Zxj
THE COURIER.
ON THE WHEEL
THE WHEELMAN'S SOLILOQUY.
With apologies to Hamlet.
To ring or not to ring, that is tho ipuestion:
Whether 'tis butter to restrain tho thumb.
Or sound tho warning note upon tho bell.
And, by tho sounding, startlo to frighten,
scare
And by that fright to brim; ujhiu the mind
A iHirtion of tho thousand natural shocks
That Hesh is licir to, 'tis a consummation
DeToutly to Iks feared. To ring or stop
To stop! perchance to fall; aye, there's the
rub;
For in that stop what accidents may come,
When wo attempt to dismount from tho wheel,
Must gh o us pause. There's tho respect
That makes calamity of cj diet's life;
For who would bear the jeers and scorns of
men,
Tho oppressor's wrong, the proud man's con
tumely, For any chanco mishap that might occur,
When ho himself by turning to ono side
Might men avoid? Who would theso grumbl
ings hear,
Tho grow lings that men make when they uro
passed.
Hut tho knowledgo that the path belongs
To us as well as to another one
Whoever ho may bo strengthens tho will,
And m-kes us rather bearthoso ills wo have.
Than j ield our rights to thoe w ho would them
take?
For weak nerves do make cowards of some
men.
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er witli tho pale cast of fear;
And thoso who ought to keep uikhi their way.
And hindcrnone, their motions turn awry.
And hinder others' action. Soft you now!
The angry walker: Sir by thy good temper
Bo all my sins forgiven.
Tho i icj cling World.
The Ashland run is a memory of the
past. On Sunday morning while the
dew yet glistened on the greenBward
and before the rising sun had really
settled down lo his day's work the wheel
men and wheelwomen began to arrive at
tho rendezvous and at 8 o'clock, the hour
of starting, a column of nearly sixty
members of the Capital City Cycling
club and their friends rolled out for
Ashland; wheeling out to Thirty-third
and Vino street, where they were photo
graphed, and thence out by University
Place and llavelock. As the cyclists
were being arranged in position for the
photographer a boy in a diminutive
milk cart, drawn by a shaggy dog, was
espied coming along the road. Of course
tho boy and the cart and tho dog were
made a part of the group. Afterwards
when speeding along in the scorching
sun wo thought of that milk in the cart
with poignant regret. Captain Iloag
land, as is customary, headed tho pro
cession, and it was an imposing caval
cade. The riders were fresh and in trim
array, tho ladies in strikingly tasty cos
tumes; wheels polished, and everybody
riding well and enthusiastically. There
is a fine stretch of country beyond
llavelock running clear to "Waverly.
And the winged riders caught all the
inspiration of the scene. How green
and fresh the Holds of grass and growing
grain! How nature seemed to glow
with lifo and glorious promieo on tho
slightly undulating prairie! Never has
Nebraska looked fairer than on that
bright day of tho Ashland run. And us
wo sped along in the early part of the
day, instinct with joyous freedom, keen
to all the beauty of tho panorama before
and about us, something of a realization
of a cyclist's inestimable privileges came
to all. Waverly was reached with tho
riders in good form, and the town pnmp
immediately became the center of at
traction. A few minutes and olT we
were onco more. At Greenwood hill we
overtook Mr. and Mrs A.M. Dickey and
Mrs. Snyder walking. Only till of tho
narty succeeded in pedaling over the
hill. The Greenwood stores were in
vaded somewhat to tho detriment of the
stock of soda water, pop, cookies, etc.
From Greenwood to Ashland it began
to seem just a little like work. There
are two roads. Some took one and some
tho other. One was rough and the other
hilly. The junction was reached at
about the same time, and forty-three
dusty, perspiring cyclists finnlly register
ed at the Hotel Selma in Ashland. This
was an almost fatal mistake, putting up
at the Selma. Country hotels are com
monly divided into two classes, bad and
very bad. Tho Selma is entitled to n
class all by itself. Its wretchedness is
superlativo unprecedented. It was bad
enough when forty persons were com
pelled to perform their ablutions in
three ImiwIs, but when dinner was served
the unanimous sentiment of the party
scattered, many going out in search of
something to eat. Some 6lept, some
tinned, some wandered olT in twain, one
of either sex, and listened to the swash
of muddy Salt Creek. Hut the muddy
water didn't etrect the sentiment. Some,
I am informed, wero fortunate enough
to tind a cold bottle. What luck some
people do have! Ashland was explored
from center to circumference. At 11:150
the assembly sounded and twenty-three
started on the home run. the remainder
returning by train. Coming hack
wasn't at all like going. The south
wind blew and it was a hard pull all
tho way. Just before reaching Have
lock a stop was made at a farm house.
Tho farm house contained vast quanti
ties of milk; also a fair little country
girl. I was only permitted to take a
pat-sing glance at her, hut I saw she
hid black, sparkling eyes, raven hair
and a lily-white complexion. Some of
the boys looked at her and then thought
thoughts as tho judge did when he
gazed at Maud Midler:
A form more fair, a face more sweet
Ne'er hath it teeii my lot to meet.
And her modest answer and graceful air
Showed herwisemd good ns she is fair.
