The Bicycling World, Vol 4, No 15
Articles in this issue
- Brief notes on cycling news: Louisville streets are too crowded for its cyclists, the round rubber tire was invented in America in 1859, the Nashua Wheel Club has issued a neat constitution card, and Milwaukee wheelmen are emerging from winter ice. The column also notes that Chicago cyclists showed notably large feet at a recent race.
- A brief department collecting observations and notes on small-wheeled bicycles, noting practical comparisons with high-wheel machines and reporting on riders adopting smaller front wheels for improved safety and control.
- Editorial describing the Bicycling World's role as official organ of the League of American Wheelmen, devoted to a clear and impartial record of all cycling events — clubs, races, excursions, tours, inventions, and routes — and inviting communications from contributors and correspondents. Notes that pages go to press at noon on the Tuesday preceding publication.
- Account of a bicycle tour from Staten Island along the Hudson River, passing Sleepy Hollow's old Dutch church and the remains of Revolutionary War breastworks, and stopping at Sing Sing where a poorly boiled egg proved inedible. The narrator notes the new drink of egg and milk and comments on road-finding challenges in the river counties.
- Report on the bicycle tournament at Louisville's Exposition Building organized by Prof. Rollinson, opening 2 February with a Kentucky Bicycle Club fancy drill under Capt. Henry Schimpeler, a one-mile boys' race won in 5:10, and a three-mile contest won by Mlle. Armaindo over Thomas Eck. Prof. Rollinson also performed an amusing imitation of an awkward beginner.
- Letters covering winter cycling conditions: a Montreal correspondent describes hiring a small thirty-lap hall for winter riding, while a Poughkeepsie writer reports that after six weeks without a ride a few wheelmen took to hall riding but found the course of wheeling as troubled as true love. Other letters discuss the Invincible bicycle rim's strength under shock, the Newburyport proposal for a county-level L.A.W. association for Essex County, and riders' views on League governance from New Haven, Iowa, and Dayton.
- Account of a dinner given by the New York Bicycle Club honouring L.A.W. President Charles E. Pratt, at which host Mr. Conkling sat at the head of the board and welcomed Pratt with an address on the universal good feeling within the bicycling fraternity. Many amusing anecdotes of adventure and mishap on the bicycle were exchanged during the meal.
- Reports from Rochester, New York, New Haven, and other clubs on winter activities and membership, noting that clubs are preparing for the spring season with elections and equipment reviews.
- Miscellaneous notes including a report that a Red Hook, N.Y., physician rode his bicycle two miles to reach a hemorrhaging patient and arrived just in time to save her life, rather than waiting to harness a horse. Also includes L.A.W. membership recruitment information and a note on upcoming tournament prize arrangements.