History
The Origins of the Clarion Cycling Club and cycling in the 1890s
57. More on accidents and how to avoid them
Continuing Swiftsure's advice on safe cycling from his "Cycling Notes" of 4 May 1895
Cyclists cannot be too frequently reminded of the necessity for occasionally looking to their handle-bars and saddle-pins. They have a peculiar habit of proving they are not properly tightened at the most awkward moments.
It was on the return journey from Ashbourne that the editor of "The Scout" came what might have been an ugly smash through his saddle twisting.
We were coming down hill at the time, at a pace somewhere about eighteen miles an hour, when it happened. Luckily neither Mr Ranstead nor his machine were any the worse for the fall.
Again, it was only the other Saturday that a nasty accident occurred on the club run of the Manchester Clarion C. C., through the rider's handle bars turing loose. The rider was our comrade Reckie. Those who were at the Ashbourne "Smoker" will possibly remember "Auld Reekie" as the "Bounder" called him, itherwise "Sandy MacSprint" the writer of that smart cycling column, in that still more smart little local halfpenny weekly yclept The Dawn.
The occasion arose through Reckie and Mr Sutcliffe's two sons, mounted on a tandem, going ahead for a dust-up. Whilst going at top speed Reckie attempted to turn out the way of a loose patch of stones, when his handlebars turned in his hands, the result was a cruel crash, and Reckie arose with every button torn from his coat and much skin from his hands and face. However, although much shaken, he was able to ride home, his machine being very little damaged.
The moral of these two accidents is therefore pointed by what I said at the beginning of this par. Don't forget to often test with your spanner the nuts of your handlebars and saddle pin clips.
Next time. Manchester CCC's Knutsford ride and Swiftsure on cyclists and pedestrians (Very topical again!)