The Wheel: Journal of Bicycling, Vol 9, No 8
Articles in this issue
- Regular department collecting cycling news from across the U.S. and England: Dr. Kendall's 3,500-mile season, Grant Bell turning professional, W. A. Rowe's prize earnings, safety-bicycle speed trials at Highgate, the Tioga CC's successful complaint to the Pennsylvania Railroad over mishandled bicycles, and commentary on the Cyclist and Athlete journal's contract with the New Jersey State Division.
- Boston correspondent's column covering the upcoming 25-mile Thanksgiving Day road race organised by Dr. W. G. Kendall, the Massachusetts club's fancy-dress carnival planned for Mechanics Building on December 16th, W. A. Rhodes's three failed century attempts, Munger's third failed 24-hour record bid ended by a wagon collision in Chester Park, and the burglary of the Boston Bicycle Club.
- The club secretary gives a humorous account of the Maryland Bicycle Club's house-warming reception at their new four-storey red-brick clubhouse overlooking Druid Hill Park and Mt. Royal Reservoir in Baltimore, attended by the Mayor, several generals, and nearly 2,000 guests despite a driving rain.
- Race report of the 5-mile match race at the Minneapolis rink on November 10th for a $100 purse: Bell rode a Star bicycle and took the lead on the 31st lap to beat Woodside—who unexpectedly appeared on a 29-lb. Rudge Safety instead of his Columbia Racer—finishing in 17m. 53s.
- The Missouri Bicycle Club's new clubhouse on Cardinal Avenue between Pine and Olive streets in St. Louis is described from its plans: red-pressed-brick exterior, gymnasium accommodating 200 members, over 100 lockers, billiard and card rooms, a strict no-alcohol policy, and an adjacent lot for lawn tennis.
- Detailed account of champion William A. Rowe's triumphant homecoming to Lynn, Massachusetts on November 12th: a torchlight bicycle parade of 80 wheelmen through the city streets was followed by a banquet at Hotel Boscobel where Col. Albert A. Pope, Mayor Baldwin, and Rowe's father offered toasts, and the Mayor presented Rowe with a gold club-badge.
- Editorial essay arguing that cycling has risen from the despised hobby of attenuated youths to the pursuit of businessmen, lawyers, athletes, and clergymen, citing Brooklyn's Park Commissioners and noting that the bicycle's freedom from feed costs, spavin, and stable-boys gives it practical advantages over the horse.
- Reprinted from The Faversham News and East Kent Journal of October 31st, describing engineer W. Fletcher's water-powered tricycle: pumps force water into an accumulator that drives cylinders directly to the axle, producing at least one horsepower with two operators; patent No. 4910 was filed in October 1883.
- Letter from Thomas Stevens dated October 1st from Teheran, Persia, reporting that he cycled the last 200 miles in three days over hard gravelly plains, having covered approximately 4,326 miles since Liverpool including a thousand miles of mountain ranges through Asia Minor and Kurdistan, with experiences to be published in Outing magazine.
- Reprinted from the Chicago Tribune, this piece argues that 1885 will see a great multiplication of women tricyclists in America, citing Princess Beatrice's adoption of the machine and contending that American girls' improving physical training will let them match their English counterparts in outdoor endurance.
- Club notes reporting new officers at the Washington Cycle Club, Jamestown NY BC, and the newly organised Mountain Wheel Club at Philipsburg, Pennsylvania (eleven members, all Columbia riders), plus a sardonic exchange item noting that re-measurements have progressively shrunk the Boston BBC's alleged 100-mile road course from 100 to 97 to 94½ miles.
- A. A. McCurdy of Lynn broke the 100-mile road record on Monday, November 16th, completing the Newton Centre course four times in 7h. 51m. 30s. with Munger pacing the first 50 miles and David Drummond of Cambridge the final two laps, erasing Cola Stone's mark.