The Wheel: Journal of Bicycling, Vol 12, No 18
Articles in this issue
- Jonah's regular column covers road conditions along the Jersey coast from Ocean Beach to Asbury Park, includes an embedded letter from 'The Whale' about cycling the shore roads south of Long Branch, and closes with news of an upcoming bicycle race meeting at the N.J.C. & A.A. grounds featuring Hall, Stenken, and Rich.
- Race report on the five-mile road championship of Union County run at Westfield in a steady rain, won by W.H. Caldwell of the Elizabeth Wheelmen in 18:47½ after a close sprint finish over A.W. Pierson of the Union County Wheelmen.
- Boston correspondent Stylus covers the recent heat wave, the plucky rainy tandem ride of the Miss Kirkwoods from Gloucester to Malden, New York tandem tourists on the North Shore, Cambridge Club plans for Marblehead Neck, and the Eastern Road Club's coming road race.
- G.W. Nellis Jr. recounts cycling the Wyoming section of his transcontinental ride, pushing through bottomless sand between Rawlins and Rock Springs, walking railroad ties to Green River and Fort Bridger, and enduring a hailstorm that turned clay roads to mud before reaching Evanston.
- Brief cycling news items including W.J. Morgan's reported quarter-mile world record of 33¼ seconds in London, the Overman Wheel Co. fitting a tricycle for a Brighton postman, the Ohio Division's annual meet, M.A. Munson's European tour, and the Orange Wanderers' planned race meet on August 27.
- Full account of the Kansas Division L.A.W. annual meet at Paola on July 19-20, covering the business session that re-elected C.C. Candy as Secretary-Treasurer and C.S. Davis as Vice-Consul, race results dominated by F.S. Ray and Harry Gordon of St. Louis, and a club excursion to Osawatomie including a visit to John Brown's monument.
- Editorial praising the Brooklyn Bicycle Club's decision to publish an educational pamphlet for distribution to potential recruits, arguing that spreading accurate knowledge of cycling benefits the entire wheelman community and urging other clubs to follow suit.
- Cycling correspondent Milo reports on the Ilderan Bicycle Club tourists' visit to Montreal, the Montreal Bicycle Club's eight-mile handicap road race won by Eddie Barlow, a hill-climbing contest at Cote-des-Neiges won only by A.T. Lane on a geared safety, and practical tips on leather saddle-padding and locating machine squeaks.
- Correspondent Toiler reports new cycling interest in Albany following the Liberty Bill, describes a thirty-five-mile club run over the Berkshire Hills to Pittsfield hosted by the Berkshire County Wheelmen, and a subsequent run through Lenox and Great Barrington to Hudson over roads the writer calls the finest ever ridden.
- Account of the Ilderan Bicycle Club's multi-day tour through the Thousand Islands, Prescott, and the St. Lawrence rapids to Montreal, including athletic contests at Round Island witnessed by 800 spectators and a concluding day exploring Montreal's Mount Royal Park with members of the Montreal Bicycle Club.
- Capt. A.D. Peck recounts his 313-mile bicycle tour with J.M. Burr from Boston to Washington, taking in Long Island roads, New York club houses, the Oranges, Trenton, Philadelphia, and Washington, with a warm reception from wheelmen in Baltimore before returning home by steamer.
- Report on two record attempts at Long Eaton on July 8: George Gatehouse of Cambridge University set a new amateur one-mile tricycle record of 2:41 3-5, while Dr. E.B. Turner and E. Kinderlen broke the one-mile tandem record with 2:38 4-5; W.A. Illston also lowered the half-mile record to 1:14 at Coventry.
- Biographical tribute to New York Assemblyman Jacob A. Cantor, who introduced and championed the cyclists' Liberty Bill against heavy opposition from New York City officials and the Park Commissioners, ultimately securing its passage through three terms of determined legislative effort.
- George R. Bidwell of the New York State Division traces the full legislative history of the Liberty Bill from the original Park Commissioner exclusion of cyclists through the bill's introduction by Cantor, unanimous Assembly passage, a Senate vote of 25-2, a public hearing before the Governor, and the final signing, crediting the Division's 20,000-name petition and statewide press campaign.
- Local notes from the Cooperstown Pathfinder Bicycle Club including visits from Richfield Springs riders on Pony Stars, extended tours by club officers through Albany and Schenectady, and a spirited case for Cooperstown near Otsego Lake as the ideal site for the New York State Division L.A.W. meet.
- Part Second of F.H. Rich's Westchester cycling tour covers the return from Lake Mahopac through Lake Mohegan, the spectacular mountain-ridge road near Croton Dam with its panoramic views, a cross-country detour through a swamp and over stone walls, and the descent to Merritt's Corners before a train back to New York.
- Notice that the committee for the New York State Division's annual Fall meeting proposes a two- or three-day outing at Cooperstown near Lake Otsego, describing the area's fine roads, hotel options, and scenery during hop-harvest season.
- Editorial review of the Humber Cripper Tandem imported by L.H. Johnson of Orange, N.J., praising its 36-inch drivers, automatic steering, Humber four-bearing axle, self-lubricating chains with patent-leather dress guards, and double band-brake; the machine weighs 100 lbs. as a tandem and converts to a single Cripper by removing the rear section.
- H.E.B. reports on East Hartford's remarkably active cycling scene — nearly 100 riders in a town of 3,500 — including a postponed relay race series awarding points toward a Buffalo home trainer, and ambitious plans for a two-day State championship race meeting in September.
- Brief notes including W.A. Illston's new half-mile record of 1:14, an English lecture bureau's overtures to Thomas Stevens for 30 lectures, the new one-mile tandem (2:38 4-5) and tricycle (2:41 3-5) records, Paul Medinger's German mile record of 2:36 2-5, and E.C. Bridgman's new large-scale road map of New York City and environs.
- Reprint from the Commercial Advertiser reviewing Karl Kron's 'Ten Thousand Miles on a Bicycle,' arguing that the bicycle is a practical long-distance vehicle and that cyclists are the natural missionaries of the good-roads cause, with rural districts benefiting economically from becoming destinations for wheelmen.