"In the matter of the hygiene of bicycle riding there is one matter in which women have the advantage of men; for women, as a rule, take the proper position in riding, that is, an upright and natural one, while the men lean over in a most unnatural position, which results in almost permanently round shoulders." — Dr. Grace Peckham Murray
That was part of a short article Murray wrote for Demorest's Family Magazine, May, 1895, when she was 47. Her contribution said overexertion was a big danger for women, compared to men. It didn't occur to her that "proper posture" would beat a lady to death from bumps and trying to pedal.
Murray had graduated from college at 19 in 1867, gotten a medical degree from a women's medical school at 33 in 1881, and married at 45. In 1917, the widow retired at 69 so she could travel. She crossed the Atlantic 20 times and the Pacific 15. She went 3,000 miles up the Amazon. At 84, she was on another trip when she died of flu in Japan.
Here's another contribution to the same 1895 article. I'm sure a good detective could deduce the name of the arthur!
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hopes seem hardly worth having, just mount a bicycle and go for a good spin down the road, without thought of anything but the ride you are taking.
"I have myself ridden the bicycle most during my practice as a physician and during my work in letters. In the morning or the afternoon, before or after work, as the mood o’ertakes me, I mount the wheel and am off for a spin of a few miles up or down the road from my country place. I can only speak words of praise for the bicycle, for I believe that its use is commonly beneficial and not at all detrimental to health, except in the matter of beginners who overdo it.
"The bicycle craze seems to me to be only in its infancy, for probably in time we shall witness the spectacle of our business men going to their offices mounted on the bicycle, instead of using the tramways.
www.cpsc.gov
The only one remaining is a riser on my brother's Trance E+ (the frame size is M, and he is a guy built for a frame L) but that riser came from a respected German manufacturer who uses safety certification (can't remember the name).
