Cycling for health and pleasure. An indispensable guide to the successful use of the wheel

Contents

CHAPTER p^GE

I. Cycling for Health, . . . i

II. Learning, ..... 23

Preface

The present work on the Health, Pleasures, Advantages, and Practice of Cycling is based largely on the author's previous v^ritings on the same subjects, and principally on a volume bearing the same name which he published in 1890. But the changes that have taken place since the other work was written have been so great that no mere revision, but a complete rewriting proved necessary, in order to eliminate portions that were out of date, and to add very much that was new and important. As to the title, nothing could be found that so fully and concisely expressed the nature of this work as " Cycling for Health and Pleasure," and the fact that the author had previously used it for a work now long out of print constitutes no good ground for not again employing it.

The author's connection with cycling began about 1870, with the wooden two-wheeled velocipede which had shortly before that created such a furore, and he rode and owned one of those ancient vehicles. In 1876 the first modern high bicycles were shown at the Centennial Exposition, and a few came into use in this country during the next three or four years. In 1880 the author pur-

chased one, and rode it and others until the introduction of the safety, trying each new type as it appeared. He has ridden constantly, not only for pleasure, but because it has proved to him the only means of maintaining health. Every other form of exercise, including horseback riding, had been tried without success ; but, after six weeks of regular riding, cycling began to prove its efficacy, and soon established a degree of health which before that was wholly unknown. Other members of his family have had similar experiences, as well as very many friends and acquaintances. Under such circumstances, it is impossible, for him at least, not to believe cycling to be the most beneficial, as it is the most exhilarating, of all exercises.

FOR

HEALTH AND PLEASURE

Chapter I. Cycling For Health

We claim a great utility that daily must increase ; We claim from inactivity a sensible release ; A constant mental, physical, and moral help we feel, That bids us turn enthusiasts, and cry " God bless the wheel ! "

— Will Carleton,

^T is a fact well known to everyone that proper food and sufficient sleep are essential to the maintenance of health ; but it is by no means so generally understood that these alone will not insure it unless fortified by the practice of suitable exercise. Improper food so quickly affects our stomachs, and insufficient sleep makes us so drowsy, that the connection between cause and effect is very clear in these cases ; but the ills that result from the lack of sufficient suitable exercise are less readily traced to their true source. They come so slowly, and get their grasp upon us

SO insidiously, that when we really begin to suffer from them we rarely dream of their real causes.

Food, sleep, and exercise are so indissolubly connected in their relations to the mens sana in corpore sano that to separate any one of the trio from the others is to seriously impair the efficacy of all, and render it impossible for the remaining ones to perform perfect service. These facts do not apply with full force to those persons — few in number — who inherit iron constitutions, and who can, with apparent impunity, set the laws of nature more or less at defiance, though sooner or later they must inevitably feel some effect from doing so ; but they do apply to an enormous majority of mankind, including many who boast of their health because they seem free from disease, and others whose apparent vigor rests upon the constant use of stimulants.

Exercise is not merely a desirable adjunct of food and sleep, to be used supplementary to them if agreeable and convenient ; but it is, in a high degree, the very means through which it is possible for them to become effective. If one took absolutely no exercise at all, it would be hardly possible to digest food or to get refreshing sleep, and good health would scarcely be expected. With moderate exercise, these conditions would change somewhat. It thus follows naturally that, with sufficient exercise of proper character, the system would be so toned as to enable the stomach to do its work perfectly and secure refreshing and vivifying sleep; and experience and observation show this to be perfectly true.

It is often remarked that enough exercise can be obtained in the performance of one's daily duties, and this is sometimes true, provided a person possesses a very vigorous constitution and is engaged in a congenial, active occupation. For the majority, however, and particularly for those whose occupations are at all sedentary, it is wholly untrue. ** Work is not exercise," says an experienced physician. "■ This may seem strange, but it is true. I tell my patient, * I do not care how much you run about all day at your business, you must take the exercise I prescribe quite independently of your work.' There are perhaps no more hardworking men in the world than the Scotch plowmen — w^earily plodding all day long behind their horses, in wet weather or dry ; no sooner, however, has the sun *ganewest the loch,' and the day's work is done, than, after supper and a good wash, those hardy lads assemble in the glen, and not only for one, but often three good hours, keep up the health-giving games for which their nation is so justly celebrated."

