WHEN SAN JOSE’S BUSINESSMEN WERE CYCLISTS - San Jose Mercury-news, Volume LXXIV, Number 72, 12 March 1908
WHEN SAN JOSE'S BUSINESSMEN WERE CYCLISTS
Fifth Number in Series of Sketches, Accompanied by Photographs Resurrected From Musty Garret of Local Business House, Presented This Morning.
THE above cut represents the popular Deputy County Assessor, Al Barker, in the days of the "cheesecutter," as the style of bicycle illustrated here was termed about 1890.
However, Al was an enthusiastic cycle rider and member of the Garden City Wheelmen long before the cycle had reached this stage in its development, having participated in many racing events on the old clumsy "ordinary” when it first made its appearance. He rode on the old dirt track on West Julian street and also on the track which was formerly located an South First street at the junction of Second.
Al was fast in those days and captured many prizes. This was before the days of Edwards and Otto Ziegler and other well-known cycle-track stars who developed later.
Al was one of the members of the Garden City Wheelmen's relay team which won the first 100-mile relay race around the San Francisco Bay. He retired from the track about '94 and is perhaps one of the best known men around town today.
The bicycle represented in the photograph above was similar to that shown in the Mercury yesterday together with a photograph of Joseph Delmas. The tires were of solid rubber and accordingly the frame of the wheel was well equipped with springs to eliminate the terrible jolting to which the first models of this kind of machine subjected the rider.
