ROAD RECORD TRIAL. - To Be Made by Charles M. Smith of the Garden City Cyclers. - San Jose Mercury-news, 16 October 1896

From Wooljersey

ROAD RECORD TRIAL.

To Be Made by Charles M. Smith of the Garden City Cyclers.

An official trial for the world’s five-mile road record will be made by C. M. Smith of the Garden City Cyclers Sunday afternoon. The course will be from Milpitas to the northern city limits.

"Bunt" will start from Milpitas at 3:30 p. m., paced by Ed and Roy Johnson on tandem for two miles, while Julius Smith and Gail Hardenbrook will take him the remaining three miles.

Captain Jury has charge of the trial, and it is officially sanctioned by George H. Stratton of the Road Racing Committee.

The record is 11:11 2-5, held by George Hamlin of San Francisco, and three attempts will be made Sunday to cut it.

Sydney B. Vincent of the Bay City Wheelmen will make a trial, paced by the Rambler quad, and M. M. Cook of the Imperial Cycling Club will attempt it, paced by tandems. Their trials will take place over the San Leandro-Haywards course, on which the record was made. In a practice trial yesterday afternoon Smith rode easily in 11:40, the pacing being done by one tandem manned by Hardy Downing and H. D. Baker of the Cyclers. On account of Downing being a professional he cannot pace at the sanctioned trial.

Many teams were encountered and the roads were wet in several places from the sprinkling carts, so the time was necessarily slow on these accounts. Smith’s clubmates have great confidence in his ability to break the record.

San Jose Mercury-news, Volume L, Number 108, 16 October 1896