If our daily occupations really afforded true exercise, we would not suffer, as we nearly all do, from troubles which disappear as soon as we engage in regular exercise of an agreeable and suitable kind. " Dyspepsia, no matter how produced," says Dr. Stables, " is the curse of the age in which we live. It kills, directly or indirectly, ten times more human beings than consumption itself does in our country. If this be so, it is surely of the utmost importance to each and all of us to so regulate our diet that we may be able to say truly we eat to live. Slow digestion is only the forerunner of dyspepsia, and this is usually accompanied with constipation, or costiveness, and a dry state of the whole mucous membrane of the digestive canal. A sedentary life and the consequent want of sufficient exercise in the open air are two of the commonest causes of slow digestion. Cycling is, of all kinds of exercises that I know, far and away the best suited for the removal of slow digestion. Few, alas ! value sufficiently the blessing of health until it begins to slip away. We are not all born with healthful constitutions, but even those who are born weakly can do much to strengthen and vivify their systems, by adopting a plan of judicious and rational living ; by steering clear of that rock on which so many lives are lost — I mean the abuse of medicine ; by proper attention to cleanliness ; by drinking only pure water ; by breathing, as far as possible, only pure air ; by avoiding worry as mjjch as they can ; by being temperate, not only in eating and drinking, but in everything ; and by taking a proper amount of exercise of the kiad most suited for the individual health — the best by far at the present day being what we term cycling."

In his recent work. Dr. Lagrange says : " Exercise produces in the system two absolutely different effects ; it increases the process of assimilation, thanks to which the body gains new tissues, and it accelerates the process of dissimilation, which leads to the destruction of certain materials. . . Exercise introduces more oxygen into the system than is actually needed for the combustions ; at least, direct observation seems to show that, in the period which follows vigorous exercise, the blood, after being for a short time surcharged with carbonic acid, becomes on the other hand surcharged with oxygen. Thus a man taking exercise lays up a provision of oxygen. The gas becomes as it were stored among the anatomical elements of which the organism is built up ; it is especially bound to tlie red blood-disks, which become redder, and their vivifying power is increased. This more living blood, if we may use the expression, carries to the organs a salutary stimulus which increases the activity of their functions.

" It has been experimentally proved that all the elements of the system undergo a kind of awakening of their energies under the influence of strongly oxygenated blood. If such blood be injected we see glands secrete more actively, the contractihty of fatigued muscles reappear, and even signs of life in the cerebral cells of a decapitated animal. We understand how, under the influence of powerfully oxygenated blood, the glands of the alimentary canal can more actively secrete the fluids necessary for the elaboration of the food ; how the contractile fibers of the intestine perform their peristaltic movements, which are as necessary for digestion, with more energy ; how the absorbent vessels draw to themselves, by a more powerful endosmotic process, the nutritive molecules elaborated in the digestive tract. Thus the acquisition of a greater quantity of oxygen leads to a greater intensity of the process of assimilation. Exercise produces these salutary effects alike in those who assimilate

O CYCLING,

too little, and in those who do not dissimilate enough ; muscular work is a regulator of nutrition as indispensable to over-rich as it is to impoverished constitutions. Hence there is no individual, no living being, who is not instinctively impelled to this powerful general alterative agent. . . Observation of facts shows that athletic exercises, when they are not beyond the strength of the subject, place him in the most favorable conditions of nutrition. Under the guidance of a quiet nervous system, the functions of repair are performed with the most perfect regularity, and we see that the acquisitions made by the system through more perfect assimilation exceed the losses brought about by work."

It appears from the foregoing that vigorous exercise in the open air introduces large quantities of oxygen into the system ; that the blood is vivified thereby ; that assimilation becomes more perfect, and nutrition more complete ; and that all organs are stimulated to perform their functions perfectly. The increased quantity of oxygen which thus vivifies the blood, as the result of exercise, is carried to it by means of the respiration, consequently " respiration is the most important of the functions influenced by exercise."

To quote Dr. Lagrange again : " If we compare exercises of strength and exercises of speed, we find in them the common character of rendering respiration more active. But the exercises of strength only bring about this result at the price of intense muscular fatigue, while exercises of speed allow the work to be carried on till breathlessness is produced without the muscles becoming painful from the work. Speed can supplement force, and enable certain persons, whose muscular development is feeble, to benefit from the general effects of violent exercise, without needing intense efforts, which they would be unable to perform.

