The Wheel: Journal of Bicycling, Vol 10, No 4
Articles in this issue
- City correspondent C. S. H. reports the formal organization of new bicycle clubs in Chelsea (President Abbott Bassett) and Melrose, and notes moonlight runs planned by the Massachusetts and Boston clubs following the Waltham club's recent exhibition.
- Official L.A.W. Racing Board notice from Chairman Abbot Bassett declaring ten wheelmen—including Geo. M. Hendee, A. O. McGarrett, W. A. Rhodes, F. F. Ives, and W. H. Huntley—professional and expelled from the League for failing to prove amateur status within thirty days, while suspending W. N. Winans, D. E. Hunter, and others from the race track until May 30.
- Preview of the April 26 fifty-mile road race at Clarksville, Mo., organized by the American Wheelman, with secured road right-of-way from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., refreshments at four corners, steamboat transport for spectators to the Mississippi River finish, and an evening banquet and ball at Clarksville Hall for 300 guests.
- Announcement of an international cycling show at the Royal Albert Palace, London, May 3–17, to be opened by a member of the Royal Family, with £200 in race prizes for amateurs and professionals and representatives from all leading papers invited.
- Round-up of cycle trade news: J. S. Murray's strong Boston sales of Gormully & Jeffrey wheels; Jens Pedersen's imported split-seconds stop-watch novelty; Geo. R. Bidwell's new 1886 Rudge line; George Singer of Coventry visiting Boston; Gormully & Jeffrey running 150 mechanics from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; William Read & Sons' twenty-page spring catalogue; Ira Perego's C.T.C. cloth and cycling goods; and Phillips' four-rider combination quadricycle built through Rudge & Co. expected to exceed twenty miles an hour.
- Omnibus column of domestic and foreign cycling news: Karl Kron's delayed publication, Fred Cooper and W. Nicholson's new ten-mile tandem tricycle record of 34m. 17s. on the Ripley Road, Citizens B.C. member Ansell N. Kellogg's death in Florida, the Prince-Woodside 25-mile Minneapolis race won by Prince in 1h. 19m. 56 3-5s., Thomas Stevens' route change from Teheran northward through Bokhara toward Pekin, the Springfield B.C.'s suspension of Hendee, McGarrett, and Winans, and a review of the C.T.C. Handbook and Guide for 1886.
- Detailed description of Pope Mfg. Co.'s new Columbia Safety bicycle, with 42-inch and 20-inch wheels, crescent felloes, adjustable crank and chain-driving gear, Edwards detachable link chain tested to 2,000 lbs., and KirkPatrick saddle—priced at $140, to be available around May 1.
- Account of the deciding 50-mile race at Washington Rink, Minneapolis, where Prince collided with a boy at the 47th mile and the referee declared a draw; Woodside's splits surpassed American amateur, American professional, and English professional records from the 43rd mile to the finish, though the League Racing Board will not recognize them as they were made on a board floor.
- Commentary on the NY Division's quarterly report showing $1,031.75 in receipts, a balance of $1,173.80, and 1,180 members, urging the Division to spend its surplus on a comprehensive road-book and a campaign to secure cyclist access to all parts of Central Park.
- Editorial profile of Boston cycle firm Stoddard, Lovering & Co., tracing their history from importing Singer machines in 1878 through securing the sole U.S. Rudge & Co. agency and expanding to spacious premises at 152–158 Congress Street under the management of H. D. Corey.
- Description of a novel pedal-mounted cyclometer invented by G. P. B. Hoyt of Jamaica, N.Y., employing a Geneva movement for positive, slip-free recording of up to 1,000 miles without springs, pawls, or ratchets, readable from the saddle and available in 100-mile and 1,000-mile models.
- Calendar of upcoming cycling events: April 26 American Wheelman 50-mile road race at Clarksville, May 1 Myers-George matches with bicycle event at Madison Square Garden, May 8 Hudson County Wheelmen club road race at Milburn N.J., May 21–22 International Tournament at Alexandra Park London, May 27–28 L.A.W. Annual Meet at Boston, May 31 Lynn Bicycle Club inaugural race meet, and June 19 Kings County Wheelmen spring meeting at Brooklyn.
- Editorial using the biblical parable of the foolish virgins to argue that businessmen who neglect recreation until their health collapses arrive too late, citing W. H. Vanderbilt and H. B. Claflin as proof that no man is indispensable, and urging salaried workers to take up the bicycle rather than enervating evening strolls or lounge reading.
- Editorial on the L.A.W. Racing Board's expulsions, arguing that since public opinion and the likely outcome of the May general meeting favor reinstatement, the Board should allow suspended men to race under protest until May 29 rather than forcing a repeat of the contamination-polo-professional imbroglio of 1884–5.
- Excerpt from the English journal Wheeling criticizing the N.C.U.'s suspension-on-suspicion policy as unfair to straight-riding amateurs, followed by The Wheel's editorial commentary drawing an analogy with park keepers who post 'keep off the grass' signs where the public has worn a path—urging the Racing Board to reform its tortuous rules rather than suspending riders who take the practical short cut.
- Boston correspondent column covering three subjects: how expelled Boston racing men received their suspension notices with deflated bluster; the Suffolk Wheel Club's planned three-day, 113-mile North Shore tour starting July 3 under Captain Haynes through Gloucester, Cape Ann, and Newburyport; and the stoning of Boston wheelmen by Waltham hoodlums near Newton during the Waltham club entertainment, leaving Mr. Fuller of the Newton Club senseless with a head wound for over an hour.
- Brief Boston club notes: the Massachusetts club orchestra has disbanded for the season, the Waltham club has adopted the L.A.W. uniform, and F. A. McLaughlin of the Massachusetts club is currently in New Hampshire.