The Bicycling World, Vol 5, No 4
Articles in this issue
- "Bicyclers' Rights" argues that wheelmen have full legal standing on public roads, citing an English court ruling that a bicycle is a carriage and an Illinois Supreme Court opinion that streets cannot exclude new modes of transport; "Explanatory and Apologetic" retracts inflammatory language from an earlier piece on amateur racing that drew a public rebuke in the English sporting press, clarifying the criticism was aimed at disorganized agricultural-fair games rather than legitimate athletic associations.
- A San Francisco rider disputes a published account of a local handicap race, arguing the handicapping was mathematically unsound and his performance unfairly characterized; "K.K." in Montreal offers a humorous update on club members including "Jingling Johnny" and "Freddie" Holden preparing for the season; "The Tourist" recounts a grueling 93-mile two-day ride from St. Louis through Fox Creek crossings and the Meramec River bluffs; and "Kol Kron" defends plain road reports over literary writing, urging wheelmen to document practical route notes.
- Club reports arrive from Holyoke, Mass. (a growing club of 20+ riders expecting permanent headquarters), Oakland, Cal. (a joint run of 31 riders with the San Francisco club to Hayward's, commanded by Capt. George Strong), Charleston, S.C. (five new members elected and a June parade planned), Phillips Andover Academy (A.J. du Pont elected captain), Hamilton, Ont. (new club with tri-weekly runs and a July bicycle display), and the Massachusetts Bicycle Club, where 30–40 members in full uniform rode to Col. Albert Pope's Newton home on 24 May for an evening of supper and music.
- At the third annual L.A.W. Meet in Chicago, Monday's races at the Chicago Driving Park were won by W.A. Friese of Milwaukee (two-mile, 8m 55s), Arthur Young of St. Louis (one-mile, 4m 10½s), and Clarence Jenkins of Louisville (quarter-mile, 46½s); at the Tuesday business meeting W.H. Miller of Columbus was elected president, and treasurer Dillwyn Wistar reported total receipts of $2,441.92 with a year-end balance of $515.38.
- The B.T.C. annual meet on 27 May assembled members from the Manhattan, Lenox, Ixion, and New York clubs at 791 Fifth Avenue, departing at Capt. Weber's bugle signal under the lead of Frank W. Weston of Boston, and rode via St. Nicholas Avenue and Kingsbridge Road to Yonkers, where 17 riders lunched at the Peabody Hotel before returning at 3.30.
- Tuesday's grand parade at the Chicago L.A.W. Meet drew 150+ cyclists along Michigan Avenue's concrete walk cheered by immense crowds, with clubs from Boston (dark green), Falls City Louisville (brown corduroy), Chicago Bicycle Club (gray), Milwaukee (green jacket and polo hat), Cincinnati (dark-green velvet), St. Louis (white flannel), and many others riding in formation; afternoon rain postponed the marine bicycle races until Wednesday.
- The 50-mile handicap at Boston's Casino on 25 May between champion John Prince and Louise Armaindo ended with Prince winning by half a lap after overcoming cramps, breaking multiple American professional records through 30 miles despite Armaindo holding the lead until the final stretch; also covered are the Boston Casino horse-vs.-bicycle contest (Le Roy on 10 horses trailing Prince and Rollinson 122–148 miles after day one) and results from New York intercollegiate, Philadelphia, Princeton, Charleston, and Melbourne club races.
- Brief notes discuss how the Boston Casino horse-vs.-bicycle contest was structured — Charles Le Roy riding 10 horses five miles each against Prince and Rollinson alternating hourly on bicycles for a $2,000 purse — and how the Prince vs. Armaindo 50-mile handicap was so finely calculated that the winner remained uncertain until the final lap.
- The "Wheel Literature" column lists cycling books and periodicals available through E.C. Hodges & Co. in Boston, including the Cyclist & Wheel World Annual edited by Nairn and Sturmey (300 pages, 500 illustrations, 50 cents), Henry Sturmey's Indispensable Bicyclist's Hand-Book, the Wheelman's Year-Book compiled by W.D. Welford, and Charles Cordingley's Tricyclist's Vade Mecum.
- A lively miscellany comments on Prince's hard-fought 50-mile victory over Louise Armaindo, professional Thomas Harrison's return from Europe with a 55-inch Rudge racer, Jack Keen training for a 20-mile-within-an-hour attempt, Lewis Frye's recovery from a head injury on the Southboro' road, and a digest from "Kol Kron" showing Harvard leading American college bicycle clubs with 105 members, followed by Princeton (50) and Michigan University (30); the column also includes "Glances Abroad" (tricycle demand in England, Oxford vs. Cambridge university races) and "The Deacon's Drop" (a humorous verse about a 56-inch rider's spill on a muddy Chestnut Street).
- Answers to correspondents address specific reader queries: J.H. in Boston learns John Prince's professional mile record was lowered to 3.13 on 25 May; K.T. in Chelsea is told S. Corbett of England holds the tricycle mile record at 3:34 2-5; J.M.B. in Chicago is informed that amateurs may race with professionals in England only under Bicycle Union sanction; and H.D.C. in Columbus is told that Cortis on Training is still in press.