The Bearings, Vol 7, No 21
Articles in this issue
- Boston correspondent reports on the call for a special L.A.W. National Assembly meeting, printing the full text of the petition from Connecticut and Massachusetts delegates requesting Col. Burdette convene the assembly in Chicago or Cleveland to investigate League finances, the Good Roads bureau, and the powers of the executive and finance committee.
- Boston correspondent covers race postponements due to heavy rain—Waltham card delayed a week, West Lynn Rovers meet put off two weeks—and reports on riders Windle and Tyler visiting from Springfield and improving conditions at the Waltham track where Cary and George F. Taylor are training.
- Special London dispatches announce Walter Sanger's victory in the one-mile English championship and his subsequent breaking of the English quarter-mile (27 3-5 sec), three-quarter-mile, and one-mile records (mile in 2:10 1-5) on Palmer tires; South Africa's Meintjes also broke the English two-mile record at 4:37 and will compete at Chicago in August.
- Special London correspondence reports J.W. Schofield has been suspended by the N.C.U.—not merely refused a license—and, thoroughly disgusted, will sail for America on the Germanic with Sanger and Culver on June 21, intending to race in the cash prize league.
- The Chicago ball park track is improving under Messrs. Dolese & Shepard with N.H. Van Sicklen in full charge; an impromptu one-mile handicap was held, won by T.J. Byrnes in 2:31 4-5, with Barrett and Githens riding from scratch.
- About 3,500 spectators watched the Lakeside Cycling Club's second annual tournament at Athletic Park with twelve events; E.C. Bald of Buffalo won the quarter-mile open in 35 2-5, L.C. Johnson won the half-mile open in 1:19, and C.M. Murphy (N.Y.A.C.) won the three-mile lap race with eighteen points.
- The Alpha Wheel Club's second annual ten-mile handicap road race drew 8,000 spectators on the East Avenue course; Frank L. Smith of East Norwalk won on a 3:30 handicap, while scratch men C. Ford Seeley and J.B. Perry provided the chief excitement, with Perry winning the gold time-medal in 29:06 by a length.
- A letter from Charles A. Hackney, Chief Consul of Colorado's L.A.W. division, corrects a report that Colorado was ready to second the call for a special National Assembly, stating the division sees no justification for the meeting on the grounds of the Good Roads bureau.
- New York correspondent defends L.A.W. editor I.B. Potter—who worked without pay before his $6,000 salary—while criticizing the executive committee under Burdette and Brown for retaining advertising agent King, who is paid 25% on all ads, works for rival publications, and has even sold an interest in his L.A.W. contract to another agent.
- Syracuse racing notes: Harry Wheeler announces he will turn professional after the Kings County meet on July 1; W.F. Murphy has applied for an N.C.A. license as a precaution against suspension; J.S. Johnson plans to remain amateur to keep his amateur skating championship; and Zimmerman's 'Dark Secret' appears in bloomers with a skull-and-crossbones sweater.
- Two-day race meet in Birmingham between the Birmingham Cycle Club and Gulf City Cycle Club of Mobile: Mark Hickman won the two-mile state championship and five-mile open on day one; L.S. Dunlap won the one-mile state championship on day two in 2:49; and Guyol, Yates, and Wilson capped the meet with an exhibition mile on a triplet in 1:12 1-5.
- A Vevay, Indiana correspondent reports Capt. John Howard of Carroll County, Kentucky is being sued for $5,000 after an untamed horse bolted and threw Mrs. Harris from a buggy when the cyclist rode past; Chicago attorney Grant Newell's published opinion holds the wheelman entirely blameless, as he was riding lawfully on his own side of the road.
- An English lady tricyclist describes a recent women's bicycle race at Nice on the Riviera where four competitors in varied masculine dress competed—the winner rode her husband's machine in men's attire, lapped the field, and eased off at the end; reprinted from Cycling.
- Editorial condemning rider Tom Roe for abandoning the Union bicycle he was under contract to ride during a New York-to-San Francisco record attempt—which The Bearings helped sponsor—and publicly damning the Union at every opportunity; his salary and expenses are declared forfeit.
