The Bicycling World, Vol 6, No 17
Articles in this issue
- The lead editorial opposes the Racing Board's proposed eighteen-inch measuring line for bicycle tracks, printing letters from racers John S. Prince, Lewis T. Frye, and L. H. Johnson and a rebuttal from Sporting Life's Mr. Atkinson, all defending the traditional three-foot standard used at tracks like Wolverhampton.
- The second instalment of the Bicycling World's report from London's Stanley Show describes a 17¾-lb Surrey Machinist Company racer, Humber racing machines ridden by Hillier, Milner, Liles, Buckley, and Adam, Bown's new ball-bearing pedals, and Bayliss, Thomas & Co.'s improved Victor bicycle, plus a post-office tricycle and Mr. Marriott's certified 180-mile-in-24-hours Humber record.
- An unnamed rider describes bicycling about 35 miles down the frozen Hudson River on 9 February, passing Peekskill (where he calls on Consul Hill), Anthony's Nose, Dunderberg, and West Point to reach Newburgh, then finishing the trip home by rail and claiming to be the river's pioneer ice-bicycler.
- At Boston's Institute Fair Building on 22 February, John S. Prince set a new professional two-mile record of 6 minutes 11¼s pacing off E. Burnham, who himself won the one-mile amateur final over H. M. Sabin by six inches; the same night Cincinnati's long-distance club championship saw Wright and Landy tie at 26 miles, and Chicago's Northwestern tournament was topped by Charles O. Jenkins and J. R. W. Sargent.
- Club news from across the country: the Citizens' and Ixions clubs press for the League Meet in New York; the Massachusetts Club accepts tricycle members; the Buffalo Club talks of adopting a new uniform; and the Kentucky Club holds a five-mile race at the Exposition Rink won by Newton Crawford.
- Upcoming fixtures from 3 March to 1 July listing club runs, annual meetings, races, and social events for the Citizens', Ramblers, Springfield, Massachusetts, New Haven, and Chicago clubs, among others.
- The Springfield Bicycle Club holds an exhibition and ball on 22 February at City Hall, attracting 2,100 attendees; George Hendee gives a fancy riding display, the club drill is performed, and the evening concludes with dancing.
- The New Haven Bicycle Club holds its annual dinner at the Homestead, West Haven, on 13 February, with S. A. Marsden presiding; the club run is postponed due to road conditions and replaced with a sleigh ride.
- News from New York: the Ixions hold a sociable on the 15th; the Lennox Club dissolves; and New York wheelmen visit the Springfield Club's exhibition and ball.
- T. T. Tress of Columbus, Ohio argues in a letter that Washington, D.C.—the "Bicycler's Paradise"—would draw a bigger turnout for the League's annual Meet than a New England venue, citing strong sentiment in the Buckeye Club.
- "Sib" of Lancaster, New Hampshire, shopping for a new machine, asks readers for genuinely objectionable points of the American Star bicycle, having heard only praise from Star riders and blanket condemnation from owners of rival crank machines.
- League of American Wheelmen membership applications from the Pennsylvania Bicycle Club, Elmira Bicycle Club, Greenfield Bicycle Club, and Kings County Wheelmen; C. A. Hazlett declines re-election as New Hampshire chief consul, recommending Capt. C. H. Wilkins as his successor; and corresponding secretary Fred. T. Sholes asks club secretaries to send in directory details for the annual list.
- Bicycle Touring Club membership applications (including Sam. M. Livingston and Harry W. Forward) and appointments—F. A. Miller as consul for Susquehanna, Pa., and F. T. Davis for Mount Vernon, N.Y.; J. S. Dean resigns as Massachusetts state consul, accepted by chief consul Frank W. Weston, with a members' meeting called for 7 March to nominate his successor.
- New editor Fourdrinier takes over; San Francisco cyclists gain access to Golden Gate Park; the Bicycle Touring Club's new uniform cloth is a dark gray check; Dr. Beckwith accepts appointment as New York chief consul; Strathmore College faculty members take up bicycle riding; and the steamer Glamorgan is lost at sea with bicycle and tricycle consignments from the Cunningham Company, Stoddard, Lovering & Co., and the Pope Manufacturing Company aboard.
- Brief editorial replies to correspondents, including "Inquirer" of Boston, who is told the fastest recorded mile is H. L. Cortis's 2m 41 3/5s at Surbiton track, England (7 June 1882), plus notes to C. H. L. of Portland, Henry Sturmey, and A. J. Wilson of London on assorted queries.