THE WHEELMEN. - The San Francisco Call, 09 Nov 1895
THE WHEELMEN.
Social Entertainments Are Taking the Place of Club Runs.
Naturally the one question among wheelmen this week has been, "Are you going to San Jose?" for there were races held there yesterday, and will be to-day, in which some of the fastest riders in the
world will participate. The coming of these men to the coast and their competing with the local class B riders will be of great benefit to the latter, for it is known that the Easterners, while perhaps having no more speed than the Californians, are so well versed in the game and are familiar with so many little ways by which a race may be won against men equally as fast as themselves, that they are often victorious when riding with men who are their equals. This contact with the star performers of the National circuit will open the eyes of the Californians, and should result in their all becoming faster and better riders.
A complete account of yesterday's races will be found in another column. Among the events to be decided to-day will be the five-mile National championship. This may be competed in by both class A and B riders. There will be a large party of wheelmen from this City who will go down by train this morning to see to-day's events. The Olympic Cyclers will ride down awheel, but the captains of most of the other clubs seem to think the roads are hardly fit after the late rains. Those who could spare the time went down yesterday morning, and from the number of San Francisco riders at the track there one would think that they - particularly the Bay City's - had nothing else to do but attend bicycle race meets. But as five of the six prominent class B men (all save Bald) belong to that club, this enthusiasm is more readily understood. Most of them will return to the City to-night after the races.
There are few club runs scheduled for to-morrow, and most of the riders will doubtless frequent the park. The charter members of the California Cycling Club will ride out there via Ingleside. One is sure of a pleasant ride in the park, while the country roads in any direction are of questionable surface, usually rough and covered with dust at this time of the year.
The record of 1:02:20 for twenty-five miles on the road in competition, made by Calvin T. Paxson of the Parkside Wheel Club of Buffalo on September 30 over the Buffalo-Corfu course, is the best time in real road work produced this season, as the course is a straightaway stretch and by no means a park boulevard, where too many of the so-called road records are made.
The Olympic Cyclers will ride to San Jose to-day with Captain Butz in command. They will leave by the 8 A. M. broad-gauge boat and expect to reach there in ample time for lunch and the races in the afternoon.
The Liberty Cycling Club and its ladies' annex held a hop at the clubrooms last evening. This is the third dance given by the club, and like its predecessors, proved very enjoyable. The ladies were stylishly gowned, the music was catchy and the members had such a good time they are heartily in favor of having these club hops more frequently.
With the commencement of the rainy season wheeling must in a measure give way to social pleasures, and the dance of the Liberty Club last evening was only one of a number of similar affairs the various clubs will give from time to time during the winter. Probably the one most looked forward to at present is the entertainment and dance of the Bay City Wheelmen at Odd Fellows' Hall next Monday night. The club has been giving semi-annual dances ever since its organization in 1884, but in 1893 decided to have a short minstrel entertainment precede the hop, the talent being selected from among its members. The night came and the house was packed to the doors. The show was voted the best ever seen, here in the amateur line, and the dancing afterward proved an attractive feature. The same may also be said of the club's efforts in 1894. This year it has gone somewhat out of the ordinary and will have a high-class vaudeville entertainment instead of minstrelsy. Talented amateur and professional performers will keep the audience in a good humor until 10 o'clock, after which dancing will be indulged in until 1. All the local clubs will attend en masse, as the Bay Citys are noted for the excellence of their entertainments. The talent this year includes R. I. Whelan (our Sheriff), in comic songs; C. H. Hoag, bass singer; Miss Millie Flynn, soprano; Miss Pearl Andrews in specialties; Jack Cathcart, musical selections up to date; Calane and Gilmore, specialty artists; A. von Bendeleben, pianist and vocalist; William H. Hallett, barytone; Dave McLaughlin, character sketches; Hallett and Cathcart, the universal favorites; the Four Lassards, acrobatic comedians now at the Orpheum, and several others. Altogether it is a splendid bill and the wheelmen are insured a very jolly evening's entertainment.
Only a few nights after the Bay City show, to wit, next Friday evening, the Imperial Cycling Club will give its initial hop at Union-square Hall. This will be an evening dress affair and dancing will be the sole feature. The request for invitations has been so great as to tax the secretary's patience, but Mr. Panario is good-natured and has sent them out to good advantage. Probably it is not too late to apply to him now if you have been overlooked, for you really can't afford to miss the Imperials' first dancing party.
