The Cycle, Vol 2, No 14
Articles in this issue
- Brief notice of the Christmas number of the Cyclist, titled "Cycledom," describing its main narrative about "Ah Fong" touring England, Ireland, and Scotland, plus an illustrated calendar, practical articles, 1886 statistics, and a "Who's Who?" biographical chapter published by Iliffe & Son.
- Daisie's column gathers ladies' riding records for 1886, sharing letters from correspondents including "Polly" (who rode with Cynthia all season) and a detailed account from "L.A.W. No. 4,386" of Stockport, N.Y., who accumulated over 3,000 miles across three years on various tricycles over hilly Hudson Valley roads.
- A humorous cycling fiction piece reprinted from the Xmas Cyclist, in which the narrator leads his club on a run to the village of Ruislip and, while improvising a mock auction of a pony and cart on the village green, first glimpses Marian Altoe and instantly falls in love.
- A short comic anecdote about a wheelman who slips his pedal and takes a header over Beverly Bridge near Salem, cutting his nose — leading to a pun at supper about "making a hole in the bridge of your nose."
- A short poem by F.H.K. personifying the months mourning the passing Old Year, closing with the sentiment that love and memory outlast the dead year.
- A brief review, reprinted from the News, of Singer's "Traveller" tandem, praising its adjustable seats for riders of different heights, four-bearing axle for smooth running, and the comfort of its foot-rests for coasting.
- E.J. Hale of Minneapolis wins S.F. Heath & Co.'s gold medal for covering 4,500 miles between March and November 1886, mostly in the course of his work as a grocer — the only contestant to keep a complete record over the eight-month period.
- The British cycling paper the News mocks Daisie of The Cycle for once admitting she was "at a loss what to say," contrasting her momentary reticence with the prolific output of every other cycling editor and writer of the day.
- The Board of Aldermen grants the West End Railroad Company permission to lay horse-car tracks on Beacon Street, closing Boston wheelmen's last unimpeded exit from the city.
- Hillman, Herbert & Cooper offer one hundred guineas to the first rider to achieve a mile in 2:25, twenty-two and a half miles in one hour, or one hundred miles in six hours, all on a Premier bicycle.
- A.B. Barkman of Brooklyn is appointed L.A.W. bookmaster in place of the resigned H.S. Wood.
- Notice of a dinner and business meeting for the Massachusetts Division L.A.W. board of officers at the Quincy House, Boston, on 8 January, at $2.00 a plate.
- The L.A.W. executive committee will recommend at its next board meeting that both initiation fees and annual dues be increased.
- A letter from A.L. Atkins describes year-round cycling conditions in Pasadena, California — pleasant weather, 365 riding days, growing race enthusiasm, and cyclists gathering from across the country — while Atkins himself is currently occupied with horseback riding and hunting to recover his health.
- J.E. Marshall and Mr. Broen of the Cape Colony civil service complete a nearly 600-mile bicycle journey from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth in 11 days and 13 hours, crossing mountain ranges over roads so rough that even ox-teams struggle, and fording rivers on foot.
- List of Letters Patent granted 21 December 1886 for cycling inventions, including patents from Newark, Springfield, Boston, Buffalo, Southwark, and Hartford for bicycles, velocipedes, and anti-friction bearings.
- At its December meeting the Springfield (Mass.) Club votes to pay its officers the same salaries as the prior year, declines to join the L.A.W., and nominates three candidates per office for the coming annual election, with Secretary Lawton appointed to a joint committee to adjudicate disputed cyclometer claims from Westfield riders.
- Detailed technical description of the Facile ball-bearing head made by Ellis & Co. of London and imported by Julius Wilcox, noting its distinctive feature: adjustment and locking of the cones are entirely independent of the head and forks, preventing loosening and allowing backbone removal without disturbing the bearing.
- The Missouri Division L.A.W. board meets in December to discuss a new road bill favoring convict labor for road repair, plan for the upcoming League meet in St. Louis, and review a membership and treasury report showing 257 members and $26.30 on hand.
- The N.C.U. council meeting in London votes to cap open-race prizes at £5 5s., appoints a committee on professional racing, and passes a resolution disapproving of road racing on public roads.
- Two letters — one from a New York correspondent who saw Stevens on a Hong Kong steamer in October, and one from the Shanghai Courier — give the latest news of the globe-circling wheelman, describing his harrowing bicycle journey through south China: rice-field paths narrower than a bicycle, stone-throwing mobs, a military escort, and his eventual passage by sampan from Canton to Kiukiang.
- Results of the six-day bicycle race in Minneapolis: Schock beats the world's 144-hour record with 1,405 miles in 142 hours; Armaindo surpasses Prince's women's record by eight miles; Morgan finishes with 1,165 miles despite illness.
- At the Washington Rink in Minneapolis on 16 December, W.M. Woodside defeats T.W. Eck in a twenty-mile bicycle race, going to the front at the sixteenth mile and holding it to the finish in 1:03:5¾.