Page 22 - PBCOctober2013

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine. Volume 10 No.3 October 2013

s the season heads towards cooler and colder weather, Your Past President, Joseph
ASmiggers, Esq. P.V.P.M.P.C., has located some suggestions for members comfort
from the annals of the Boys Own Paper. Tips for cold weather cycling are offered here,
together with an account of the start of Raleigh Industries, an event in which he was
well able to assist !

The Boy’s Own Paper Cycling for the Month January 1879
Notes and Novelties for the “B.O.P.” Wheelman
By Raymond Raife

Cold Weather Comfort
To ensure health-giving and enjoyable cycling during winter, the most important
provisions are woollen underclothing for the cyclist, and an ample system of
mudguards for his mount; to which may perhaps be added the extra item of tyres
of fairly large size, so that the rider may escape unnecessary vibration when the
roads are frozen hard. Quite moderate speed in riding is an excellent winter rule;
for when pedalling at a reasonable rate the cold air is less forcibly inhaled and
exhaled by the lungs than when the cyclist is putting himself to violent exertion. And
slower and more gentle respiration means that the air is to a certain degree
beneficially warmed as we breathe it, and to that extent the lungs are protected
from chill.

A goodly proportion of cyclists, and plenty of young and very active ones at that,
suffer more or less from cold hands and feet when riding in “nippy” weather. The
other day I chanced to glance through the excellent shilling book, “Cycling for Health,
and Points for Cyclists,” written by Mr. Frank Bowden, F.R.G.S., and will proceed to
quote an instalment of practical advice that is there given upon the subject of
cold-weather cycling.

“Keeping the extremities warm is one of the difficulties in winter riding,” the author
says. “Though no amount of extra clothing will altogether obviate this, it is possible
to mitigate the unpleasantness to a very great extent by some little rational protection
to the parts affected. A pair of thick closely knitted woollen gloves, preferably without
fingers, with long wrists capable of being drawn over the shirt wrists, are the best protection for
the hands. They should be put on indoors before the hands get cold, when they will be found more
snug and comfortable than anything made of leather. For the feet the ordinary cycling shoe is
quite unsuitable for cold weather. Something much stouter – especially in the sole – and very
close fitting should be adopted, with a pair of cloth gaiters to protect the ankles – a vulnerable
point, by the way, in connection with cold feet. To keep warm on a very cold day it is important to
be thoroughly warm before starting.”
Some hints are also given that certain sufferers from cold will do well to take note of, even if they
fall short of adopting the counsel in its entirety.
Continued: