The Springfield Wheelmen's Gazette, Vol 3, No 2
Articles in this issue
- Editorial on the upcoming sixth annual League of American Wheelmen meeting at Buffalo, July 2–3, discussing candidates for president (Purley B. Ayers, Dr. N. M. Beckwith, T. J. Kirkpatrick) and other officers including E. M. Aaron for secretary and F. P. Kendall for treasurer.
- Description of F. A. Elwell's guided bicycle tour from Moosehead Lake to Mt. Desert, Maine, departing Boston June 17, with stops at Bangor (Pine Tree Wheel Club tournament and ball) and Bar Harbor, costing $35 round trip from Boston.
- Detailed advance guide to Buffalo as the L. A. W. meet city, covering its rail connections, asphalt streets, parks, hotels (Genesee House as L. A. W. headquarters), the planned grand parade route, and afternoon races at the driving park on July 3.
- Correspondent 'Waverly' reports on Thomas Stevens's wet-weather journey through England from Liverpool to Dieppe, recent British professional racing results (Howell winning the ten-mile championship, Surrey Bicycle Club spring meeting), the Humber–Marriott & Cooper trade split, and the NCU's newly settled definition of an amateur.
- Short cycling news column covering George M. Hendee's world half-mile record on a Victor, John S. Prince's form, Thomas Stevens's progress toward Vienna, British race results, and miscellaneous club and trade items from across the United States and Britain.
- Notes from Ohio: Cincinnati club activities, the Inter-state Bicycle Association's inaugural meet at Youngstown on June 24, and detailed results from the Cleveland Bicycle Club spring races on May 19 (winners including G. T. Snyder, C. H. Potter, and George Collister) and the Buckeye Bicycle Club's first club run.
- Correspondence reporting on the Stamford Wheel Club's season: the bugler's bicycle livery, a recent run to Steep Hollow and Sound Beach, new silk banner, and the correspondent's endorsement of smaller wheels on Connecticut roads.
- Long satirical letter from Hartford correspondent 'H.' anatomising the 'L. A. W. Donkey'—the obstructionist, exclusionary spirit within the League—arguing for reform at the Buffalo meeting, with observations on Hartford's booming cycle trade, accidents caused by oversized machines, and the Connecticut Club's rapid growth.
- Letter from 'Rea.' of Buffalo describing the Buffalo Bicycle Club's thorough preparations for the L. A. W. meet, including the official programme book, a race meet on July 3 at the driving park, new club headquarters, and newly asphalted avenues.
- Full itinerary of Rev. Sylvanus Stall's planned three-week bicycle tour of Canada in August 1885, with about forty ministers riding 621 miles from Niagara Falls through Hamilton, London, Goderich, Stratford, Guelph, Toronto, and Kingston, with expenses estimated under $30.
- Club news covering the Massachusetts Bicycle Club's four-day coastal tour to Gloucester and Portsmouth, Nashville Bicycle Club race programme for June 5–6, Canadian Wheelmen's Association meeting at Woodstock, and club elections from Berkshire County, Detroit, Hartford, Waltham, and a dozen other cities.
- Calendar of coming cycling events from June through October 1885, listing over twenty meets including the L. A. W. meet at Buffalo July 2–3, the Big Four tour starting July 6, and the Springfield tournament September 8–10.
- Full results from the Memphis Cycle Club meeting of May 1, 2, and 4, with S. G. Whittaker of Boston winning amateur events in the one, two, three, and five-mile races, and W. M. Woodside of Chicago winning the five-mile professional.
- Results from the first annual New Orleans Bicycle Club races, May 7–8, on the West End shell road, with E. P. Baird winning the two-mile handicap and A. P. Baird the one-mile state championship.
- Results from the May 16 San Francisco meet, with F. R. Cook winning the half-mile scratch (1:30¼) and setting a Pacific Coast quarter-mile record (0:37⅗), and F. E. Johnston dominating the five-mile scratch; the race narrative describes the ill-fated half-mile between champions Cook and S. F. Booth, whose swollen ankle forced him to retire at the quarter.
- Results from Cleveland's spring races, May 19 at Athletic Park before 1,000 spectators: G. T. Snyder won the five-mile club championship (19:26½), C. H. Potter the one-mile tricycle, and W. F. Knapp the half-mile.
- Results from the Ramblers' May 23 meeting at the Fair Grounds amphitheater, with C. E. Stone and Geo. Webber prominent in the one-mile heats, and Geo. Webber winning the three-mile and five-mile dashes; meeting was a financial success with nearly 2,000 in attendance.
- Results from Louisville's May 30 and June 1 meeting, with J. D. Macaulay winning the three-mile open and one-mile open, and an exhibition of fancy and trick riding by Prince Wells, champion of the South.
- Results from Springfield's May 30 meeting, highlighted by George M. Hendee's world half-mile record of 1:17⅖ on a Victor, along with the first American records for tandem bicycle (F. R. Brown and C. H. Miller, 3:09) and safety bicycle (F. R. Brown, 3:06⅖) in rainy conditions before 1,500 spectators.
- Editorial describing the artistic cycling centerfold supplement by Mr. Copeland of Boston, featuring Thomas Stevens and his round-the-world Columbia Expert route, scenes of the 'Down East' tour and Niagara crossing, and the 24-hour road record of T. S. Webb and John Tracy (500½ miles, October 1884).
- Invitation from C.W.A. Secretary Hal B. Donly urging American wheelmen attending the L. A. W. meet at Buffalo to stop off at Woodstock, Ontario on July 1 for the Canadian Wheelmen's Association races on its asphalt quarter-mile track, with open events and $600 in prizes.
- Karl Kron's extended touring narrative retracing bicycle routes through eastern Connecticut—from New London along the Thames and Sound shore to New Haven—with detailed road notes on surface quality, distances, and routes through Niantic, Old Lyme, Saybrook, Clinton, and Branford, concluding with advice on approaching New Haven via Cheshire, Meriden, and East Rock park.
- Editorial reprinted from Bicycling World advocating an 'Order of Merit' to recognise the unsung contributions of cycling legislators, club secretaries, and tournament officials, whose labour earns no prize but sustains the sport.
- Excerpt from Joseph Pennell's June Outing article 'With the Veloce Club to Ostia,' describing an unexpectedly fine Italian lunch of risotto, boiled boar, and wine enjoyed after a bicycle ride to Ostia, offered as encouragement for American cyclists to tour Italy.
- Eight-point training regimen taken from the Citizens' Bicycle Club programme, covering diet (rare beefsteak, stale bread, no pastry), sleep, morning walks, sponge baths, and a secret muscle-hardening formula of arnica flowers, borax, alum, and Jamaica rum used by professional trainers.