THE WHEELMEN. - J. E. Edwards Wants the World's Five-Mile Road Record. - The San Francisco Call, 18 May 1895

THE WHEELMEN.

J. E. Edwards Wants the World's Five-Mile Road Record.

San Jose Road Club - Five-mile roadrace.

Considerable interest is manifested in the performances of Walter Foster, the Olympic Club racer, and Allan Jones, the pride of the Garden City Cyclers of San Jose, who are now racing against the cracks of Southern California in the "California Cycle Racing Circuit Confederation". In that word "confederation" I see the pet scheme of Charles Fuller Gates at last realized, and indeed I am told that it was Gates, assisted by T. H. B. Varney, who arranged this circuit of races, Mr. Varney is always doing something like that to assist the sport, and deserves great credit for his willingness to always foster anything tending to add interest to cycling.

This southern circuit as now arranged is as follows: Races were held at Santa Barbara on May 15 and at Ventura yesterday, and will be held at Pasadena May 20, San Bernardino May 22, Riverside May 23, Santa Ana May 25, Los Angeles May 30 and June 1, San Diego June 8, Bakersfield June 12, and Fresno June 15, thus making a full month's circuit of racing, ten meetings in all, with intermediate days for resting. Last Wednesday the first races of the circuit were ran at Santa Barbara, and as already reported, Burke and Castleman from Southern California carried off all the honors in the class B events. Foster and Jones each won a third place. It is safe to say, however, that Trainer Aylward will have the Rambler team in splendid shape very shortly, and then the positions at the finish may be different. Burke and Castleman each won a first and second prize at the Fabiola Mayday fete races last Saturday, and are in about the best condition of any of the coast class B men at present.

The programme of the southern meets will be nearly the same, with prizes as follows, unless changes are made in the meantime: One-mile novice, gold and silver medals; two-mile class B handicap, $105 bicycle-first prize, $40 suit of clothes second prize; mile class A, handicap, $40 suit of clothes first prize, $15 bicycle suit second prize. Mile county championship, $50 gold medal. Mile open class B, $105 bicycle first prize, $40 suit of clothes second.

The Pacific Cycling Club will hold a run to San Jose next Sunday, riding down on this side of the bay. The start will be at 5:30 o'clock A. M. from Twenty-first and Valencia streets.

A meeting of the Portuguese Bicycle Club was held at 525 Front street last Tuesday evening, May 16. The officers of this new club are: President, Jose Baptista; vice-president, Manuel Henas; secretary, Jose J. de Freitas; treasurer, Antonio A. Sarmento.

At a meeting of the Outing Road Club last Monday evening new by-laws were adopted. J. Hilborn was elected vice-president. Five new riders were elected to membership. The roll is fast increasing, and the club bids fair to become quite a factor in wheeling circles here. Last Sunday a run was held to Alvarado, and a week from to-morrow another country spin will be taken under Captain Davis.

A match team race is about arranged be tween the employees of the Gray Bros. Paving Company and the Cushing-Wetmore Company. The cyclers in the latter firm think they have a "moral" if the race should come off, but their opponents say they are all stale from overtraining and won't be "in it."

Frank M. Byrne's name is up for membership in the Olympic Club. He is already a member of the Imperial Cycling Club and the Acme Club of Oakland. Question: Will the Olympic Club Wheelmen now gather him in?

Messrs. Johnson and Birdsall of the California Cycling Club rode a century around the bay last Wednesday. They say the roads are excellent, except near Alvarado, where they are nearly impassable.

Thomas Watters, an old and well-known member of the Bay City Wheelmen, was married last Sunday to Miss May Stevens of this City. They will take up their permanent residence in Sacramento, where Mr. Watters' business interests are. Here's a chance for the Sacramento Athletic Club Wheelmen to get a good member.

Captain Dodge has called a run of the Bay City Wheelmen for to-morrow to Centerville, leaving here on the 9 A. M. creek route boat. As this is a popular destination, an exceptionally large attendance is expected.

Messrs. Scovern, Smythe and Spalding have been elected to membership in the Liberty Cycling Club. The club has a run called for to-morrow to the Presidio. The club's new emblem, a liberty bell, looks very pretty, worked in gold silk and attached to their sweaters.

B. E. Clark of the Garden City Cyclers has gone to Southern California, and while there will do some class A racing. They will find him a good man in handicap events.

There will be a five-mile bicycle race on the East San Jose course on Sunday, May 26, in which only the Slavonian young men of Santa Clara County will compete. The race is under the management of L. B. Slavich.

W. A Terrill, the Bay City Wheelmen's crack racer, who went East to race with the Syracuse team this season, arrived at Louisville on the 8th inst. He says in a letter to his club that they have treated him splendidly since he got there; that the weather is very hot - the thermometer then being at 93 deg. - but then we all know Terrill is at his best when he is perspiring freely, so the news was gratifying. The Louisville, track is of cement, three laps to the mile, and very similar to the San Jose track, except that the accommodations at Louisville for the riders, officials and press are much superior. Terrill's performances in the East this year will be watched with great interest by all his friends here.