** Exercises of speed have the advantage of producing the same quantity of work as the exercises of strength, and of producing the same intensity of respiratory need. Further, they increase the activity of the respiratory functions with less fatigue of the lungs and heart, owing to the absence of effort, which only exceptionally occurs in exercises of speed, but which is obligatory in exercises of strength. Hence a cau^e for preferring exercises of speed. As regards the muscular system, an exercise of speed, for an equal number of kilogrammeters in a given time, will produce less fatigue than a work of strength, and will subject the motor apparatus in a less degree to the various accidents resulting from shocks, and frictions of its constituent parts."

Of course, if a person desires the mere development of brute strength — the increase in size of certain muscles — he will undertake exercises of strength under competent instruction ; because ** powerful and sustained contractions favor the nutrition of the muscular fiber," the nutrition of a muscle being " more intense in slow contractions, because the flow of blood is more regular and more prolonged," and in this way the muscles increase in size and strength most rapidly. But if, on the other hand, the object of exercise is the promotion of the sound health of the whole system, rather than special development of one part, exercises of speed insures the best results, besides being the most exhilarating and pleasurable.

If the complex conditions of modern life did not keep us so very far from a " state of nature," in which all could have more or less active occupation, it might be possible to get along tolerably well with such exercise as came incidentally in performing our daily duties ; but our constitutions and habits have become so modified through heredity and environment that our need of the 77tost effective exercise is far greater than it would be were the conditions of life more simple. Our lives are more artificial, than natural; forced living, competition, and excitement have replaced simple, primitive conditions ; plain food has given way to that which is hard to digest ; and every constitution has a heavier load to bear, and more work to do to maintain health, than if living were more simple and natural. As a powerful aid to everyone's constitution in its " struggle for existence,'* the most effective kind of exercise that can be discovered is a prime necessity.

Exercise may be gentle, moderate, or violent. A person of sedentary habits, or feeble strength, must begin with that which is gentle, and proceed by easy stages to that which is moderate, and later, if he wishes, go on by degrees to that which is violent. Dr. Lagrange defines these grades as follows : " When, after an exercise, a man of average strength has experienced neither fatigue nor breathlessness the exercise may be called gentle. When the exercise has caused local fatigue without inducing breathlessness, it will be moderate. It will be called violent when it is accompanied and followed by breathlessness."

In undertaking an unaccustomed, though gentle, form of exercise, it may seem to be moderate, or even violent, at the start, simply because most persons are in far poorer physical condition than they imagine themselves to be ; but if they begin with short lessons, and proceed by easy stages, they will soon become stronger, and the exercise will become much easier. Any exercise, says Dr. Stables, *' to be really beneficial, ought to be taken in moderation, and should extend over some considerable time. Spurts, and that amount of exercise that borders on fatigue, should mostly be avoided. Whenever the body becomes tired, exertion, instead of being any longer a tonic to the body, becomes a positive depressant, and results in evil, not only to the muscular but to the nervous system as well.

** A course of exercise — say cycling — should be begun and carried on by easy stages, for if one does one*s exercise as he would do a penance, depend upon it it is very far from beneficial. Never, therefore, try to do too much.

" Exercise is a tonic, and therefore benefit is not to be expected from a single dose. Its effects are gradual, and it must be taken with studied regularity, day after day, at the same time, and if one is in ordinary health the state of the weather should not be permitted to balk him. During the summer and autumn months a cyclist should be like the lO CYCLING.

busy bee and improve each shining hour — he will thus lay up for himself a store of health that will stand good until spring-time comes again.

** Exercise ought to be taken in clothes which are neither too cumbersome nor too heavy ; and, if heated, in the intervals of rest be very careful you do not catch cold."

Now, it is not too much to claim, cycling meets all the conditions of a perfect exercise in a degree approached by nothing else.

It is necessarily in the open air ; and this is of great importance, because a prime object of exercise is to secure and lay up a store of oxygen, as has already been shown, which can be fully accomphshed only out of doors. It also gives constant change of scene and thought, avoiding the monotony of indoor exercise. New rides, fresh sights, varied routes, pleasant companions, and absolutely com.plete change in every respect from ordinary occupations, give it very exceptional advantages.

It is an exercise of the class which has been shown to be most beneficial. It does not develop any one set of muscles excessively, but it acts upon many sets simultaneously, gently, and beneficially. It calls into simultaneous action more muscles than does any other form of exercise ; but it calls them into play so gently and pleasantly that after one has gotten over the surprise that this unexpected occurrence gives him at the start, he is not conscious of the fact, except as he feels exhilarated after a ride, and finds every function made more vigorous and active. The chest, arms, and abdomen are the first to feel the effects

CYCLING FOR HE A L 77/. 1 1

and benefits of riding a cycle. As in other exercises of speed, the chest is strengthened and enlarged ; the arms and fingers become firmer in action ; and every function of the various organs feels a vivifying impulse, and begins at once to act with unaccustomed vigor.

