The Bicycling World, Vol 9, No 19
Articles in this issue
- The Bicycling World announces it has been sold to J.S. Dean and Abbot Bassett, who pledge to maintain its impartial policy and keep it at the front rank of cycling publications. They thank subscribers and advertisers for their generous support.
- Short editorial notes cover the Facile bicycle's recent speed performances, the drop-handlebar setup of Howell and Sellers's racing machines, the confusion caused by the Kangaroo bicycle's name among English farmers, and a rebuttal to a rival correspondent who falsely claimed the World had insulted newspaper editors.
- Reports the English twenty-mile professional championship won by F. Wood of Leicester in 59m 18.5s at Belgrave Road grounds on 23 August, with mile-by-mile split times listed. Notes that Wood and Battensby are expected to come to America, and that the fifty-mile Irish championship was won by E.T. McKay at Phoenix Park.
- Pre-tournament notes on the upcoming Springfield bicycle meet: all private boxes sold out after overnight queuing, Howell may attempt a one-hour record, and the Springfield Bicycle Club has placed advertisements in ninety-three papers and distributed 60,000 printed cards.
- Account of the Massachusetts Division parade and picnic held in Boston on 5 September, with 325 men riding in triple divisions through Commonwealth Avenue and surrounding streets. The dinner at the grove fell into disorder because far more men arrived than the committee had anticipated, leaving many hungry.
- Alfred Nixon rode from Land's End to John-o'-Groats on a tricycle in 8d 11h 45m, only to have his record beaten within hours by H.J. Webb, who covered the 898.5-mile route in 7d 18h 50m despite two accidents causing a nine-hour delay. Webb then continued back south, reaching Inverness to set a double-journey record of 1,048.5 miles in 9d 6h 35m.
- Correspondence from Alfred Ely of Cleveland reporting that Asa Dolph rode a measured mile at New London, Ohio on 4 September in 2m 40.5s and a half-mile in 1m 17.2s. Dolph does not claim official records because the half-mile clay track was measured unconventionally, outside the pole to accommodate scraper damage.
- A humorous letter from "Daisy," a non-cyclist guest of the Capital Bicycle Club in Washington D.C., describing the club's steamer excursion to Norfolk and Virginia Beach in August 1884. She recounts the rowdy clubmen's nicknames, their singing aboard the boat, a beach swim, and fancy riding at the hotel, all from a wide-eyed outsider's perspective.
- Trade notice from the Butcher Cyclometer Company announcing they have cleared their backlog of orders for regular bicycle cyclometers and are now filling orders for tricycles and American Stars. They will have a tent at Springfield to attach cyclometers for riders, and have also launched a new automatic bell.
- Miscellaneous editorial notes including a challenge from E.M. Aaron of the League Gazette for a tricycle race among editors Bassett, Jenkins and Ducker (Bassett declines, having retired from the path); Montreal Dominion Exhibition cycle displays; one-mile world amateur record holder H.W. Gaskell arriving from England for the Springfield meet; and the Wheel Around the Hub capped at 100 riders.
- Full results of the Hartford Tournament of 9 September, headlined by S. Sellers setting the mile world record at 2m 39s on a Rudge Racer, with Asa Dolph second in 2m 41s. Additional results include E.P. Burnham winning the two-mile tricycle race in 6m 32s (breaking the record), the Tug-of-War relay race, ten-mile race, and a boys' half-mile, plus race results from Boston, New London Ohio, and the Championship of Canada.
- Club news from Washington D.C. (Capital Bicycle Club planning a special train tour to the New Orleans exposition, organizing baseball nines named "Hollow Forks" and "Ball Bearings") and Holyoke (new club officers elected).
- Announcement that the first annual autumn tour of the C.T.C. American Division will be the "Wheel Around the Hub" in Boston on 22-23 September, with application blanks for new members and a list of provisional new members including riders from St. Louis, Cleveland, Hudson NY, and Boston.
- Answers to reader questions on topics including curb-climbing damage, the Star bicycle on hills, amateur status of tricycle renters, and which tricycle to buy for a given rider weight, with brief replies from the editors.
- Calendar of upcoming events including the four-day Springfield Tournament (16-19 September), the Wheel Around the Hub (22-23 September), New Haven Tournament (23-24 September), Brooklyn championships (27 September), and the Boston Club's 100-mile road race (4 October).