CYCLING FOR PLEASURE

Evening Star, Issue 22449, 21 September 1936, Page 9

CYCLING FOR PLEASURE

DUNEDIN'S THRIVING HOBBY MORE MACHINES ON ROADS Some adopt the bicycle as a pleasant form of exercise that acts as an invigorating tonic after a leisurely excursion into the many leafy retreats which skirt Dunedin, Others regard it as an easy way to • pedal off ’ a few pounds. Or the cycle may be treated as a purely financial proposition to be riden to work and during business hours. 'But the majority of Dunedin people ride because cycling is fun. At least, that is the reason ascribed to the abnormal number of new machines on the road. The popularity of “ pedalling a velocipede ” has its genesis (like many other things) in the depression. With many people tram fares were an important item in the family budget. So they invested in a new or second-hand bicycle. Like walking, riding a “ bike ” becomes a habit. And with many that habit has clung, to be varied during leisure hours by trips beyond the city. Given a good road surface, the cyclist can make comparatively fast progress in this age of speed. In the gay ’nineties a type of machine existed unkindly dubbed “the boneshaker.” But the type of road it used was more at fault than the machine. Indeed, until comparatively recent times dealers blamed poor roads for their poorer sales. Modern bitumen paving that smoothly stretches to the many seaside resorts and pastoral spots that dot the vicinity of this city provides a reason for the brisker business. True, hills are a barrier to the more elderly of Dunedin’s cycling population, who mostly confine their activities to the flat. The more youthful and energetic, however, philosophically bold that experiences such as an occasional puncture and pushing their mounts up a hill are half the_ fim of cycling. In any case, variety is the spice of riding a cycle. Last year factories in the United States turned out 750,000 machines, nearly equalling the peak production of the ’nineties. In 1933, a survey showed bicycles fourth on the list of things children wanted for Christmas. More British than American cycles are sold in Dunedin. A tariff on American cycles makes their cost prohibitive to most, the durability and comfort of the British product being a factor that places it first in the estimation of its purchaser.