The Wheel: Journal of Bicycling, Vol 8, No 13
Articles in this issue
- Full text of the L.A.W. committee report (chaired by W. L. Harris) submitted June 5, 1885, recommending the League establish its own weekly official paper called the 'L. A. W. Bulletin,' with detailed financial estimates and a proposed stock-company structure. The editors of The Wheel then append a critical commentary contrasting the committee's figures with a competing bid from W. N. Oliver & Co. of New York, arguing the amateur scheme would cost the League far more than a professional contract.
- A column of short cycling news and editorial squibs: the Buffalo B.C.'s annual fifty-mile road race of June 11th won by Frank White of Rome, N.Y. in 3h. 57m. 10s.; 193 men applying for League membership in a week; the Kings County Wheelmen's moonlight parade of 164 riders through Williamsburgh; announcements of the Fort Schuyler meet at Utica and the Bartholomew County tournament at Columbus, Ind.; and E. Oxborrow's improvement on the Land's End to John O'Groat's record. Several paragraphs trade barbs with the British and rival American papers Wheeling, Wheel Life and the Southern Cycler.
- A letter from a self-described 'Loyal Member' challenges the committee's plan for a League organ, questioning why Philadelphia should be chosen over New York as the publication city and raising legal objections to forming a Pennsylvania stock company controlled largely by non-residents. The writer contends that the guaranteed-loss provision and vague capitalization make the scheme risky and urges the League to keep clear of it.
- A detailed description of the Buffalo Bicycle Club's new club house on Virginia Street, to be opened just before the L.A.W. annual meet, featuring a reception room with silk curtains and wicker chairs, a billiard room, library and secretary-treasurer's office, card room, dressing room with bath, and a cellar for wheel storage.
- Boston correspondent C. S. H. reports on the sparse turnout of Boston wheelmen heading to the Buffalo meet, tracing it to the fallout from the 1882 Chicago meet and the Boston club's withdrawal from the League. The column also recounts a humorous anecdote from the Massachusetts club's four-day Portsmouth tour, during which a loose cow chased the party half a mile, and notes the Fitchburg and West Shore railroads' reduced fares for League members ($12 round trip, Boston to Niagara Falls).
- A lively account of the post-race social gathering at the Kings County Wheelmen's club rooms at 169 Clymer Street, Williamsburgh, attended by about thirty to forty guests including Messrs. Bidwell, O. G. Moses of the Ixions, F. M. Price of the W.A.C., and E. P. Baird of New Orleans, with speeches and refreshments following the third annual race meet.
- Racing results from England covering the Brixton Ramblers' sixth annual meet at the Crystal Palace track on June 6th, where M. Webber (Isle of Wight) won the mile handicap and two-mile scratch in 5m. 55 2-5s.; the Speedwell B.C. meet where W. A. Illston broke the track record in 2m. 44 1-5s.; and Lawrence Fletcher's record Land's End to John O'Groats tricycle run on a Humber, beating A. Nixon's record by six and a half hours.
- Full report of the Kings County Wheelmen's third annual race meet at the Williamsburgh Athletic Club grounds, with results across six events: C. E. Kluge won the half-mile novice (1m. 35 1-5s.); A. B. Rich, K.C.W., won the two-mile handicap from scratch (6m. 20s.) and the three-mile L.A.W. championship (9m. 41s.) by a wheel over George E. Webber of Smithville; T. R. Finley won the one-mile without hands; F. B. Hawkins took the two-mile Brooklyn B.C. championship; and George E. Weber won the ten-mile scratch race.
- Results from the Trojan Wheelmen's spring race meet at Renssalaer Park, Troy, N.Y., on June 18th, where H. S. Kavanaugh of Cohoes dominated the open events, winning the two miles (7.04), three miles (12.44), and one-mile open (3m. 17¼s.), while W. J. Wyley took the three-mile club championship in 11m. 49¾s.
- A satirical character sketch of the 'Anglomaniac,' the young American cyclist who returns from a brief visit to England filled with contempt for American cycling and manners, carrying a walking stick, floating along the thoroughfare with an 'oscillating amble,' and boring acquaintances at club houses with recycled English cycling anecdotes.
- Transportation circular from Geo. R. Bidwell for the L.A.W. meet committee, detailing a special train leaving New York's Jay Street and 42nd Street at 6 p.m. on July 1st via the West Shore & Buffalo Railway, arriving Buffalo at 6:20 a.m. July 2nd, with round-trip fares of $7.50 including free bicycle transport and optional Pullman berths at $2.00 extra.
- Announcement of F. A. Elwell's third guided bicycle tour through Maine, starting from Boston by the Eastern R.R. on July 17th and covering 150 miles from Moosehead Lake to Bar Harbor over eleven days, with an average of about twenty miles per day; the Pine Tree Wheel Club of Bangor arranges races in Maplewood Park and a moonlight sail on the Penobscot for the visiting party.
- Compiled fixtures and club news including the Fort Schuyler Wheelmen's two-day meet at Utica (June 30-July 1), the Canadian Wheelmen's Association meet at Woodstock and the L.A.W. sixth annual meet at Buffalo (July 2-3), closing dates for entries, and the election of officers for the Capital B.C. of Washington (President John Rullis), the Dearborn Cycling Club of Chicago (President B. Ayers), and the Meriden Wheel Club (President T. S. Rust).
- Results of the combined bicycle races held at Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, on June 13th before about 5,000 spectators, covering six events; J. K. Bartlett won the 1½-mile open for Druid Cyclists in 4m. 52s. and the one-mile open in 3m. 14s., while W. E. Christ of Washington dominated the scratch events until being disqualified in the three-mile handicap for an illegal push-off.
- Announcement that the third annual meet of the Pennsylvania State Division and the second annual race meeting of the Scranton B.C. will be held at Scranton on July 23rd, with the parade forming at 10 a.m. at the club's headquarters, 121 Wyoming Avenue, and races at the Driving Park including open scratch, state championship, ride-and-run and tug-of-war events.
- Humorous essay by 'Norb' on the tribulations of the long-distance bicycle tourist, who must endure endless questions from curious farmers and hotel loafers about speed, fatigue, and the mechanics of the bicycle; the writer proposes having a phonograph with a loud 'Shut Up!' response to ward off questioners, and describes the tourist's insatiable appetite, excess baggage, and tendency to linger wherever pretty girls are seen.