The Wheel: Journal of Bicycling, Vol 1, No 18
Articles in this issue
- Miscellaneous notes ahead of the L.A.W. Boston Meet: Providence Line group rates ($1.97-$2.08 depending on party size), the Manhattan Club's headquarters at the Hotel Vendome on Commonwealth Avenue, a new indispensable bicycle lamp attachment combining hub lamp with cyclometer, and the Montclair Athletic Club's third annual spring games on May 30.
- A Newburgh L.A.W. consul, replying to an earlier query about roads from New York to Albany, reports excellent going as far as Tarrytown but bad roads north to Fishkill Landing, and recommends a route via Matteawan, Fishkill village, Wappingers Falls and Poughkeepsie to reach Rhinebeck.
- Open letter from the Pope Manufacturing Company of Boston clarifying that importing, using, or selling patented bicycles without a license constitutes patent infringement, warning that future violators will be prosecuted for full royalties, costs, and damages rather than settled at the standard $10 fee.
- John A. Cross, Secretary of the Providence Bicycle Club, invites wheelmen attending the Boston Meet to join a leisurely 45-mile group run from Providence (starting Brown University grounds at 7 a.m. on May 28) to Boston, with Providence Line boats offering group fares and free machine carriage.
- The Pope Manufacturing Company invites wheelmen attending the Boston Meet to visit their bicycle factory at Hartford, Connecticut on May 31, offering a guided tour through all stages of the manufacturing process.
- Notice that entries close May 31 for a three-mile bicycle race at the games of the Young America Cricket Club at Stenton, Philadelphia, Pa., with a fifty-cent entry fee payable to W. T. Wilcox at 1704 Pine Street.
- Editorial statement of purpose: The Wheel aims to cover club meetings, races, tours, excursions, inventions, and personal items of interest to bicyclers, inviting correspondence and news items from readers to be sent to the editor at 75 Fulton Street, New York.
- Editorial (signed J.W.) arguing that cyclists must actively assert their legal rights on highways and parks rather than meekly tolerate hostility from horse-men and livery stable operators along the Coney Island road, and must pursue legal prosecution against those who deliberately obstruct or damage bicycles.
- Pre-Meet letter from Boston correspondent 'Juvenis' predicting 850 attendees, reviewing the Excelsior Cyclometer favourably after 300 miles of testing, and sharing a practical tip for repairing a broken wheel rim using rawhide string wound tightly around the fracture, which held for 20 miles.
- Detailed road test (reprinted from The Cyclist) of the Coventry Machinists' Company 'Cheylesmore Club' tricycle (priced at £21 with ball bearings): 44-inch driving wheels with chain drive, rear steering via rack and pinion, powerful spoon brakes acting on both driving wheels, and a curvilinear hay-fork frame tested over country roads near Coventry.
- Correspondent 'Woll' reports that Lacy Hillier won the Surrey Bicycle Club Ten Miles Challenge Cup on April 30 in 35m. 53.5s., that champion H. L. Cortis has retired from racing to become official handicapper to the Bicycle Union, and that the B.T.C. and Bicycle Union are co-operating on local centre schemes and railway charges.
- Club notes: Arlington Bi. Club elected Dr. Wm. Tindall as president and lists 27 members including 5 honorary; the Hartford Wheel Club held a moonlight run on May 20 with over 30 riders including New Britain Bi. Club members, gaining three new members on the spot; and the Susquehanna Bi. Club was organized May 19 with six active members, club colours purple and gold.
- Notice that the B.T.C. - the international organization with over 4,000 members - invites American wheelmen to join at 2s. 6d. annual fee plus a silver badge; Chief Consul Frank W. Weston will maintain temporary B.T.C. headquarters at the St. Botolph, Tremont Street, Boston, during the L.A.W. Meet on May 28-31, with a run to the suburbs on May 29 and an English smoking concert on May 31.
- Call for League of American Wheelmen consuls to meet on Sunday May 29, starting from Trinity Church square at 11 a.m. for a run to Waltham via Chestnut Hill Reservoir (about 12 miles), followed by an informal business meeting and lunch to plan the coming season's activities.