- Editorial criticizing the N.C.U.'s practice of granting licenses conditional on a rider changing his bicycle make, arguing it is absurd—two rival employees could simply swap machines to satisfy the condition—and that the N.C.U. should either class a man as professional immediately or not at all.
- Editorial supporting the forthcoming special L.A.W. National Assembly, urging it be held at a location with full representation and conducted without malice, to determine the facts about the League's finances and the Good Roads bureau management.
- Editorial column covering: the International Race Meet press committee censured for rightly criticizing the poor $8,000 ball park track, prompting a large work crew to remedy matters; prize irregularities at Syracuse where H.C. Wheeler, winner of the half-mile open, was denied his promised Sterling bicycle; Palmer Tire Porter's excitement over Sanger winning on Palmer tires; and L.A.W. Racing Board member M.J. Erwin's investigation of which machines prominent riders are using.
- Editorial arguing that the National Cycling Association's survival depends entirely on attracting the fastest amateur riders—Johnson, Windle, Smith—to race for cash prizes, since the public cares only for the best racing, whether amateur or professional.
- After months of dispute, Raleigh Company director Mr. Woodhead agreed to honor a Raleigh bicycle promised by company traveler Harry Hall (who had no authority to pledge it) as a prize at the Chicago C.C. meet at Washington Park last fall, writing a redemption order to winner George C. Smith of New York.
- About 2,500 spectators watched the Albany County Wheelmen meet where J.S. Johnson declined to enter due to dissatisfaction with the track; A.B. Rich of New York won the five-mile state championship in 13:59 1-5; W.W. Windle won the half-mile dash but was so exhausted he had to be carried from the track.
- George Hilsendegen of Detroit announces the second annual Hilsendegen 25-mile handicap road race on the Belle Isle course on July 22, open to the world with $5,000 in prizes including a piano, horse and buggy, and two lots.
- Keyes won the Buker prize in the Rockford Cycling Club's seven-mile road race in 30:39, with eleven starters on heavy roads; Camlin retains the time medal on his standing record of 24:44.
- Profile of L.S. Meintjes, South African cycling champion—six feet tall, 163 pounds in trim, racing only two years—who won nineteen firsts in thirty-four races last season including the South African championship, broke the English two-mile record at 4:37 while training at Herne Hill, and will represent the African Union at the Chicago international races in August.
- Paris correspondent reports Zimmerman found the wooden Herne Hill track's vibration caused saddle-soreness; covers the Bordeaux-Paris race aftermath with plans to reroute the 1894 race and rope off the Bois de Boulogne finish; Dubois' $1,000-a-side challenge to the winners; and Clement's $400,000 purchase of the Velodrome de la Seine to build a 500-meter wooden track opening July 14 and a bicycle factory alongside.
- Official directory of the Century Road Club listing President W.A. Skinkle of Cleveland, officers, committee chairmen including Grant Newell for legislation and R.D. Garden for road records, and state centurions from Alabama to Wisconsin plus Canadian and European representatives, with new centurion appointments for Alabama and Utah.
- Three road-weary cyclists—E. Whitehead and George Walter on Union safeties and Otto Praeger on a 'Crypto' ordinary geared to sixty inches—arrived in Hillsboro, Texas en route from San Antonio to the World's Fair, battling high winds, heavy roads, and daily showers.
- Profile of Miss Beatrice Grimshaw (pen name 'Graphis'), sub-editor of the Irish Cyclist, described as 23 years old, covering 4,000–5,000 miles a year on a New Howe, a prolific contributor to English cycling papers, and a firm believer that women cyclists need not adopt masculine or prize-seeking dress.
- Profile of C.B. Merriam, believed to be the first American to race against English cyclists: he crossed to Glasgow in 1870, descended the perilous Briscoe Hill on a velocipede, won sixteen of twenty-one quarter-mile races in England, beat a trotting horse over nine and a half miles, and recently bought a bicycle again after fourteen years away from the sport.
- The Denver Cyclists' Union board forced president George E. Hannan to resign for his conduct in the Renshaw protest and fake replevin papers affair; O. Ed Boles of the Denver Athletic Club was elected to replace him; and the Colorado signal corps voted unanimously to attend the August Chicago meet and has begun daily drill.
