With the Wheelmen. - San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Jan 1891

With the Wheelmen.

Quite a number of runs were made Sunday and all report that the roads are in fine condition, especially the Alameda county roads. The Bay City Race Committee is working hard trying to have a series of race meets to be given in the Mechanics Pavilion in the latter part of April or the early part of May. The races to be run will most likely be as follows: One hundred-mile, fifty-mile, twenty-five-mile, ten-mile, five-mile, three-mile, two-mile ordinary, and 100-mile, twenty-five-mile, ten-mile, five-mile and three-mile safety races.

The Bay City Race-meet Committee request that all wheelmen wishing to contest in these races correspond with the chairman, T. H. Doane, 401 Sansome street, stating how many races they will probably enter. This race meet will be a grand affair, as an anateur will not "fake" a race, receiving no benefit for so doing.

A number of the Garden City Wheelmen, Oak Leaf Wheelmen, Alameda Bicycle Club, Oakland Bicycle Club and Bay City Wheelmen have signified their intention to appear on the track. Among the racers will be Elwell, Cook, Plummer, Southworth, Davis, Wheaton, Hickenbotham, Whetmore, Turner, Smith and others.

The semi-monthly-road race of the Bay City Wheelmen will be run on February 8th. This will be a ten-mile time handicap, starting from Fruitvale. The handicapping will be done by the committee, and as they did justice to all competitors in the twenty-five-mile road race it is expected that there will not be any dissatisfaction in this handicap.

The Oak Leaf Wheelmen of Stockton are booming. They claim a membership of nearly 100. The Stockton boys ought to give a race meet in connection with some California club, as they have the finest track in the State. The track is elegantly laid and fast time has been made there. There are a couple of new racing wheels out in the park, Messrs. Doane, Thompson and Marshall being the proprietors. This looks as though there was going to be some speedy work done this year. Thompson has never made his appearance on the track, but he will make a formidable adversary for some of the old stagers.

The riding season of 1891 was informally opened yesterday by a number of Bay City wheelmen. A visit to their club-rooms Saturday evening reminded one of the old-time Saturday nights, members being actively engaged in getting together and brushing up their riding suits.

It seemed to be tacitly understood among the Bay Citys that yesterday was to be the opening of the coming season, which, to judge from their talk, is to be a hard riding one.

One party, consisting of ex-Chief Consul Thompson, Captain Plummer, C. W. Hammer, George P. Wetmore and C. N. Langton met at the clubrooms yesterday morning at 6 o'clock, and after breakfasting proceeded, via the bay road to Palo Alto. When a few miles out they were joined by H. B. Sperry and L. G. Hodgkins.

At San Mateo one of the party dropped out to visit friends, and the rest wheeled on to the university, after inspecting which they proceeded as far as Mountain View, where they separated, part going on to San Jose and the others taking the road to Cupertino. The ride was enjoyable and the roads never better than at present.

E. C. Landis and H. W. Spalding, also of the Bay Citys, enjoyed a ride on the Alameda side of the bay.

Clarence A. Howard of the Bay Citys is getting into condition for the season's riding. He is accompanied by A. J. Storey, a recent convert to the sport.

The moonlight nights of last week afforded many pleasant rides in the park. Many gray coats were among those who took advantage of them.

No little curiosity was excited last Friday evening in the park by what appeared to be two large red and blue lights flitting past, but what turned out to be two wheelmen mounted on a tandem safety carrying two immense Japanese lanterns. The wheelmen were the president and secretary of the Bay City Club, who, having no lantern handy, yet wishing to comply with the law, hunted up the Japanese ones that had been used in decorating their clubrooms on the occasion of their recent smoker.