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Bicycle Etiquette

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Cycling having taken such a mighty grasp upon the land, it has
naturally followed that an etiquette of cycling should be established,
and that it should be well established and rigidly regarded by
society.

There are the details of meeting, mounting, right of way and various
other points which are carefully observed and give the desired air of
fashionable righteousness, without which, for many people, the
pleasure of meeting in a social way on one's wheel would be but
legendary.

It is distinctly understood in the first place that "cycling" is the
correct word; the up-to-date woman dares not speak of bicycling nor of
wheeling.

A Cycler's Guide.

If in town, the early hours of the morning are chosen for a ride
through the park. This is on the same principle that it is considered
good form for a young woman to drive only in the morning, that is,
when she herself is the whip. In the country the rules, both as
regards cycling and driving, are not as rigid. The maiden, however,
who is a stickler for form, does all her cycling in the hours which
come before noon--unless there be a special meet, a bicycle tea, for
instance, or a spin by moonlight.

Neither is it correct for a young woman to ride unaccompanied. In the
matter of chaperons we are becoming almost as rigid as the French, who
scarcely allow a young girl to cross the street, to say nothing of
shopping or calling, without being accompanied by an elder woman, her
mother, relative, or a friend, as a chaperon.

During the past few years there has been a tendency in America toward
a closer imitation of all French etiquette which has brought in its
train a strict construction of the duties of a chaperon.

Maids Do Duty.

The unmarried woman who cycles must be chaperoned by a married
lady--as every one rides nowadays, this is an affair easily managed.
Neither must the married woman ride alone; failing a male escort, she
is followed by a groom or a maid.

A woman is very fortunate if among her men or women servants, one
knows how to ride a bicycle. Ladies occasionally go to the expense of
having a servant trained in the art.

A Man's Duty.

If one possesses such a commodity as a brother or a husband, he can
always be made useful on a cycling excursion. Never is a man better
able to show for what purpose he was made than upon such occasions.

The man's duty to the woman who rides might be made t