The Bearings, Vol 8, No 10
Articles in this issue
- New York correspondent reports that P.J. Powers may withdraw from the National Cycling Association as cash-prize racing fails to attract capital; Sanger is defended for refusing to ride on Brooklyn's dangerous Eastern Park track, and Wheeler awaits an impasse match with English professional Schofield.
- At Waltham, H.C. Tyler breaks the third-mile record to :38 1-5 and W.W. Windle wins the mile invitation in 2:15 4-5; J.S. Johnson then sets world records at two-thirds mile (1:24 2-5) and the tandem, while Zimmerman rides a flying mile in 2:07.
- John S. Johnson wins the five-mile international and half-mile open at the Kings County Wheelmen's Brooklyn meet while Sanger refuses to ride on the dangerous Eastern Park track, and multiple riders including Dirnberger, Grosch, and Blauvelt suffer serious falls on the rough quarter-mile surface.
- South African champion L.S. Meintjes departs New York on the steamer Campania for London, farewelled by Zimmerman, Wheeler, Johnson, and a crowd of wheelmen at the dock; he praises American hospitality, declares Zimmerman the world's best, and announces plans to break records at Herne Hill before returning to marry and race in the English championships.
- A.A. Hanson of St. Paul rides 224 miles from Minneapolis through Northfield, Owatonna, and Blooming Prairie and back in 23:55:00, establishing the best time for such a run in the northwest; he also holds the state century record of 7:45:00.
- Local riders at Salem, Ohio, refuse to compete against the Cleveland branch of the Consolidated Order of Pot-hunters and are returned their entry fees; a brief note also reports that Buffalo's Eddie Bald is a butcher by profession.
- W.W. Windle shatters the mile record at Springfield with a flying start of 1:58 1-5—the first man to beat two minutes—paced by a triplet and tandem crew through splits of :30 1-5 half and 1:29 3-5 three-quarters; he also sets a new half-mile mark of :56 3-5.
- L.H. Bannister of Youngstown, Ohio, wins the 243-mile scratch road race from Buffalo to Pittsburgh in 23:50:30, setting regional records for the century, double century, and 24-hour distance; three other riders also finish within the 26-hour limit.
- The Bearings editorial celebrates W.W. Windle as the first man to ride a mile in under two minutes, comparing his place in the cycling gallery of fame to H.L. Cortis (the first to beat three minutes) and declaring that however often the record falls, no one can rob Windle of being first.
- The Bearings defends the Century Road Club against Frank Egan's call for its burial in Sporting Life, arguing the club is a lively corpse with a great field of usefulness and that criticism will only spur its officers to prove Egan wrong.
- Editorial argues that race promoters should eliminate boys' events, citing disputed eligibility, frequent crashes, inflated repair bills, and above all the medical risk of overtaxing growing bodies in competitive racing.
- Regular miscellaneous department covering a 16-year-old St. Louis girl who pursues and captures a bicycle thief on her own wheel; Zimmerman tricked into revealing a concealed ace of diamonds on a train from Springfield; Charlie Ashinger's $100,000 Oklahoma City land claim stuck in federal court; and H.C. Wheeler's plan to re-enter the L.A.W. under a proposed Class B.
- The Massachusetts L.A.W. division faces a contentious fall election after the regular nominating committee bypassed Chief Consul Perkins; Spencer T. Williams declines the nomination, J.S. Dean is eventually named for chief consul, and Perkins, Peck, and Howard plan to run on independent nominations backed by ten prominent clubmen.
- Correspondent from Humboldt, Kansas reports on rural cycling: few L.A.W. members due to hard times and cash-riding preference, a county fair cash race won in 1:34, and an appeal for manufacturers to build adjustable machines for the general public rather than just racers.
- D.C. cycling notes: the Victor Cycle Club schedules an October 20 meet at the Y.M.C.A. track with an Evening News silver trophy for the mile District championship; Georgetown Cyclists surprise J.J. Fister with a racing wheel at a theater party; the Singer Road Club pursues and has road-hog William Tannar arrested after he injures cyclist S. Martin near Cabin John's bridge.
- The New Haven Bicycle Club, organized January 24, 1880, is dissolved after gambling in its handsome clubhouse drove away members and left $300 in debt; E.C. Bennett, W.A. Saunders, and A.L. Fisher have paid the debts, and a new reform-faction club may follow.
- Correspondent 'Brakespeare' analyzes how L.S. Meintjes' even-paced, distance-focused South African style—setting a fast pace from the start rather than saving for a sprint—contrasts with American short-distance racing tactics, arguing his visit may inspire riders and promoters to explore long-distance track events.
- At the Bay City Wheelmen's charity meet in San Francisco, Otto Ziegler of San Jose lowers the half-mile record from 1:08 1-5 to 1:07 4-5, winning from scratch in the handicap heat; Ziegler is narrowly beaten in the quarter-mile final by H.F. Terrill in :32 2-5.
- H.C. Tyler, fresh from his two-mile world record of 4:15 3-5, announces his marriage to Miss Edith Thompson of South Plattsburg, N.Y., on October 19 at the home of the bride's parents.
- Regular miscellaneous department reporting August Lehr's six-year German championship; C.T. Knisely winning the quarter-mile open and mile open at Pontiac; J.S. Johnson winning three events at Utica; the New York show fixed for January 13-18 at Madison Square Garden; and electric light racing results from Kansas City.
