WITH THE WHEELMEN. - San Francisco Chronicle, 08 Jun 1895
WITH THE WHEELMEN.
The Various Clubs Are Active.
A Delightful "Cherry" Run.
Race Meets to Be Held in the Near Future-Santa Cruz Carnival.
The wheelmen are enjoying a well-earned rest from their recent merry times at the last two race meets, and are planning to attend the big meet scheduled for next Saturday at Santa Cruz.
Following these races comes the league meet to be given by the Garden City Cyclers at San Jose on their now world-famous track. At this meet all league members will be admitted free upon showing their league card.
Now that all the local clubs are holding matinee track races open only to club members, it would seem that a good lot of fast riders may be secured. A racer to be a success must be in earnest and spend a great deal of time in training. This is a hardship for some and a pleasure for a few. J. Coffroth and W. H. Stinson of the Olympic Club Wheelmen start to-day for a wheeling trip to Los Angeles.
The California Cycling Club will hold a five-mile handicap road race on Sunday, June 16th, over the San Mateo course, starting at 2 P. M. H. F. Wynne will handicap the racers.
Captain John Burke has postponed the Associated Cycling Club's annual picnic until Sunday, June 23d. The run will start at 9 A. M.. with destination at Niles canyon. An ample lunch will be provided.
William Christ made a century last Sunday in eight and a half hours' actual lapsed time.
Captain C. W. Etting has called a run of the Pacific Cycling Club to Half Moon bay. The start will be made this afternoon. The wheelmen will take the 3:30 'clock train to San Mateo, and will ride over in the moonlight. The members are requested to take their fishing tackle, as they will thereby enjoy some rare sport. The start on the return trip will be some time on Sunday afternoon.
At the last meeting of the Outing Road Club George Stamper was elected president, vice A. Shilling, resigned.
Bert Mayer of the Outing Road Club leaves to-day for an extended wheeling trip in Lake county and a visit to the the Blue lakes. He will join Captain Davis, who is also sojourning there. They will make the return trip together.
The Golden Gate Cycling Club will hold its initial five-mile handicap road race on Sunday, June 30th over the San Mateo course. Messrs. Siebe, Quadt, Maass, Stiegler, Schwartz, Fenstermacher, Dwyer and Holler have been entered, and are actively training. The prizes are of such exceptionally high value that it will prove a most spirited race. A large entry list is assured. The first prize consists of a high-grade bicycle, the second prize a $40 suit of clothes and the third prize a complete club uniform. This is perhaps the first time on record where a club has offered a bicycle as a prize in a road race, and it will undoubtedly spur the riders to such an extent that a world's record may be in store for them.
The California Cycling Club will hold its final one-mile handicap try-out race at Central Park track to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock sharp. The entries and handicaps are: J. W. Harvey, scratch; F. Struven, 80 yards; A. Theisen, 100 yards; H. Sternberg, 135 yards; T. Wall, 155 yards; C. Birdsall, 160 yards.
After this race has been sett Captain Burke will guide the members of the Californias to San Mateo on a club run. A good lunch will be provided.
Kenneth Boyd, the well-known athlete and cyclist, met with an accident last week which has confined him to his room. The strong wind of last Sunday caused him to fall off his wheel in the Park and sprain his ankle.
A called run of the Outing Road Club has been issued for to-morrow to San Rafael from Sausalito. The club will leave on the 9 o'clock boat. S. Peiser of this club made a century last Sunday.
Captain Quadt has called a club run of Golden Gate Cycling Club to San Mateo for to-morrow, leaving the clubrooms, Thirteenth street, at 8 o'clock. Lieutenant Siebe of this club made a flying trip to Santa Cruz and return on last Wednesday and Thursday. He states that some portions of the road over the mountains are in very poor condition.
The raffle of the California Cycling Club will be held this evening in the clubrooms at Twenty-second and Folsom streets.
D. F. Serens met with a painful fall from his wheel last week. He dislocated knee joint. He is still confined to his home.
The reason why the scratch men in the San Jose Road Club's races did not do better last Saturday was due, not to the poor handicapping of R. A. Smyth, but to the road club itself, which should have arranged men in the different heats in such a manner that each scratch man would have had a near-by pacer, and not that their nearest men were on the 150-yard mark. Mr. Smyth has done fairly well, considering the great obstacles with which he has had to contend.
Captain C. D. Bates has called a club track try out of the Reliance Club wheelmen for to-morrow, on the Oakland Trotting Park track. Races from a quarter to five miles will be run in the endeavor to arouse the men from their present dormant state. Next Friday the Reliance boys will wheel down to San Jose, stopping there over night and then going across the mountains to Santa Cruz. They will arrive there in time to take part in the wheelmen's parade and view the races. About eight of their clubmates will ride in the races.
The San Francisco Young Men's Christian Association Cycling Club will hold a club run to Niles this afternoon.
