The Bicycling World, Vol 3, No 18
Articles in this issue
- Ohio wheelmen hold a Columbus parade and form a State League; Hingham bicycle races September 13 with prize schedule and entries including L.H. Johnson and E.M. Bent; L.A.W. handbook delayed; personal items on Col. Pope's return from England, Francis Cragin's start of the Chicago-to-Boston ride, and the death of Boston Bicycle Club member Ben-Israel Butler.
- Leader rebutting the Daily Graphic's anti-bicycle cartoon and its "The Bicycle Nuisance. — Suppress It." editorial, asserting cyclists' equal road rights pending the Central Park test case; then offers L.A.W. reform suggestions — abolish club delegates, elect directors from their own States, and replace the commander with a chief marshal appointed from the Meet city.
- 'Ab Initio,' an English subscriber, assesses current bicycle design: advocates long handle bars (26 inches), deeply recessed hubs, tubular frames, Sheffield plain bearings, and double-ball pedals; critiques cone bearings and favours rigid frames over trailing-wheel springs.
- Survey of bicycle exhibits at the New England Institute Fair: Pope Manufacturing Co. shows Standard, Special, and Mustang models plus a triocycle; Gooch of Newton shows a graceful American-made machine; Cunningham & Co. exhibits the Harvard, Matchless (with Hancock non-slip tires), Rudge, Timberlake, Yale, and Stanley models.
- Steno surveys Chicago's pavement types (wooden blocks, cedar blocks, macadam, Belgian block, asphalt) and their suitability for bicycling; reports progress on a 35-mile boulevard circuit linking six parks, and describes the park commissioners' cautious but cooperative stance on bicycle access.
- Chicago Bicycle Club's 20-member application batch; new directors appointed for the Maritime Provinces (J.D. Shatford) and Minnesota (E.H. Winship); first annual League race meeting announced for October 6 at Manhattan Polo Grounds with five events including a diamond-medal one-mile championship; balance sheet from Chas. P. Shillaber showing the 1881 L.A.W. Meet cost approximately $1,500.
- Cynthiana KY half-mile won by Thomas Skillman in 2:05; De Civry beats Keen 20 miles at Crystal Palace in a new professional record of 1h 4m 21½s; Worcester NE Fair parade of approximately 175 riders from 20+ clubs; races won by L.H. Johnson (two-mile, 6:42), L.J. Frye (mile, 2:13½), and W.W. Stall (half-mile, 1:38½).
- L.H. Johnson (Essex Bicycle Club) dominates at Morristown NJ, winning the half-mile in 1m 39½s and both quarter-mile heats against Bellman, Fullerton, and W.M. Woodside on a Humber racer; Work for the League column notes a N.A.A.A. rule conflict preventing League race competitors from the championship.
- Scranton plans a September 17 excursion to Port Jervis via 50-mile towpath; Montreal Club Dawg reports August statistics (F.C. Holden wins mile in 3:50); Providence 'Jake' describes summer night rides and a new club room; Hartford 'Bi. Ro.' protests inconsistent railroad charges for bicycles; Erie PA 'F.B.W.' defends Pratt and Pope against 'Bernard'; R. Lincoln Lippitt gives his full account of the Providence expulsion controversy and the judges' unanimous verdict vindicating him.
- A Worcester reader corrects Kron's description of the Framingham road; a correspondent reports 500-600 miles on a Yale Light Roadster, praising its rigidity but noting its unsuitability for rough roads due to narrow tires.
- Reviews of the new Keppler/Schwarzmann weekly Fiction, the juvenile paper Youth and Pleasure edited by W.H.C. Lawrence, and the Century Magazine's upcoming portrait of Dr. J.G. Holland.
- Henry H. Bentley (president, Philadelphia Local Telegraph Company) describes bicycle touring through New York State on business; the Massachusetts Bicycle Club's run to Worcester is recounted, with hospitality from R.D. Pratt in Marlboro'; enthusiastic endorsement of 'Sociable' double side-by-side tricycles reprinted from the 'Cyclist.