Single-tube tires seem to be most popular nowadays and therefore the following pointers as to repairing are valuable:
Riders of single-tube tires should exercise care in the selection of proper repairing materials, for without their aid the result of tire-mending is apt to be an unsatisfactory experiment and a waste of time. Common-sense demands that the base of the plug patch used should be of as large a circumference as can possibly be passed into the puncture-hole with the aid of a pair of small pliers, and should be be in all cases as thick at the outer edge as at the center, where the plug itself, which fills the puncture, is attached. This gives the plug patch a most necessary element, body, and braces it against the inner surface of the tire, when properly cemented, so as to strengthen the punctured portion, re-enforcing [sic] it in a manner best suited to the tire's needs. Cyclists who repair their tires with this kind of plugs and use good cement wisely need not fear unsatisfactory results. The single-tube tire is simplicity itself to repair if you do it right.
One feature of single-tube tire repairing that should be known to every rider of that class of tires is the proper setting of the plug patch in the puncture hole. The method of operation is simplicity itself, and it is surprising that so few riders realize the importance of a properly made repair enough to give it the study it deserves. The single-tube tire readily recommends itself to the majority of cyclists because of its simplicity and well-known riding and wearing qualities, and its methods of repair are kindred features. In setting the plug-patch care should be exercised to make sure that it is free from dirt and that its cemented surface lies flat against the inner surface of the tire. This can be successfully accomplished after the insertion of the plug by pushing the stem of the cement tube into the puncture hole alongside the plug and squeezing an ample supply of cement against the patch to moisten its surface thoroughly. The patch must then be revolved many times by grasping it by the projecting plug, which will spread the cement evenly before inflating the tire. This is an essential point in the repair of single-tube tires, and should never be omitted to obtain a permanent repair. The plug patch used should invariably have as large a patch surface as can be pushed through the puncture hole, and should be as thick at the edge as at the center. Any other kind has no tenacity, and will not give permanent service.
At last we are to have a cycling paper on the Pacific Coast worthy of the name, and the so-called class journals now in existence will have to take to the background. Cycling West, of Denver, a paper with an enormous circulation and one of the newsiest weeklies published, intends to open a branch office in the Donohoe building in this City and will add a dozen or more pages, which will be devoted exclusively to the Pacific Coast. The two cycling papers now issued here and at San Jose lack news, are never up to date and have met with but little favor among the wheelmen. The advent of such a live journal as Cycling West will therefore be pleasing news, and prominent cyclists speak of its coming as a great thing for the sport on this coast.
L. C. and E. C. Johnson, whose likenesses are presented, have been following the National circuit all the year with the Stearns team, and it was originally intended they should come to the coast, but after a hard season's work they decided to return home and rest a while. It is quite probable that they will come here in the early spring, however, to commence training for next year's work on the circuit. Both are known as phenomenally fast class B men, and have together probably gathered in more handicap races than any one else in the circuit.
Harry F. Terrill of the Bay City Wheelmen keeps his clubmates well posted as to his movements, and his letters are always read by the wheelmen with a great deal of interest. I received one from him the other day from New Orleans, dated November 1, in which he says:
Your letter of the 24th ult. reached me here to-day. I am having a nice time, and intend to so long as my money holds out. Still, after all, there is only one place for me, and that is California. I am continually running down the East and South and singing the praises of California, so if you hear of my death you will know it has been for a good cause. In all my travels I have not found a place where you can eat as cheaply as you can in San Francisco. The swellest places are not as good as the medium-grade restaurants of San Francisco, except as to price, which is always first class.
I leave here to-morrow or the next day with no particular destination in view. I will eventually wind up in Michigan. I telegraphed to D. W. Robert, chairman of the Racing Board of this division, for a permit to ride here next Saturday, but was refused. He would not give any reason for so doing. I guess I will not get a chance to race at the Atlanta Cotton Exposition. However, I will be there and see the fun, even if I cannot ride. My next address is Salem, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Sincerely yours,
Terrill had no trouble in defeating all the crack class A men of New Orleans when he raced there recently under special permit, which perhaps explains why he was not granted a permit to race a second time. As a matter of fact he ought to be in class B, as he is far too speedy for the average class A man, and usually has a race all his own way. Properly trained, it is said, the equal of Terrill in class A does not exist - that he is the speediest of them all.
The California Cycling Club will meet on Monday evening at 7 o'clock, so its members can have time to attend the B. C. W. entertainment. The ten-mile road race has been postponed to Sunday, the 17th inst.
The ladies' annex to the Liberty Cycling Club will hold a run on Sunday to Jack Hays Canyon - that is, if weather permits. It will leave on the 9 A. M. creek boat. Last Thursday an important meeting was held and the following officers were elected: Miss Lucy M. Munson, president; Miss Nita Broderick, secretary and treasurer, and Mrs. N. A. Robinson, captain.
