Bike thieves, fire-flies, Chinese lanterns, and city flints

First, a pair of cheerful items from the free New York Times archive
for 1907.

Stolen bikes recovered, thieves sent to jail, justice triumphant!

"Five hundred unclaimed bicycles which have been accumulating in the
hands of the Los Angeles police were sold at auction last week and the
money thus raised was turned into the sick benefit fund. The affair
brought out the fact that during the year 4,000 bicycles were stolen
in the city and more than half of them were recovered and returned to
their owners, while half a dozen of the bicycle thieves who were
captured were sent to the penitentiary."

***

Crafty bicylist outwits justice!

"A dispatch from Riverside, N.J., says that a local wheelman was
caught out late without a bicycle lamp recently, and not wishing to
incur a fine for his negligence, found a half-pint whisky flask,
captured and put in it a dozen fire-flies, and with the outfit tied to
his handle bar rode bravely into town. The town police agreed that the
wheel was 'all lit up' and let the rider pass."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...9C94 6697D6CF

***

Next, lest the fire-fly light versus the law seem unbelievable, a
reminder of the endless prosecutions of early riders (there were no
cars to ticket, so bikes were prime targets). This is near the end of
the regular "Gossip of the Cyclers" on April 18, 1897:

"A new ordinance regulating the use of bicycles has gone into effect
in Brooklyn. It is practically the same as that which Park
Commissioner Dettmer issued in March, and provides that a lamp showing
a white light ahead shall be carried after dark and kept continually
lighted while the wheel is in use. Chinese lanterns, which some riders
have employed when caught out without their regular bicycle lanterns,
are prohibited. The police have been instructed to enforce the
provisions of the ordinance to the letter."

Just above that stern warning against Chinese lanterns is a
heart-warming comment about flints causing flat tires in the heart of
New York City's masonry canyons:

"A rider who has experienced the inconveniences of punctured tires
gives this bit of adivce: 'A sharp lookout should be kept while
passing buildings that are either in process of construction or being
demolished. The wagons in which material is taken to or hauled away
from these buildings never rumble off without jolting some of their
contents out on the street. Chips of brick or stone, sharp-pointed
flints, or hardened mortar are all liable to puncture any tire which
comes in contact with them."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...9C94 669ED7CF

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 21:26:11 -0600, wrote:

First, a pair of cheerful items from the free New York Times archive
for 1907.

Stolen bikes recovered, thieves sent to jail, justice triumphant!

"Five hundred unclaimed bicycles which have been accumulating in the
hands of the Los Angeles police were sold at auction last week and the
money thus raised was turned into the sick benefit fund. The affair
brought out the fact that during the year 4,000 bicycles were stolen
in the city and more than half of them were recovered and returned to
their owners, while half a dozen of the bicycle thieves who were
captured were sent to the penitentiary."

***

Crafty bicylist outwits justice!

"A dispatch from Riverside, N.J., says that a local wheelman was
caught out late without a bicycle lamp recently, and not wishing to
incur a fine for his negligence, found a half-pint whisky flask,
captured and put in it a dozen fire-flies, and with the outfit tied to
his handle bar rode bravely into town. The town police agreed that the
wheel was 'all lit up' and let the rider pass."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...9C94 6697D6CF

***

Next, lest the fire-fly light versus the law seem unbelievable, a
reminder of the endless prosecutions of early riders (there were no
cars to ticket, so bikes were prime targets). This is near the end of
the regular "Gossip of the Cyclers" on April 18, 1897:

"A new ordinance regulating the use of bicycles has gone into effect
in Brooklyn. It is practically the same as that which Park
Commissioner Dettmer issued in March, and provides that a lamp showing
a white light ahead shall be carried after dark and kept continually
lighted while the wheel is in use. Chinese lanterns, which some riders
have employed when caught out without their regular bicycle lanterns,
are prohibited. The police have been instructed to enforce the
provisions of the ordinance to the letter."

Just above that stern warning against Chinese lanterns is a
heart-warming comment about flints causing flat tires in the heart of
New York City's masonry canyons:

"A rider who has experienced the inconveniences of punctured tires
gives this bit of adivce: 'A sharp lookout should be kept while
passing buildings that are either in process of construction or being
demolished. The wagons in which material is taken to or hauled away
from these buildings never rumble off without jolting some of their
contents out on the street. Chips of brick or stone, sharp-pointed
flints, or hardened mortar are all liable to puncture any tire which
comes in contact with them."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...9C94 669ED7CF

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Here's An even more delightful example of the legislative mind at work
and literally dark consipracies, from the free New York Times archive
for 1898. be sure not to lower your head before the very end of the
article, or you won't see what's coming:

"Drop Bars Forbidden"

"A bit of odd police legislation has aroused Washington, D.C.,
wheelmen to a high pitch of resentment. After due publication the
order was put into effect last week, and since then wheelmen have been
watching for a judicial decision on the case with great expectancy.
The regulation is as follows:

"Inasmuch as safety in passing with rapidly moving vehicles requires
that the riders or drivers approaching each other shall be able to
judge of the probable movement of the approaching behicle, no cycle
shall be ridden on the streets within the city limits with the lower
end of the handle bars on a plane lower than four inches below the top
of the saddle at its centre, and the rider shall at all times keep his
head in such a position as to command a view ahead of not less than
300 feet."

"The local papers are boiling with indignation at the regulation, and
trade men have furnished many interviews in which they demonstrated to
their satisfaction that the measure was deleterious. One physician
even says it is not hygenic. Of course the measure puts a premium on
upturned handle bars, but Washington cyclers are renowned for their
preference for that style. The local division of the League of
American Wheelmen has not protested against the restriction, and some
of the Capital wheelmen assert that the leaguers exchanged the
consideration requiring all vehicles to carry lights after dark for
the handle bar legislation."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...9C94 699ED7CF

Cheers,

Carl Fogel