The Bicycling Times and Touring Gazette, Vol 6, No 19
Articles in this issue
- Argues that amateurism is compromised when cyclists race at meetings organised by professionals for gate money, quoting 'Pendragon' on pothunting, and criticises the London Bicycle Club and Temple B.C. for inconsistently applying their own amateur rules.
- Weekly column of brief reports submitted by club secretaries covering runs, teas, annual meetings, officer elections, and Easter tour arrangements for clubs including Alcester, Alwyne, Alert, Atalanta, Belgrave, Bradford, Canterbury, Derby, Kildare, Lombard, Lewisham, and many others.
- Fixture list for Saturday 27th March giving start times and destinations for club runs nationwide, followed by notices of upcoming dinners and balls, and a calendar of open amateur race events from March through September 1880.
- Gossip column touching on the Stanley B.C. social entertainment, the departure of colleague C. W. Nairn to the Coventry paper, a mystery about Jack Keen's handicap at Surbiton, and a warning that bells and lamps are now compulsory under new bye-laws.
- Full day-by-day account of the six-day race at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, 15–20 March 1880, won by C. Terront (Paris) with 1,272 miles, detailing the performances of all nine starters including Edlin, Cann, Homey, Andrews, Shakespeare, and Higham, who set a new record of 230 miles in a single day's riding.
- Report of the Ninth Annual Dinner of the Middlesex B.C. at the Holborn Restaurant, with toasts proposed to the Queen, club, president Charles Leaver (one of the four who rode to John O'Groats in 1873), vice-president Bridges, and visitors including Mr. Barrett of the Bicycle Touring Club.
- Report of the First Annual Meeting at the Star Assembly Rooms, Landport, electing officers for the season including President H. W. Fisk and Captain A. Ash, and opening a discussion on joining the Bicycle Union and the right of the Secretary to erase any member found to be a professional.
- Account of the final social of the season at the Portugal Hotel, Fleet Street, presided over by Vice-President Woodhouse Braine F.R.C.S., with performances by Mr. Tully, Mr. W. C. Flegg, Mr. E. S. Gaisford (reciting from 'Manfred'), and a comic farce by Messrs. McWilliam and Moore.
- Notices of exhibits not covered in the previous issue, including a 52-in. H.F. Speedwell by Lewis & Co. of Romford described as 'one of the gems of the show,' W. J. Spurrier's Bicyclist's Take About carrier, and Armitage's improved Bicycle Accelerator.
- Report of the Kildare B.C.'s St. Patrick's Day social and musical evening, attended by between fifty and sixty friends including members of the Clarence, Centaur, and Surrey clubs, with a full programme of songs, recitations, and comic turns.
- Report of the Annual General Meeting at the Town Hall covering the 1879 season: monthly handicap races for a gold medal, an inter-county race between Norfolk and Suffolk clubs on 14 July, a successful September race meeting, and election of T. C. Cobbold M.P. as President and J. H. Davies as Hon. Sec.
- Report of a committee meeting at Maclean's Hotel, Glasgow, resolving to hold the West of Scotland Meet in Blythswood Square on 8 May, with Sir James Bain elected President and lots drawn to determine the marching order of clubs including the Wanderers, Dumbarton, Renfrewshire, Royal Scottish, and others.
- Short comic poem by 'Carolus' of the Stanley B.C. anticipating the return of spring cycling season and the appearance on the road of various named machines — the Carver, D.H.F., Humber, Club, Keen, Timberlake, Stassen, and Xtraordinary.
- Notice from Honorary Secretary Lamartine C. B. Yoman that circulars have been sent to all clubs requesting details of membership and uniform colours for the Hampton Court Meet, with an appeal to secretaries who have not yet forwarded their share of expenses.
- Letters to the editor covering the Midland Meet at Leamington on Whit Monday, a defence of the Bicycle Annual (Alex. Anderson), a clarification on Bicycle Union chairmanships (R. P. Hampton Roberts), a complaint about cyclists blowing bugles noisily on Sundays ('Decorum'), and a sharp rebuttal of H. H. Griffin's views on handicapping committees ('A Committee Man'), the last continuing to page 11.
- Letter from E. Hickson (Hon. Sec., Rob Roy B.C.) describing an inexpensive method of simultaneously fitting a Salsbury hub-lamp and a Thompson's cyclometer to a 54-inch bicycle using a cut tin plate and wire, tested successfully over 15 miles.
- Letter from J. Danks (Hon. Sec., City of London B.C.) correcting a denial by C. Cavanagh, enclosing signed statements from the late Guildhall B.C. Hon. Sec. and Captain confirming amalgamation was carried by seven votes to one on 26 January, and announcing that Lord Mayor Sir Francis Truscott has accepted the club's presidency.
- Letter from G. Lacy Hillier enclosing his correspondence with BTC Secretary Walter D. Welford, questioning the club's commercial links to the 'B.T.C. Album' and to the magazine Cycling, to which the council replied that Cycling is the official organ and that it cannot answer questions from individual members as a precedent.
- Brief note praising the current programme at the Philharmonic Theatre as one of the best entertainments since the days of Emily Soldene, commending the performers for their looks, singing, and dancing.
- Gossip column by 'Woodcutter' with observations on racing cyclists who dismiss trifles, music at race meetings, over-sensitiveness to public opinion, and a recommendation of Charles Warner's performance in 'The Streets of London' at the Princess's Theatre.
- Brief editorial replies to reader queries on riding comfort, a request for secretaries to use separate post cards for club news, and a query about road conditions in Italy.