- Louisville correspondent reports Kentucky riders gained 14 minutes on the relay from New Albany, Indiana to Frankfort, Kentucky; a business men's run to Jacob's Park drew 236 wheels with 112 gallons of lemonade; and Prince Wells' upcoming road and track races are anticipated for next Saturday.
- Washington, D.C. correspondent reports W. Harry Ward of the Washington Road Club set a new 24-hour bicycle record of 200.5 miles, riding from Baltimore to Washington and Great Falls and back in 88-degree heat with fifteen pacemakers, breaking Hawey's record of 186 miles.
- Brief profile of J.A. Drain of Spokane Falls, Washington, who won the ten-mile road race on Decoration Day in impressive style and is a prominent candidate for state championship honors.
- The Rockford Cycling Club's July 4 meet will feature twelve events, a prize list over $1,500 including a Lyndhurst Racer, a saddle horse with saddle and bridle, gold watches, and a full-dress suit, plus a parade, afternoon races, and an evening reception for visiting wheelmen.
- Technical breakdown showing how a typical 29-pound bicycle distributes its weight: frame and drive parts 11 lbs, wheels with road tires 13 lbs (the tires alone weighing roughly half as much as the frame), pedals 1.5 lbs, saddle 1.5 lbs, and chain 2 lbs.
- At the annual field day of the De La Salle Institute Athletic Club on June 19 at the South Side ball grounds, Joseph M. Cudahy won the half-mile novice for juniors in 1:27, with E.J. Cudahy second and G.R. Doyle third.
- Full two-day report on the New York state division L.A.W. meet at Kirkwood Park under the Century Cycling Club: Johnson won the mile handicap from scratch and the mile open after desperate finishes paced brilliantly by Tuttle; W.F. Murphy won the 25-mile state championship in 1:18:41, breaking the American track record; and H.C. Wheeler, winner of the half-mile open, was denied his promised Sterling bicycle, which had been quietly reassigned to a local race.
- At the Remington Cycle Club meet in Ilion, N.Y. before 2,000 spectators, John S. Johnson defeated W.W. Windle by inches in a thrilling open half-mile final; Windle was also beaten in the mile by C.M. Murphy and Berlo and fainted after the race; Johnson then broke the New York state half-mile flying start record at 1:06 1-5, paced by Tuttle and Munger.
- Profile of C.H. Larrette, London cycling correspondent for the Athletic News, Sporting Chronicle, and Sunday Chronicle, who writes independently of trade influence in his fiftieth year—a fearless, trenchant stylist known as 'The Old 'Un,' who rides and writes with his left hand alone due to a hay-chopper accident in early life.
- Detailed account of the Illinois division L.A.W. relay rides managed by Vice-Consul Billingsley from Springfield on June 14 to Madison, Wisconsin (arriving 7 minutes ahead of schedule after 26 hours 52 minutes over 300+ miles), Frankfort, Kentucky, and Indianapolis, Indiana, with riders battling flooded roads, punctures, darkness, and extreme heat.
- With the Buffalo cracks at Syracuse and Cleveland, J.W. Linneman of Buffalo dominated at Fredonia, winning the twenty-mile road race from scratch and capturing the time prize at 59:01, while F.C. Fuhrman took the two-mile handicap and the track events were shared among local and Erie riders.
- The cycling department of the Achatan Club of South Chicago is planning its first annual eight-mile handicap road race on July 22 over the old South Chicago road race course, with a $2 entry fee, about twenty prizes, and entries open at four club locations until July 1.
- B. Bird won the ten-mile championship of the St. Paul Cycle Club at the Kittsondale track in a potential American record of 28:58, though a suspected shortage of 30–60 feet per mile on the track may prevent official recognition; William J. Martin finished a close second at 28:58 1-5.
- The Lake View Cycling Club's five-mile handicap road race was won by J.W. Schieferstein; C.A. Wescott from scratch made the best time at 14:13, breaking the previous Lake View competition record of 14:35 on the newly surveyed Sheffield Avenue-to-Gault Street course.