- Standing tables of American track records in competition and against time—and road records—for distances from the quarter-mile to fifty miles, with current holders including W.W. Windle (mile 1:58 1-5), H.C. Tyler (two-mile 4:15 3-5), L.S. Meintjes (five to fifty miles), J.S. Johnson, and H.C. Wheeler.
- Interview with English long-distance champion Frank William Shorland, age 22, tracing his career from a bone-shaker in 1884 through three North Road Club 24-hour victories (best: 367.5 miles); he discusses riding injured with a broken collar-bone, his preference for road over track, and the superiority of wood surfaces over cement for avoiding side-slip when wet.
- Joseph Pennell's wife Elizabeth, who has toured Europe extensively by bicycle, advises women to carry minimal luggage—send a small trunk ahead between large towns and take only a change of underclothing, an extra blouse, a light woolen nightgown, a jacket, and a short waterproof cape.
- At the Velodrome Buffalo in Paris, Swiss-born Lesna covers 696.518 kilometers (435 miles 472 yards) in 24 hours of rain and gusting wind, beating Shorland's world record by nearly seven miles; Scotsman Lumsden, who had led early, rides 56 miles with a broken collar-bone and a gaping thigh wound before retiring.
- Reports that Meintjes' Springfield records for three, four, and five miles would be voided because referee Culver was a professional are false: L.A.W. Chairman Raymond's expulsion notice for Culver was not mailed from Brooklyn until September 18, six days after Meintjes set the records on September 12.
- Complete roster of the Century Road Club's officers and state centurions for the current year, listing president W.A. Skinkle (Cleveland), secretary John E. Templeton (Chicago), representatives from Alabama to Wisconsin and international contacts in England and France, along with new membership applications.
- London correspondent reports a busy fortnight at Herne Hill: F. Pope lowers the unpaced safety mile to 2:18 4-5; A.W. Harris and J. Aram break the tandem flying quarter-mile to :26 4-5 and the mile to 2:06 1-5; S.F. Edge runs Brighton and back in 5:52:30, cutting C.A. Smith's time by over 14 minutes; and 16-year-old Miss Jessie Reynolds rides the same 104-mile course in 8:38:00.
- Schoening Bros. of Oak Park, Ill., have coupled two bicycles with rods and fitted flanged guide wheels so the machine can run on railroad rails, riding 15.5 miles from Wheaton to Oak Park in 32 minutes on a 72-inch gear; the guide wheels fold up for ordinary street use.
- Peoria Bicycle Club's third annual century run to Bureau and back is postponed due to rain; Illinois L.A.W. election stirs little interest, though A.A. Billingsley of Springfield has announced as candidate for chief consul; club riders will race at the Chillicothe fair.
- British Cycle Record predicts 1894 bicycles will feature larger-diameter rear stays, more popular gear cases, and a return to lighter block chain rather than the noisy roller; The Bearings endorses early cycle shows to spread seasonal demand and prevent chaotic last-minute ordering that overtaxes manufacturers.
- The Bearings editorial advocates Philadelphia's Third Regiment Armory for the 1894 cycle show over Madison Square Garden, arguing the trade needs only one show, that New York's promoters are chiefly in it for personal gain, and that Philadelphia's organizers who have labored unpaid for years deserve the business.
- An English journal blames American buyers for unpaid accounts; The Bearings counters with documented cases of English salesmen—including one named Stephen Golder—shipping inferior goods under high-grade contracts, lying about delivery dates, and leaving American agents who had rented stores and hired staff with useless stock and near-total losses.
- An English manufacturer visiting Chicago argues that American makers should form their own trade association to control cycle shows and set prices and discounts, rather than being beholden to amateur cycling clubs; The Bearings endorses the idea as a means of reducing surplus stock gluts and improving relations between manufacturers.
- Raleigh Cycle Co. president Frank Bowden announces purchase of the two-acre Draycott Mills estate near Nottingham—20 specially built factory buildings—to double 1894 output; a Chicago depot for western and southern American trade will open at an early date.
- John F. Palmer, after months in England, has sold the Palmer tire's foreign rights to a syndicate for a rumored £50,000, with a factory to open in England shortly; several English racing cracks are now riding Palmers.
- The Bearings cites an absurd World's Fair result: a leading manufacturer's entire 1893 model line was passed over while their exhibited 1892 machine and a racing model of which only three were built received awards, illustrating the farce of the judging process.
- Cleveland Rubber Works manager J.F. Ives describes their improved loop tire: a puncture is repaired in five to ten minutes without removing the tire from the rim by cutting the lace at the injury point, patching the inner tube, and relacing; the tire cannot creep on the rim when deflated and carries no metal parts to rust.
- Metropolitan Association of Cycling Clubs president Sheehan outlines plans for the January 13-18 show at Madison Square Garden: handsome booths, a central platform for trick riding and championships, a moving track for racing contests, and possibly a tournament with separate amateur and professional days.
- Creditors of the bankrupt Milwaukee firm Sercombe-Bolte Mfg. Co. are completing an inventory; Caspar Sanger, John S. George, and inventor F.H. Bolte may organize a successor Telegram Cycle Co., though nothing is decided and the receivership continues.
- Pseudonymous writer 'Bolav' argues that the wave of cycle trade failures stems from treating an expensive luxury as a necessity: inexperienced promoters erected costly factories on borrowed capital, extended reckless credit to irresponsible dealers and jobbers, and are now paying the price in a hard winter that will purge the trade of its excesses.