It requires but a short ride to start a sluggish circulation into healthy activity, to quiet strained nerves, refresh wearied muscles, and clear the clouded brain. It is well-nigh impossible to be so wearied, physically or mentally, that half an hour on a bicycle will not refresh the system like food and sleep combined, and impart to it a far better and more lasting tone than any stimulant can produce. A daily ride of an hour, or half an hour, if taken briskly, will cure dyspepsia even of the most confirmed sort, and make it possible to take any food with comfort. After an evening ride, and rub down or bath, the sleep which follows is as. certain as it is incomparably calm and refreshing. The nerves are quieted, the muscles rested, the circulation stimulated, and the feeling of physical satisfaction which pervades the system insures calm and invigorating sleep. All this has been proved over and over again in the experience of every wheelman. Physicians are beginning to recognize it, and are recommending the wheel to both men and women. For indigestion, insomnia, and nervous troubles it is the sovereign remedy.

A characteristic feature of cycling, and one which belongs to no other form of exercise in a similar degree, is that it is suited to persons differing widely in physical condition — in other words, the exercise can be made gentle, moderate, or violent at will. Of course, the process of learning is apt to be a little tiresome ; but, that over, the exercise can be regulated at pleasure. In this connection, a peculiar advantage is that gentle exercise on a cycle produces better and more lasting results than does any other gentle exercise. On this account it is simply unapproached as an exercise for women ; it seems to be suited to their needs in a most remarkable degree, and to furnish them with precisely what they require to build up their health and strength.

When moderate exercise is required, it is obtained by taking a longer ride or a faster pace, or the two combined ; and violent exercise can be had by still farther lengthening the ride and increasing the speed. These simple changes adapt cycling to all needs. In its gentlest form, a rider will travel four to six miles an hour, or nearly as fast as an ordinary horse trots ; in a moderate form, he will travel seven or eight miles an hour, or faster than nearly all horses trot ; in a brisk form, he will ride nine or ten miles an hour ; and, in a violent form, from twelve to fifteen, or even more.

Sometimes persons who have never ridden a cycle, and know nothing of its remarkable physiological effects, will assert that it is inferior to horseback riding, both as an exercise and a pleasure. But those who have tested both thoroughly know that this is not so. It cannot for a moment be pretended that horseback riding does or can

C YCL ING FOR HEAL TIf. 1 3

offer the advantages or produce the results already enumerated, which follow with certainty the regular use of the wheel, and which are testified to by thousands of its users. Moreover, as to pleasure, the motion of the wheel is far and away more exhilarating, as it is more smooth, even, and harmonious. However slowly one travels, there is always the same agreeable motion, far removed from the listless walk of a horse, which constitutes a considerable portion of horseback riding. The other gaits of a horse are too violent to be long kept up by horse or rider. At best, the exercise is variable and more or less violent. How different is the wheel, which is uniformly gentle, pleasant, and exhilarating, and infinitely more certain and beneficial in its effects.

In further confirmation of the claims already made are the following statements from physicians. They are experienced and practical cyclists themselves, and in their professional practice have had large opportunities to observe the effect of cycling on all ages and conditions as well as on both sexes. Dr. T. N. Gray writes :

" How and why does cycling do so much for the system ? I have often answered this, or similar questions, in a general way ; but I think I can give an answer from a physiological standpoint, which will satisfy the most captious of the value of cycling as a health preserver and renewer.

** Start with the accepted fact that exercise out of doors is beneficial to the general system. No argument is needed to establish this, as a comparison of the general health of the outdoor and indoor worker is invariably in favor of the outdoor v^orker. The causes which work against the general health of the indoor worker are many, but they can be grouped under three heads : lack of fresh air ; mental work, without a corresponding amount of physical work ; and routine work.

*' Two, at least, of these three general causes are always at the bottom of the lack of full health of the indoor worker. The result may be apparent in the muscular system, the organic system, or the nervous system, and consists of a loss of balance between the three systems. This loss of balance is rarely seen in the outdoor worker, and when seen is the result of excessive physical exercise. It is the natural conclusion that the cause which maintains the health of one class (exercise, or work, in the fresh air) can be used to restore the lost health in the other class, by building up the muscular system ; by relieving the organic system, through a hastened circulation, and excretion through skin and bowels, and kidneys and lungs ; and by resting the nervous system with a varied and exhilarating exercise. So is the * how ' answered, for cycling is only outdoor work or exercise.