- L.A.W. Chief Consul Harris of Alabama visited The Bearings' office and reports cycling is booming in Birmingham with year-round riding on 200 miles of fine macadam roads, and that local wheelmen are working to establish a bicycle track.
- The Missouri division L.A.W. annual meet at Sedalia on July 4 will feature twelve events including one-mile open ($227), five-mile handicap ($220), and championship medals, with a gold medal for anyone breaking the state record of 2:44; entries for handicap and class races close June 27.
- London correspondent C.W. Hartung covers: Schofield's N.C.U. suspension worsened by his father's ill-advised circular claiming racing costs only $200 a season; the controversy over conditional licenses imposed on G.P. Mills, Shorland, Lacaille, and Zimmerman requiring them to change bicycle makes; J. Reilly breaking the 50-mile record in 2:15:36 2-5; G.P. Mills riding from Land's End to John O'Groats in 3 days 16 hours 47 minutes by tricycle; and Zimmerman's fall at Balls Bridge, Dublin, where he lost three front teeth.
- Editorial arguing that the Warwick price cut on bicycles has not materially disrupted trade, that fair price drops of $15–$25 on high-grade machines next season are the most the market can sustain, and that dealers who have run conservative businesses need not fear.
- Trade editorial by 'Bolay' attributing an unnamed eastern cycle manufacturer's drastic price reduction to internal mismanagement, officer bickering, and an off-color product line, arguing the firm is too small to unsettle the broader market as Pope, Overman, or Gormully & Jeffery could.
- Interview with W. Grayson of the St. Louis Refrigerator & Wooden Gutter Co., whose aluminum bicycle frame survived recent public stress tests; he reports the alloy can be nickeled and enameled but not forged or drawn, will not rust or tarnish, and the company plans to sell frames, forks, and seat posts to the trade without patenting the composition.
- Cycle exhibitors at the World's Columbian Exposition, with R. Philip Gormully as temporary chairman and representatives from Pope, Raleigh, Overman, Gormully & Jeffery, and others, resolved to improve signage to the gallery exhibits in the Transportation Building, have elevators stop at the gallery, and ensure the bicycle awards committee consists of practical mechanics.
- London trade correspondent 'Will o' the Wisp' describes the new Granville Cycle Company safety—rigid and under 35 pounds with full roadster Dunlaps—as ideal for American roads, and warns that pneumatic tires made with canvas laid on the bias are already failing widely as threads saw through at the midpoint between tread and rim.
- The Hartford Cycle Company, in a circular from Treasurer David J. Post, announced they will not reduce catalogue prices in response to Warwick's cuts and authorize dealers to guarantee this to customers through 1893; The Bearings endorses the decision as the approach of all sound and conservative concerns.
- Chicago dealer Ralph Temple reports repair business is excellent but retail is crowded with too many uncommitted 'butterfly agents'; he is shipping solid-tire wheels to Mexico, running a strong jobbing trade on his Halladay-Temple Scorcher and Royal Limited machines, and predicts his new American Centaur will hold firm at $185.
- Buffalo trade correspondent reports strong local business driven by 150 miles of asphalt streets; the Buffalo Wheel Company is working on 1894 patterns including the ladies' Maid of the Mist at under 30 pounds; and dealers Burnside and Dorntge are attracting buyers by offering a $35 gold watch as a premium with every bicycle sold.
- Regular department listing five stolen bicycles with rewards offered: a Victor Model C from Ann Arbor, Michigan ($75 reward); a Rochester Scorcher from Corning, N.Y.; an Arrow from the Temple Building, Chicago; a Columbia Model 30 from Pope Mfg. Co. ($50 reward); and a Humber from Wabash Avenue, Chicago.
- The Dean & Rogers Cycle Company of Taunton, Massachusetts followed Warwick by reducing the price of their D. & R. Special Light Roadster from $150 to $85.
- The Racine Hardware Manufacturing Company, general western agents for the Marble Cycle Manufacturing Company, assigned with liabilities of about $600,000; the Marble Company says it expects to lose nothing from the failure.