The Springfield Wheelmen's Gazette, Vol 2, No 6

Articles in this issue

• OUR ENGLISH VISITORS.

  Editorial praising the visiting British riders — Howell, Sellers, Leeming, Chambers, Illston, Gaskell and James — who competed at the Springfield tournament, acknowledging their fair victories and expressing hope they will return.
• SPRINGFIELD AS A CYCLING CENTER.

  Analysis of why Springfield's tournament drew over 40,000 spectators across four days while Boston's comparable meeting attracted far smaller crowds, crediting judicious advertising and the Gazette's role in building public interest.
• SELLERS VS. HENDEE.

  Commentary on Sanders Sellers's defeat of local champion George M. Hendee, noting Hendee was not in peak condition but that Sellers's 2.39 record-breaking mile at Hartford had foreshadowed the result.
• THE SPRINGFIELD TOURNAMENT.

  Expansive editorial reviewing the third annual Springfield Bicycle Club tournament on Hampden Park, September 16–19, 1884, praising the weather, the new half-mile track, the crowd of 50,000, and the smooth management throughout.
• A GOOD WORD FOR THE PRESS.

  Acknowledges the thorough coverage of the tournament by the Springfield Union, Boston papers, and New York press, singling out City Editor Newell of the Springfield Union for his picturesque daily race reports.
• A MIDNIGHT RACE.

  Narrative piece signed "Willhelm" describing a nocturnal bicycle dash to a paper-mill fire at Lockland to rescue an aged worker's life savings from the burning building.
• OHIO DIVISION L. A. W.

  Report of the fourth annual meet of the Ohio Division L.A.W. held in Cleveland, August 18–19, hosted by the Cleveland Bicycle Club, featuring business meetings, a parade of 400 wheels, races, fancy riding, and a banquet.
• TOURNAMENT OF THE SCRANTON BICYCLE CLUB.

  Advance notice of the first annual race meeting of the Scranton Bicycle Club, scheduled for October 16 at Scranton Driving Park, listing events including a three-mile state championship, five-mile handicap, ride-and-run, and fancy riding.
• THE GREAT AMERICAN ROAD-BOOK.

  Karl Kron of New York describes the prospectus for his forthcoming book "Ten Thousand Miles on a Bicycle," outlining its thirty-six chapters covering road tours from New England to California, and reports 1,940 advance subscriptions with 1,060 still needed.
• THE SPRINGFIELD TOURNAMENT. Second Annual Revision of the Records.

  Comprehensive official race report of the third annual Springfield Bicycle Club tournament, covering all events across four days with detailed lap-by-lap results, times, winners, and the full set of new American and world records set by Howell, Sellers, Prince, Hamilton, Brooks, Gaskell, and others.
• COLUMBIA VS. COMBINATION.

  Letter from "A Timid (?) Rider" of Ottumwa, Iowa, giving the other side of a road-collision story — a home-built "combination" bicycle versus a 52-inch Columbia — that left the improvised machine a wreck while the Columbia was undamaged.
• NEW ZEALAND ITEMS.

  Correspondent "Pakeha" from Christchurch reports on the state of cycling in New Zealand: roughly 1,000 riders, a dozen clubs, an emerging colonial championship, and championship honours divided between W.H. Langdown of Christchurch and F.A. Cutten of Dunedin.
• Among the Clubs.

  Club news notes covering the Rutland (Vt.) Bicycle Club's two polo teams, the Cleveland Club's precision drill, the Keystone Club's Pittsburgh meeting, and membership figures for clubs in Massachusetts and Milwaukee.
• CLUB ELECTIONS.

  Lists of newly elected officers for the Greenfield (Mass.) Wheel Club, Holyoke Bicycle Club, Nashville (Tenn.) Bicycle Club, Star Bicycle Club of Lynn, and Woronoco Wheelmen of Westfield.
• RACE MEETINGS.