Would she were mine
Then like the judge, they
Thought of their sisters, proud and cold
Anil their mothers vain of their rank and gold
At least I presume they did, for after a
lingering look at the rural beauty they
moved on.
Closing their hearts they nil rode on
And she wnn left with the milk pan alone.
be a multi-millionaire- if he feeds all
his patrons as he fed us.
Mrs. Frank Van Horn, Mrs. A. M.
Dickey. Misst'H 15rockelme)cr, Snyder
and Morrill wero the ladies in the party.
I wonder how much the proprietor of
the hotel "put up" to Fred Yule to keep
ium from informing usof the attenuated
state of the dinner.
How many of you saw I'M Walton's
"spurt" up to tho hotel? His makeup
and pose woultl proxo a fortune to
Thomas Q. Seabrooke, could he repro
duce it.
Frank Van Horn had a falling out
with his digesting aparatus and escaped
the fate of trjing to impress himself
that he was getting a dinner out of a
very meager lunch.
Shader rode in from Ashland in two
and one half hours, lint it would have
looked better for him to have stayed
with the club.
Scorchers are not desirable adjuncts
on a run.
And that's no dream.
Dust, heat and wind.
And some sweat.
Hut a good run.
Now for Uoca.
Who's going.
Kverbody
Of course.
a REVERIE.
With apologies. It was written with tho
memories of the Ashland dinner rankling in
my stomach.
Say fellows, what do you think
Of that ranch down at Ashland town?
Ice cream? Well, no. I don't think !
And pie with a crust like tho crown
Of Walton's new fangled bike hat
Only tougher somewhat I'll allow.
And fowl that was "smothered" 'twas said
And beef that sure camo from the cow
That legend says hopped o'er the moon.
Well. "SelmaV a hoodoo for mo
And when Ashland again I attempt
The Commercial my harbor will bo.
r ----- - -m
was that
Of all sad words
Of tongue and pen
The saddest are these:
"I dead hui'gry and there's nothing toeat."
Ye gods, it was fearful; enough to
make strong men weep. Instead of a
blessing some of the bos joined hands
and sang languidly, "Listen to My Tale
of Woe." But it was a song that never
reached the landlord's heart. Some of
the things the wearj riders expected to
get were: chicken, pork and beans, roast
beef, boiled ham, vegetables, ice cream,
etc. Just what the arMcles were that
were brought on nobody present was
able to discover. I pocketed several of
the specimens and will have them ana
lyzed at the university.
The menu promised right well
But proved a delusion and snare.
Onlythoe who ordered the whole
Succeeded in getting a share.
and they were to be pitied. But that
Selma dinner is a painful subject, and I
gladly pass on. After dinner the party
THE rm'X r VV,TriAM, (MASS.)
Only Julius Koediger declared he
could not pedal another step. But this
was only a subterfuge. Captain Hoag
land frustrated it by attaching a stout
cord to his wheel and hauling him the
rest of the way home. We arrived in
Lincoln at G:lo, safe and sound, but as
id. I towe said, "some tired " It was
my first long run for many a day and
on the home trip I grew weary at Green
wood, fatigued at Waverly, nearly
"dead"' at llavelock and quite so at 27th
and R. But I managed to roll up in
front of the club rooms not more than
.'50 seconds behind the others, and
didn't need a rope.
The people who rode home in the
train did not have any the best of Julius
Roediger. The way he abused Frank
Hoagland'sgenerosity nearly caused the
"death" of the other riders from fatigue
by laughter.
And Frank ought to have known
better.
The landlord of the Selma ought to
Since the last issue of Tub Couuikh,
I have looked very seriously into the
proposed six day, or rather six nights
race under electric light at the track at
Lincoln Park. I cannot see wherein
it would not prove a big winner, and I
believe it would prove the medium of
placing a large surplus in the club
treasury. A committee should at onco
be appointed by the Hub at next
Tuesday's meeting "with jxiwer to act"
to at once obtain the requisite sanction,
make all necessary arrangements and
announce tho date; as I said last week,
it is a good scheme, and The Coukiek
can be depended ujKin to hangup one
of the prizes.
Pleasure-Cycling is the title of a neat
little ICmo volume in illuminated cloth
cover which has reached my desk. The
book is an interesting one and is full of
useful information and instruction for
those in their first season on the wheel
and is peculiarly adapted to promote a
sport which the writer. Henry Clyde,
proves by every line he writes, to be.
I
"Money Saved is Money Earned."
"The Best is always the Cheapest."
I
8
JL
TRUTH
PROCLAIMED.
These two Proverbs do not conflict but are synonymous.
They are condensed statements; meaning that the world's
experience is that money is not saved by buying low priced
goods.
Bicycling is in its infancy but has given ub two phrases
equally true and equally synonymous with the above. They
are:
I "Get tlae Best." I
"Get tlxe Rcuxitoler"!
Best Clincher Tire
Made.
Strongest Frame.
C. A. WIEICK, Agent. 1217 0 STUEET.
Ricle a
It is the
Swiftest,
Lightest,
Easiest running.
Most Beaotiful.
Alimuinum finish.
Strongest in the world.
Built of the best of steel.
II. E. SIDLES SELLS THEM.
112 N Thirteenth St. LINCOLN.
E. R. GUTHRIE, AGT., 1540 0 ST.
Kaf- .Nt4sr-