To-morrow the Olympic Club Wheelmen will hold two club races at the Central Park track at 10:30 A. M.; a one-mile handicap and a half-mile handicap. There are a large number of entrants, and the park will surely present a live picture to-morrow morning.

The California Cycling Club will ride to Petaluma to-morrow under Captain Burk, starting on the 8 A. M. ferry and taking the train as far as San Rafael. The roads through Marin County are at their best this time of the year.

At a special meeting held last Monday evening the Crescent Road Club effected a reorganization with a revised charter roll, changing its name to the Royal Cycling Club. The new club has secured quarters in the Castle mansion at Van Ness avenue and Sutter street, which it will occupy by June 1. To-morrow the club will have a 1 picnic run to Crystal Springs, and a five-mile road race is scheduled for the early part of July.

Thomas S. Hall, a prominent Bay City Wheelman.

On Sunday, May 26, J. E. Edwards will endeavor to lower the world's five-mile road record paced by tandems over the San Mateo - San Carlos course. Query: Which club will claim the record if he gets it, as he belongs to the Olympics, Imperials and Young Men's Christian Association, and also to some Southern California club? Racing men should confine themselves to one club's colors; you cannot serve two masters.

Mr. Poole, who has had charge of the Olympic's wheelroom for a long time, will leave shortly to go into business. His successors will probably be Charles Kreling and W. W. Needham, of San Jose, than whom better selections could not have been made.

Last Sunday James Rogers of this city and George Thorn, a 13-year-old Alameda lad, rode a century around the bay within eight hours, starting from Fourth and Mission streets, which strikes me as being a pretty good performance.

Olympic Club Wheelmen's Century Emblem and Bar.

Herewith is a facsimile of the emblem and century bar which will hereafter be given by the Olympic Club Wheelmen to such of its members who ride centuries, a bar being added for each performance. A "century" in wheeling parlance means riding 100 miles. If the rider covers the distance in seven and a half hours the bar he receives will be of gold; if it takes ten hours, silver; thirteen hours, bronze. Of course, many will make the trip and there will be a great demand for bars at first, but after the novelty wears off the engravers will have a rest, for riding a century is no easy thing to the average man and ceases to become a duty when the other fellows are off on some short jaunt on a picnic run.

Attention is called to the correspondence from Los Angeles in to-day's CALL, which contains some particularly interesting wheeling news.

W. W. Cleveland, Austin Sperry and E. D. Roach have joined the Bay City Wheelmen this week.

The Crescent Road Club having changed its name to the Royal Cycling Club, all communications intended for either should be addressed to the secretary, Joy Lichtenstein, at the new clubhouse, corner of Van Ness avenue and Sutter street.

The Oakland Y. M. C. A. Cycling Club is steadily improving its condition under the new officers, and many new members are coming in weekly. On Saturday, June 1, the cylers will give a reception to wheelmen in the afternoon and an entertainment in the evening. On the following Saturday afternoon a five-mile handicap road race will be held over the San Leandro course. Early in July many of the members will join in a trip to the Yosemite Valley on wheels, and from the number who have signified their intentions of attending this promises to be the largest and longest club run on record.

The Golden Gate Cycling Club is still increasing in membership, and while the charter roll is still open it will soon contain the allotted number of names. The election of officers is set for June 28, and already members are talking about it and choices are being voiced. A ladies' night will be held shortly, and many pleasant country runs are planned for the near future.

Leon B. Thomas has resigned from the Olympic Club Wheelmen, and as he was a delegate to the Associated Clubs Stanley G. Scovern has been appointed to the place. Thomas will shortly open up a bicycle-renting establishment on Sixteenth street and Telegraph avenue, Oakland. Thomas was president of the famous “Our Set," which cut such a dash in cycling circles here last winter. Of the other three members Wilbur Knapp is selling bicycles, J. Fagothey has opened a cyclery near the park, and now Thomas is trying his luck at it. Now, to complete the thing, if the other member would go into the trade - "Billy" Stinson - but it is unlikely.

The San Jose Road Club will hold a race meet on Saturday, June 1, at the Garden City Cyclers' track. The following committee have charge of the affair: J. T. Bailey, R. D. McFarland, C. E. Warren, C. C. Clapman, C. J. Belloli, C. Tischer, A. Schweitzer and Al Louis. The events and prizes will be as follows:

One mile novice, gold and silver medals; two-mile handicap, class A, gold stopwatch, suit of clothes, silver water service: one-mile scratch, class A, $50 unset diamond, $25 clock, $15 piano-lamp; two-mile handicap, class B, $100 diamond stud, $50 gold stopwatch, $25 overcoat.

The entries will close at San Jose with the last mail delivery on Saturday, May 25.

G. Hardenbrook of the San Jose Road Club lowered the record from there to Gilroy by 19 minutes last Sunday, part of the way unpaced. His time was 1 hour and 30 minutes for the thirty miles.