" But ' why ' cycling particularly, you may ask. Simply because, to my mind, cycling, as an exercise of use to the physician in treating his patients, both in the quality and quantity it gives, combines physical exercise, and mental and nervous exercise, as does no other form of outdoor exercise, and this without a single injurious quality. The rider of a wheel takes exercise in the most even, steady way I know of, and never does he injure his general

CYCLING FOR II EA LTH, 15

system when riding (scorching is not riding). The peculiar effect of cychng upon the nervous system cannot be put into words. The effect on the patient is plainly evident to the physician, and appreciated by the patient. It comes from an exhilaration which is peculiar to the wheel. Every rider has felt it. He may not appreciate it now, because he is accustomed to it ; but let him stop his riding, and the result is soon apparent in sluggish memory, or annoying organs, or easily tired timbs — in short, a loss of balance. I have had results from it in practice that I have never had from any other form of exercise, and never have I had it fail in doing good ; and, without decrying other forms of exercise, it, I repeat, combines muscular exercise with mental and nervous exhilaration as does no other."

Another letter is from Dr. F. A. Kinch, Jr. He says :

" Whatever I may have written in the cause of cycling I fully emphasize by this writing. When indulged in in moderation, it is invariably for the good of the participants. I do not for a moment consider any tests of strength or speed, for those who are not trained for such work have no energy to spend in that way.

" As to the * how ' and * why ' it is for so much good ! Any exercise that brings in play the greatest number of muscles, and exercises them evenly, is the best to take. This is found in cycling; no one muscle, or set of muscles, is overtaxed in riding. Also, it takes the cycler out of doors, where fresh air and plenty of it can be breathed ; it gives him or her a change of scene ; the change of landscape adds pleasure to a ride, and before the rider knows it he is wheehng along enjoying the country, while his muscles are getting the benefit of the ride. That the rider loves the sport I consider a very great aid to its success^ for no form of exercise will be beneficial if it is not thoroughly enjoyed ; you can expect the greatest result from that sport which the player or rider enjoys most.

" Professional experience has shown a number of cases under our own care that have been benefited by cycling. Weakly boys and girls grow strong while riding a wheel. A remarkable case may be worthy of notice. A young man, about eighteen, was taken sick with diphtheria ; he had previously ridden a wheel ; he was very ill, and when recovered some thought he would have heart disease. He was very carefully watched, of course. The question came up, Should he ride his bicycle } He was an intimate friend of mine, though not my patient. He asked m.e what I thought, and I told him to take a short ride with me. He did well, and continued riding carefully, and a little more each time, until he really rode back to health and strength. Now he is a strong, well man, and thanks the wheel for the sound physique it gave him. This is only one case, but there are more just like this one.

" In conclusion I would say ride a cycle ; ride in moderation ; enjoy the wheel ; and all who do so will enjoy better health and be happier ; the cares of life will be easier borne, and your life will be lengthened."

The peculiar and exceptional advantages which cycling offers as an exercise for women are not matters of theory with the writer, as he has had in his own family several very striking illustrations of its remarkable effects. In further confirmation, however, of his statements, is the following letter from the pen of " Pysche," a well-known contributor to wheel papers. It was written in response to the query, " What does cycling do for women ? "

" Is wheeling a desirable thing for women ? Yes, emphatically! This is rather an uncompromising position to assume ; but an ordinary, everyday experience makes me feel that on this question there are not two sides, or, if there is a side other than the affirmative, it is so small as hardly to be noticeable.

" For three years I have been a practical wheelwoman ; first, a tricyclist, and then, when the bicycle came for women, an ardent and enthusiastic bicyclist.

** In my own family one person has been restored from a state of semi-invalidism to normal health, and two others (one of them myself) have been kept in such a state of health as few American girls can boast of, and this I confidently believe to be due entirely to the fact that we are a family of wheelwomen.

'* A friend of ours, who was affiicted by ' nerves,' fainted on any reasonable or unreasonable opportunity, wept quarts in the month, and wished she was dead more or less all the time, was inveigled by us to try our prescription. We told her to get the sanction of her physician, lest we should perhaps do her some harm, for we all regarded her as suspended on the edge of the tomb, and did not want to meddle if there was any chance of doing harm rather than good. Her physician, hke a sensible man, gave her his blessing, and told us to begin.