Invitations have been issued to the Oakland and San Jose branches of the association to join them. At Niles a camp meeting, refreshments, speeches and songs will furnish amusement, and the return trip will be made in the moonlight. The first delegation will leave on the 2 P. M. boat under command of A. P. Chipron. A second delegation will start on the 4 P. M. boat under Captain Sims, and a third division will leave on the 6 P. M. boat.
Great preparations have been made for this run and the grounds will be handsomely decorated with Chinese lanterns.
At present there appears to be a great deal of doubt concerning the measurement of the five-mile course on the San Mateo road. To verify the survey recently made by the San Francisco Young Men's Christian Association Cycling Club, the club had it remeasured yesterday and has placed a sign at the beginning and ending, and a sign after each mile, so that no future mistakes are apt to occur.
Jack McGlynn, who managed the trial for the five-mile record last Sunday, states that Edwards rode the exact distance of five miles, and consequently is entitled to hold the record. He says that the Imperials' race was run on a course fully 200 feet short. A second trial by Edwards for the much-coveted record will be held as soon as McGlynn can get new pacemakers.
S. Mitchell, J. Thompson and F. Gherini have been elected to membership in the Liberty Cycling Club, making a total of thirty-nine members at present, Last Sunday's century run of the club started with twelve members, seven of whom finished; the remaining number meeting with various accidents, were compelled to quit. The club will be photographed to-morrow at their clubrooms in a group at 10 A. M. The club will then have a run to the Park and Presidio.
At the last meeting of the California Cycling Club G. Dorn, P. Mailhes, J. P. Broeder, H. Harver, E. S. Slack, R. Welch, M. A. Griffith, A. J. Schmidt, F. Joost, F. P. Robbins, A. W. Green, D. V. Drew and L. M. Tuttle were elected to membership.
Until quite recently the Californias limited their membership to 100, but since the interest in cycling has so vastly increased and as desirable wheelmen are anxious to join a live club they concluded to abandon the limit, and the result is more than gratifying. The initiation fee will remain at $2 until the end of June, when it will be put back to the old figure of $5.
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P. E. Alexander is gradually creeping to the front among the class A riders on the track, and at present is riding in good form. Although greatly handicapped in training by having to work steadily, and train only in the evening, he made such a remarkable showing at the Bay City Wheelmen's meet on Decoration day as to fill the breasts of his clubmates with feelings of joy. Starting in the mile handicap from the forty-yard mark with no one nearer than 130 yards he gradually mowed them down one by one, and by a herculean feat beat them all, but the strain was too great, and he could not make as good a showing in the final. With proper care and training he will prove a dangerous opponent to the class A riders.
The Pilot Wheelmen of Santa Cruz are arranging to hold a grand race meet on Saturday next, at their track, for which they offer valuable prizes. The races consist of one-mile novice; one-mile class A, scratch; two-mile, class A, handicap; two-mile class B handicap, and a one-half-mile, class B, scratch. The prizes for the races are: Novice race - First prize, gold medal, value $20; second prize. silver medal, value $10. One-mile, class A, scratch - First prize, gold watch, value $50; second prize, suit of clothes, value $35; third prize, easy-chair, value $20. Two-mile handicap, class A - First prize, diamond locket, value $50; second prize, overcoat, value $30; third, onyx clock, $20. Two-mile Class B handicap - First prize, unset diamond, value $125; second prize, gold watch, value $50; third prize, shotgun, value $25. Half-mile, Class B. scratch - First prize, diamond stud value $75; second prize, banjo, value $40; third prize, banquet lamp, value $25.
The entries close with the receipt of the last delivery of mail or June 8th for the handicaps and June 10th for the open events.
The present officers of the Pilot Wheelmen are: President, F. W. Swanton; vice-president, L. E. W. Pioda; secretary, H. S. Wanzer; captain, R. M. Thompson; first lieutenant, R. H. Pringle; second lieutenant, L. T. Ware; bugler, F. Armstrong; color bearer, C. E. Lane.
This race meet will be the opening of the club's new one-third mile track. No expense has been shared to put it in fast condition. Another feature on this day will be the wheel men's parade, in which valuable prizes will be awarded for the club having the greatest number of men in line and also for the club making the neatest appearance.
Captain R. M. Thompson of the Pilot Wheelmen was recently hurt at Capitola Hill, but is gradually improving, although unable, as yet, to ride his wheel.
The joint barbecue and run of the Tribune, Pajaro Valley Wheelmen, Garden City Cyclers and Pilot Wheelmen to Sargents last Sunday was well attended and a repetition, including the San Francisco clubs, is scheduled for the near future.
Complaints are being made that wheels left in the bicycle room of the Olympic Club are indiscriminately used by club members who presume upon friendship. The system of checking, as explained in a previous issue of the CHRONICLE, does not prevent the borrower from gaining his point, and it looks as though the Olympic boys will be compelled to again resort to the chain and padlock method.
The report that Otto Ziegler Jr. made a demand upon the Associated Cycling Clubs of California for money or prizes as an inducement to ride in any of their races is denied.