The Road Club will hold another five-mile road race for the silver cup to-morrow, over the East San Jose course. The starters will be: T. E. Belloli and F. A. McFarland, scratch; Navlet, 10 seconds; Hardenbrook, 25 seconds; Tremoureaux, 45 seconds; Benson, 50 seconds; Herrington, 50 seconds; Grant Bell, 50 seconds; O'Brien, Hammonds and Carroll, 1 minute; D. E. O'Brien and C. E. Warren, 1 minute 15 seconds. An additional trophy will be given if the record for the course of 13 minutes 48 seconds is lowered.

Thomas S. Hall, whose picture is presented herewith, is one of the Bay City Wheelmen's fast class B men. He is hardly 20 years of age, but developed into a good rider about eighteen months ago, and having the advantage of training with the Rambler team soon showed himself to be possessed of considerable speed. He is heavily built and an all-round athlete, and with another year upon the track should be up in front with the other class B men. He rode the seventh relay for his club in 29:07 4-5. Hall has had a happy faculty of winning handicap races, but of late the official handicapper has shortened his limit, which shows he was cognizant that Hall was fast enough to be brought nearer the scratch men.

The Garden City Cyclers will be active from now on in the way of Sunday runs, Captain Delmas having arranged some trip for every week. On the 26th inst, the club will ride to Gilroy to witness the finish of the San Jose-Gilroy road race between teams of five men each from four of the principal stores of San Jose. As these establishments have in their employ some fine riders, the race should be a scorch from start to finish. Then on the morning of May 30 (Decoration day) the club will ride to this City to attend the race meeting of the Bay City Wheelmen. On June 2 Captain Delmas announces a picnic run to Llagas. On Sunday, June 9, a joint run is talked of with the Pajaro Valley Wheelmen, but, as this is the day set for the annual picnic run of the California Associated Cycling Clubs to Niles Canyon, this date should be changed. On Wednesday, June 12, the cyclers will attend the Santa Cruz water carnival. So it goes - something on the card every week. No wonder they have a membership of over 300. Some of the local captains might copy from Mr. Delmas to advantage, and they would cease to wonder why interest in the club was lacking and the members failed to come around.

Captain Kitchen will lead the Acme Club Wheelmen to-morrow on a run to Birds Valley, where they will be joined by the Trampers' annex of the club.

It is not likely that L. W. Fox, the popular Los Angeles racer, will be seen on the track here this summer, as he has too many engagements down south. Fox is representing one of the most popular wheels on the market — the Fowler - which Davis Bros. are handling here. Its appearance and the evident care taken in its manufacture commend it to ail wheelmen as a splendid road or track wheel.

L. C. Whal of Colorado Springs rode fifty miles last Friday without pacemakers in exactly two hours. He made the first four miles in 8 minutes, and forded the Fountain River, which is 100 yards wide. The previous world's record for the distance was held by Linton, of Herne Hill, England, 2 hours 27 1/2 min.; the best previous American record was held by Kemnler of Asbury Park, 2 hours 30 min. 40 sec. Whal's time is simply wonderful. Think of it! Twenty-five miles an hour for two hours on the road. Think you could do that?

There will be a 50-mile relay road race next Saturday over the San Leandro triangle between six riders each from the Oakland and San Jose high schools. The San Francisco scholars intended to compete, but examinations for Stanford and Berkeley will prevent their entering or training. Each of the six men will ride once around the triangle, 8 1-3 miles. The Oakland team will be: Gooch, Childs, Mahoney, Baker, Orra and Colby. The San Jose team has not yet been selected.

If you are a racing man, don't forget that the entries for the Bay City Wheelmen's great race meeting on May 30 will close at the clubhouse, 441 Golden Gate avenue, with the last mail delivery on Thursday, May 24, for handicap events, and on the 27th for scratch races.

SPALDING

There was a great excitement in the rear of the Palace Hotel last Wednesday evening, when Andrew Coleman, the pawnbroker, attempted to spread himself on a bicycle. "Hold me up, Joe," "Easy there, Dave," "Look out! don't let me fall on you," etc., he cried to his hired men, Joe Breckman and Dave Cook, who were straining themselves on each side of the wheel in a vain endeavor to propel the 327 pounds of humanity comprising Coleman's elephantine form.

The wheel moved a little, when there was a sudden creaking sound, followed by a crank. The two helpers jumped from the sides of the bike just as the wheel broke in the middle, and the would be rider landed with a smothered sound on the bituminous pavement and settled into a huge impression caused thereby.

The shock shook the Palace and neighboring houses, and cries of earthquake were heard, followed by a hasty exit from some of the tenements. The truth was soon learned, and some of the neighbors with a long and strong pull extracted the rider from the damaged pavement. The wheel, past repair, was sent to a junk-shop, and it is now said that Coleman will ride no more until a bike made with truck wheels, which he has ordered built, arrives.

BICYCLE TIRES.

They Are Amply Protected by City Ordinances.

The CALL is requested to inform all cyclers and others interested in clean streets that if they will notify Captain Haley, clerk of the Chief of Police, at the New City Hall, whenever they see broken glass, wire or any refuse matter on the public thoroughfare, giving him the street and house number, he will see that the matter is promptly attended to by the proper officers. The City ordinance relating to the throwing of garbage on streets is amply sufficient if it is carried out.