  Detailed results of the Cleveland Bicycle Club races (August 18–19) including state championship events won by Frazier, Ashinger, and Bates, the first annual Owego Bicycle Club tournament (August 20), the Albany Bicycle Club, the Buffalo Bicycle Club, and Connecticut and New Haven club meetings.
• TOLD BY THE PARSON.

  Humorous anecdote about a curate named Meek who rode a loose coach wheel eight miles downhill to Herne Bay faster than the horse-drawn coach, told as a tall tale at a cycling gathering.
• News Notes.

  Short cycling news notes covering the new 2.39 world record, the Rudge's dominance at Springfield (24 of 29 races won), riders and their machines, press reactions, and miscellaneous observations from the tournament.
• REMARKABLE RIDING.

  F.J. Lees of Sheffield defeated Albert Hawker of Leicester in a professional contest at Belgrave Road Grounds on August 11, breaking English records at nearly every distance up to ten miles; R.H. English of North Shields separately set a new amateur hour record of 20 miles 560 yards on September 13.
• PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.

  Reports the results of three English professional championship races: the 25-mile (won by Battensby in 1h 17m 20 4-5s at Leicester), the 20-mile (Howell), and the 10-mile (Howell) at Aylestone Road and Belgrave Road Grounds.
• THE SONG OF THE WHEEL.

  Poem in six stanzas from the perspective of a factory worker polishing bicycle steel, imagining the varied riders who will use his handiwork.
• SONG OF THE WHEELMAN.

  Poem signed "W.A.C." describing an early-morning bicycle ride through countryside and cobbled streets, with a refrain "For men may run and men may row, / While I ride on forever."
• SUPPOSING A CASE.

  Humorous poem contrasting a romantic tragedy of a storm-sunk boat with the practical observation that the knight could have bicycled around by Hoboken and arrived sooner.
• DON'T.

  Twenty practical tips for new cyclists by C.S. Wady of Providence, covering equipment choices, club etiquette, hill-climbing, road courtesy, and the importance of regular riding for health.
• THE HISTORY OF THE BICYCLE.

  Brief history tracing the bicycle from Baron von Drais's 1815 draisine through French velocipede developments and Pierre Lallement's 1866 American patent to the modern high-bicycle, ending with an anecdote about an old velocipede displayed in a Lowell shop.
• DO NOT MENTION IT.

  Editorial reprinted from the Cleveland Mercury arguing that wheelmen should stop discussing "headers" publicly, as over-emphasis on falls deters potential riders from taking up the sport.
• THE QUESTION BEFORE THE CHURCH.

  Comic anecdote from the Burlington Hawkeye about a Cleveland minister who rode his bicycle to church, collided with the senior deacon's Newfoundland dog, and delivered his sermon in borrowed clothes with an accidentally apt text from II Kings about "breaches."
• A NEW WHEEL.

  Announces that the Overman Wheel Company of Chicopee will introduce the Victor bicycle by March 1, featuring Bown's ball bearings, Warwick hollow rims, tangent spokes, and the compressed tire already famous on the Victor tricycle.
• AMONG OUR EXCHANGES.

  Extracts from other cycling and general papers — including the Boston Globe, New England Homestead, Springfield Union, Bicycling World, Mirror of American Sports, and Sporting Journal — praising the Springfield tournament and the Springfield Bicycle Club.
• A NEW BICYCLE FOR YANKEE RIDERS.

  Reprinted from the Springfield Republican, reporting that the Overman Wheel Company at Chicopee is manufacturing the Victor bicycle using Bown's ball bearings, Warwick rims, and Harrington's enamel, with production to begin immediately and machines expected by March 1.
• THE SPRINGFIELD TOURNAMENT. [Track Measurement and Timing Certificate]

  Bicycling World commentary on the validity of the Springfield records, followed by a signed certificate from officials including A.G. Coleman and A.D. Claflin confirming the track measured 2,640 feet 5½ inches and that the timing was accurate.
• IT COST HIM FOUR BOB.

  Humorous anecdote reprinted from London Cyclist about a British cyclist caught riding on a footpath who bribed a policeman with two florins to look away — only to be shaken down for two more coins to stay silent.