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[From a photograph by Miss M. E. Faucompre]
The cherry run of the California Camera Club cyclists to San Leandro last Sunday was well attended by the members, who availed themselves of the fine opportunity to secure some very good pictures. Groups of cyclers in the tree eating cherries were "snapped" by everybody and such a good outing was enjoyed that Captain Argenti will repeat it at an early date.
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With the rapid increase in the use of bicycles, accidents are bound to be more frequent. The biggest field for accident appears to be in the Golden Gate Park. That they are not of more frequent occurrence is a cause for wonder. While cycling was not so popular and when only experienced riders visited the park drives at night it was perhaps a good idea to abolish the lantern law and allow them the choice between bells or lanterns, but now that cycling has become such a craze that it involves hundreds where there were only dozens before, the old laws relative to lanterns should be enforced. A rider who has a bell on his handle bar can not very well hear another cycler's bell and is apt to collide with him, whereas when the lanterns were carried the lights could always be distinguished and ample room allowed for each to pass without fear of an accident.
To see some of the novice riders wabble all over the road and yet escape makes a nervous person have a chill. The Park Commissioners should heed the warning and enforce the old laws before a too-serious accident occurs on their territory.
The proposition of the Oakland capitalists to erect a third-of-a-mile cement track near the power-house on the San Leandro road is a worthy one, and will undoubtedly meet with the success it so richly deserves. The track at Alameda can never be put in condition, and the cement track in this city will always be slow on account of the wind. The proposed track is on the direct road so much traveled by cyclers, and is in easy reach of all wheelmen for training purposes.
The route to San Jose from San Francisco via the bay shore road has been measured and laid off by cyclometer measurement as follows:
| Miles. | |
|---|---|
| City Hall. | 0.00 |
| Six-mile House | 6.00 |
| South San Francisco | 11.00 |
| San Bruno | 12.75 |
| Uncle Tom's cabin | 13.45 |
| Milbrae | 15.50 |
| San Mateo | 19.65 |
| Belmont | 23.65 |
| Redwood City | 27.40 |
| Menlo Park | 30.40 |
| Palo Alto | 31.80 |
| Mayfield | 33.55 |
| Mountain View | 38.80 |
| Santa Clara | 47.25 |
| San Jose (electric tower) | 51.00 |
This is the most direct and best route, although a variation can be had by riding out Mission street and into the San Mateo county road at Uncle Tom's Cabin, where the roads intersect. The points between them are:
| Miles. | |
|---|---|
| City Hall | 0.00 |
| Junction Valencia and Mission | 2.50 |
| Six-mile House | 5.30 |
| Seven-mile House | 6.15 |
| Colma | 7.40 |
| Holy Cross Cemetery | 9.25 |
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | 13.20 |
While this route is a few rods shorter, the number of hills and the poor condition of the going causes it to be shunned by the knowing ones.
To reach the bay-shore road from the City Hall the rider has a choice of riding down the Ninth-street cable slot to the terminus, turning right onto Potrero avenue and direct to Army street, turning left for one block and right again, which brings the wheelman onto the San Bruno road.
The way most generally sought by the wheeling fraternity is to go down Ninth street to Howard, turning out Howard to Twenty-fourth, down this thoroughfare to Potrero avenue, then right one block to Army street, turning left one block to the San Bruno road. Follow the right car track all the way on the San Bruno road, which will bring you to the bottom of the six-mile hill.
The best and shortest route to San Jose lies by way of the Oakland side. Taking the broad-gauge train to Fruitvale, you are compelled to ride only 39 3/4 miles. The points between are:
| Miles. | |
|---|---|
| Fruitvale station | 0.00 |
| Three-Mile House ([[1]]) | 1.40 |
| Fitchburg | 2.30 |
| Elmhurst | 4.05 |
| San Leandro | 5.60 |
| Tank corner | 8.75 |
| San Lorenzo | 9.45 |
| Alvarado | 13.35 |
| Mount Eden | 16.40 |
| Centerville | 21.05 |
| Irvington | 24.35 |
| Warm Springs | 28.10 |
| Milpitas | 32.35 |
| San Jose | 39.45 |
This road takes you over the lower arm of the San Leandro triangle, and care should be taken to turn left at the tank corner; then, upon reaching San Lorenzo, turn right, which brings you into the main San Jose road. The Haywards road is another way, but is longer and not generally sought.
Captain L. L. Korn has called a moonlight run of the San Francisco Road Club to San Jose, leaving the corner of Seventh and Market streets at 11 o'clock to-night. C. S. Wells, the Bay City Wheelmen's crack racer, will try for the five-mile world s road record to-morrow over the San Mateo course. He will be paced by several tandems in his attempt.
The Royal Cycling Club will have a blind run around the city to-morrow, led by Lieutenant Sternberg.
Messrs. J. W. Madden, Monteleagre, Dr. Boyd and Dr. Morris will make a wheel trip to Spanishtown and Pescadero, starting this afternoon. They will return tomorrow via Redwood.
Captain J. Lynngreen has called a run to Palo Alto for the Eintracht Cyclers tomorrow to enjoy an outing in the strawberry beds They will leave the clubrooms at 7 A. M. sharp.
