The Bearings, Vol 12, No 17
Articles in this issue
- p. 1
The Bearings reveals that A.G. Spalding has been quietly maneuvering to strip the L.A.W. of its control over racing, using League official I.B. Potter as a proxy to introduce a resolution at the Baltimore National Assembly transferring racing authority to the National Cycle Board of Trade.
- p. 1
As part of his broader plan, Spalding has bought over 900 acres between Blue Island and Harvey, south of Chicago, where he intends to build a new Spalding bicycle factory and what he claims will be the world's finest half-mile cement racing track.
- p. 1
World champion A.A. Zimmerman receives a hero's welcome in Australia with crowds of 3,000 at Melbourne station and a civic reception from the mayor, though he loses a five-mile scratch race to the country's champion Parsons at the Adelaide Oval carnival.
- Century Road Club of America Updates
President Skinkle announces plans for the Century Road Club to be more active in 1896, with each state offering medals for mileage or centuries and a mail ballot to confirm his continued leadership of the organization.
- p. 2
Sixty to seventy cycling clubs from Philadelphia and neighboring cities join a grand illuminated bicycle parade organized by the Penn Wheelmen, surpassing all previous local parades with Indian costumes, floats, and two rows of bicycle police at the lead.
- p. 2
Despite Spalding's machinations, insiders at the Philadelphia meeting report that the League of American Wheelmen has no intention of surrendering its authority over amateur racing and will actively resist attempts to transfer that power to the trade.
- p. 2
Philadelphia wheelmen are engaged in a sustained campaign against the Pennsylvania Railroad's restrictions on bicycle carriage, seeking legislative relief and public pressure to force more cyclist-friendly policies from the line.