The Wheel: Journal of Bicycling, Vol 2, No 4
Articles in this issue
- A lighthearted notes column reporting the postponement of the New York wheelmen's Election Day meet due to rain, rescheduled to Thanksgiving Day; praises the six Kings County wheelmen who turned up through the mud and the man who came from Perth Amboy, and raises the idea of indoor winter riding at the American Institute.
- Race results including a three-mile race at Stenton on November 5 won by William Woodside of the Manhattan Bicycle Club in 10m. 54s., with Powell of the Germantown Club finishing second on a borrowed machine after disabling his own before the start.
- Club news covering a two-mile handicap at the Columbia College Athletic Association games won by H. C. Taylor in 6m. 51 3/8s., and the Manhattan Club's special meeting where new By-Laws were adopted and a board elected with Randolph Hurry as President, Fred G. Bourne as Captain, and F. A. Coleman re-elected Secretary.
- A humorous correspondence piece by 'Handy Andy' recounting a chance encounter with a Boston cyclist known as 'The Pirate' on a Newton road, from whom the author extracted gossip including the Massachusetts Club taking the Crescents under its wing, Commodore Weston abandoning yachting, and commentary on the League of American Wheelmen's recent New York officers' meeting.
- An untitled correspondence letter signed A. G. Rowler describing the dejected scene at 791 Fifth Avenue on Election Day when the meet was found postponed to Thanksgiving, naming the Mercury, Manhattan, Lone Star, Lenox, New York and Yonkers club men who gathered in the mud before dispersing at noon.
- A narrative account by club member X.Y.X. of a Sunday ride from Newport to Alexandria with companions Livingston, Strowbridge, and Norton ('Heavy'), joining up with Captain Reed — decorated racing champion — and hill-climber Galway; the piece also mentions a club member's new cyclometer invention for which a patent has been applied.
- A detailed editorial comparing the tricycle and bicycle, listing the tricycle's disadvantages (greater weight, increased friction, three-track road resistance, lower speed, higher cost) against twelve advantages including safety, comfort, and luggage capacity, drawing on London Cyclist editor Mr. Nairn's account of touring on a sociable double tricycle at speeds reaching 14 miles an hour on the road from Shepherd's Bush to Colchester.
- An editorial by F.J. questioning recent American cycling time records, citing a disputed two-mile race at which careless time-keeping inflated the result, and scrutinising a claim by W. W. Stall of the Boston Bicycle Club (riding a 58-inch Harvard) to have ridden a mile in 3m. 7s. with a flying start, arguing it cannot displace Clark's standing-start record of 3m. 8¼s.
- A critical letter signed 'Action' questioning whether the League of American Wheelmen — grown from 150 to 2,100 members since its founding at Newport, R.I. — is fulfilling its constitutional pledge to defend members' rights, citing its failure to assist Mr. Joslin of Newburgh or the Providence club in assault cases despite holding nearly $1,200 in its treasury.