nt attention during the ride, so
much so, indeed, that he will do better not to ride with girls at all.

To begin with, then, let us take the ordinary upright position, such a
position as will correspond to the upright position assumed by any one
who is walking, by a good horseman in the saddle, by a cross-country
runner in his run. There are rules for all these, and they are
relatively the same. You want to give yourself plenty of room to breathe
in. The chest ought to be well out, therefore, the shoulders thrown
back, and the head up, so that you will not be crowding all the veins
that send blood into your head by letting your neck sink into your
shoulders. This is the same in horseback riding, running, walking, and
rowing. You can assume this position while sitting and reading this
article by following this simple rule: Sit squarely on the chair. Then
fix your mind on an imaginary spot in your chest bone or "sternum," just
half-way between your pectorals and on a line with them. Then try to
"lift" this point up as high as you can. Your abdomen will naturally be
contracted, or will "go in," as you say. The small of your back will
curve in, and the back of your neck at the base of the brain will press
backwards, while your chin is brought in close to your neck in front, at
the same time the shoulders are pressed back. When this position is
exaggerated, it looks somewhat pompous and idiotic, but it is the
correct position for the trunk of the body, and when it becomes natural
it looks natural.

This is the position you should assume when you are in the saddle of a
bicycle. Of course no one, man or boy, can keep up in this position all
the time, but you should keep as near it as you comfortably can. Comfort
is really the basis of all such positions, and while, to a certain
extent, comfort is the result of habit, still a more upright position is
more natural to one than to another rider.

[Illustration: CORRECT ROAD POSITION.]

[Illustration: INCORRECT ROAD POSITION.]

This upright seat is dependent on itself. That is to say, you should get
in the habit of taking it so easily that, supposing you could ride with
handles, you would sit thus nevertheless. In other words, you should not
depend on your hands and the grip they have on the handles for support
at all. The hands and arms are not needed as you sit in a chair, nor as
you walk, nor as you ride a horse, except as guides in one case to guide
the horse, in the othe