
Well-bred horses, whether thorough-bred or not, already manifest no
emotion at the sight of the vehicle. Without doubt, the Commissioners
will yield gracefully to the public demand.
In New York, a project has been advocated of building an elevated
railway, from Harlem to the Battery, to be used only by velocipede
riders. On such a railway, thirty feet wide, and with a flooring
of hard pine, it would be possible to go from one end of Manhattan
Island to the other in about an hour, making allowance for delays,
from stoppages and accidents. A good rider, with a clear track,
could easily accomplish the distance in half an hour; but, with a
well-filled road, progress would necessarily be slower. In Prospect
and Washington Parks, Brooklyn, the bicycle votaries are allowed the
same privileges as equestrians. Many of the level streets of that city,
with the Nicholson and concrete pavements, furnish a capital surface
for the velocipedestrians, and are great resorts. It is even said,
that the benign City Fathers propose to bridge the gutters for their
accommodation.
The residents of Boston will find good riding grounds, easy of access
to the city, on many of the smooth roads of its beautiful suburbs.
Philadelphians can ride the velocipede on their straight, level
streets. We know of no place so admirably adapted to the bicycle, as
Broad Street, Philadelphia, with its miles of Nicholson pavement.