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Show I Bicyclist Turns Somersault I There li a young American ovsr In London whose hair railing feats with a bicycle on Iho muile hall stage tnaka tha hcl polio I gasp In amaioment He is away ahead of anything In hli line that the Londoner! hare in, and he la doing one stunt that la cleverer than anything he erer did on this aide of the water that It, to turn a somer-aault somer-aault with hli wheel In motion, carrying carry-ing the machine with him and landing without losing a stroke with tho pedal. ped-al. Dud Snyder Is tha cyclist's name, and he la now performing at the Ixmdon Pavilion. His tricks hare csught the town. Small boys are smashing them, elvea np In the highways trying to lm-JUte lm-JUte Snyder, and It would nut be surprising sur-prising If some new Ernest Terah Jlooley In the medical line wars to Wure a corner on splint, bandages, and lotions In anticipation of what Is almost certain to happen to the younger young-er generation of British lions as a re- or Jumping. To begin wit, progress seemed a bit slow, but onco jr, un. der way the new feata did nottAks I0 long to learn. For Instance, ) took me nine months to learn to mak m. machine hop aldewnys up a d(.n stairs and drop ten feet sheer on t, other side. I got my logs and anklet cut several times, too, and had to take special oxerclses In order to strengthen strength-en my bonee to stand the shocks; "Curiously enough, although I am tho originator of somersaults on safeties, safe-ties, It only took me twelve weeks to learn. At the time ererybody thought I was mad; for the chances of breaking break-ing one'a neck are quite surprising. II erer I touch the table with my bead that Is bound to be tha result! "Though you might not think It, dtv-Ing dtv-Ing off my mount In motion Into s tank la one of the riskiest things I do Indeed a friend of mine named Ferrell got killed In attempting It" Bud Snyder can do so many wonder- ,21 AN AMAZINO FEAT WHICH HAB ASTONISHED LONDON. jflfo-ultiof'tho ferer of 'excitement Into - ,""" which Snyder has thrown them. i Snyder la not only the originator of the somersault trick, but a Is llkewlso the only performer who can clear a distance of twenty-two feet through the air with his wheel. Ills control of the bicycle Is remarkable, for In the most complicate.! maneuvers hi nerer loses his seat, grip or footing. I'e Is a fair, thickset, athletic-looking young man of 25. Like most Americana Ameri-cana who hame made a hit orer there, ha likes London Immensely. Asked how ho came to engage In trick riding rid-ing professionally, be said: "Well, you see, I was always very fond of my wheel preferred It, In fact, to anything In tho world; and I soon learned to do such out-of-the-woy Irlcka with It that I took to profession-rJ profession-rJ trick riding for tho sheer lore of jthe thing. That was In 1899, and nor-r nor-r sine havo I had occasion to regret the step." "Don't you bare to practice) much?" "Well, I nerer do less than half an hour a morning. For one thing, you ee, I am constantly Improving myself and new tricks aro not learned In a day, especially mine, for I am called the break-neck cyclist, you know," "Do you hare to observe any apodal rules In your mode of life!" "Naturally I have to keep In perfect form always and cannot smoke or drink. If I did I shouldn't bo up to my work at all lose all my nerve, In fact Aa It Is, however, by eating the plainest and lightest of food five or six hours before working, and always going to bed early and rising In good time, I never feel the least little bit nervous. As a matter of fact, I regard re-gard that as the secret of my success." "What about your mounts?" "They're partly of my own doslgns, being built especially strong; but even so I have had machines smash under me by the dosen; but so long aa I don't break, It's all right. You see, my tricks are mostly very sensational ones, and what adds to my difficulties Is the fact that I often have to perform on very mall stages from a cyclist's point of view. At Birmingham I often heard members of the audience betting ton to one that I wouldn't do my ten-foot drop Of course, I was mighty sorry to disappoint dis-appoint them, you know, but I couldn't help doing It all the same; could IT" "Have you ever had any accidental" Tea; for Instance, at Nottlng Hill my stairs smashed under me, but I always al-ways manage to come out on top omehow. The worst I ever had, howeverfor how-everfor swollen shins count for nothingwas noth-ingwas when I was beginning to get Into the somersault trick, for I fell on my head and got my neck twisted. It was like this for three day" II let his head fall on one side till It touched his right shoulder. "How long docs It take you to learn tricks?" "It nil deponds. I was the first to Introduce one-wheel riding with a safety, safe-ty, while nobody before my time dreamed of climbing tables with a cycle ful thlnn's'tSat'hS'doea noi require to do one trick at a time. For Instance, ono of bis feata perhaps the most marvolous consists In starting from one end of tho stage. Jumping his machine ma-chine on to an ordinary table, riding down some steps at the other end, doing do-ing a clean somersault ovor another table, landing on the other side, still riding bis bicycle, and up a spring board, from which be dives off his machine ma-chine while It la In motion, plunging Into a tank of water ahead. |
