THE WHEELMEN. San Francisco Call, 21 August 1897

San Francisco Call, Volume 82, Number 82, 21 August 1897

THE WHEELMEN.

Amateur Meet at Santa Rosa Today — Who Will Get the C. A. C. C. Championships? 

There will be an amateur meet at Santa Rosa to-day, at which are entered some of the best riders in the State in that class. The programme of events was given in The Call yesterday. The races are sanctioned by the California Associated Cycling Clubs, hence all riders are safe in competing in them. The entries and handicaps follow:

One mile handicap: First heat — Ben Noonan, B. C. W., scratch; F. G. Peck, B. C. W., 15 yards; C. J. Birdsall, C. C. C., 30; Hampton Mathews, unattached, 50; Henry Baker, unattached, 60; C. N. Bolte, Acme, 65; Kirk Beal, H. W., 70; B. H. Jones, unattached, 80. Second heat — Henry Noonan, S. R. W., scratch; T. H. White, C. C. C, 10 yards; W. S. Bacon, B. C. W. 20; Wells Stofen, unattached, 40; F. G. Lemman, unattached, 55; George Perry, Acme, 60; K. E. Hyde, unattached, 65; A. Theisen, C. C. C., 70; Irving Crocker, E. C. C., 75.

One mile, scratch — Irving Crocker, Eagle Cycling Club; C. N. Bolte, Acme; Will Stofen, Santa Rosa; Frank G. Peck, B. C. W. ; W. S. Bacon, B. C. W.; Ben Noonan, B. C. W.; C. J. Birdsail, A. Theisen, C. C. C. ; Henry Noonan, Santa Rosa; George Perry, Acme; Kirk Beal, Healdsburg Cyclers.

Two-mile post race — Entries same as in onemile scratch. One mile tandem — C. N. Bolte and G. A. Wyman; F. G. Peck and W. S. Bacon; Henry Noonan and Ben Noonan; A. Theisen and C. J. Birdsall.

A special round-trip excursion rate of $1.50 is obtainable for those who desire to attend this meet and the celebration of the Young Men's Institute at the same time. Charley Kraft is billed to ride five miles against time in addition to the other races, and this and the mile tandem event will be well worth seeing.

This Santa Rosa meet to-day is another evidence of now little attention is paid by meet promoters to advising the racing men and cyclers in general that a meet is to be held. Although the entries closed Thursday, not a blank was seen here until the Monday previous. Santa Rosa could have had a big field if the meet had been properly advertised among the racing men. If the September 9 meet is as poorly handled, there will be but a small field and a poor gate, It would not be a bad idea for some one of the Santa Rosa managers to come down here next Saturday or Sunday with a pocket full of entry blanks and visit the various clubs. He would be surprised by the result of his labors. It seems that nowadays racing men, and particularly amateurs, don't enter a race unless they are asked to.

It is about time that Santa Rosa began making preparations for its meet on Admission day. The racing board will be inclined to award the C. A. C. C. championships elsewhere unless some assurance is given very shortly that the Santa Rosa meet is to be held. There is talk of a big meet here at the Velodrome before that track is torn up and the championships are wanted as one of the drawing cards. Sacramento also proposes to hold a meet on Sunday, September 12, and would like to get one of them too. The racing board has about decided that unless some definite word is received from Santa Rosa by the end of next week it will hold its meet on September 9 to award the championships at once to San Francisco and Sacramento, both of which places are actively in the field for them.

The Reliance Club Wheelmen have elected the following officers in the places of those who recently resigned: A. Baxter, captain; A. P. Deacon, first lieutenant; Charles Lefevre. second lieutenant; Frank Buckley, captain.

"Pop" Robbins has resigned the captaincy of the California Cycling Club and Frank Bush has been elected to the vacancy.

The Olympic Club Wheelmen's road race having been postponed, there is nothing on the cards of that nature for to-morrow.

The association's booth at the Mechanics' Fair is really worth a visit, and Mr. Adams and Mr. Welch deserve a great deal of credit for making it as attractive and complete as it is. Victor A. Hancock, chairman of the touring board, is in charge afternoons and evenings, and is assisted by prominent officials of the association.

Captain Henry L. Day and Frank H. Walters of the Bay City Wheelmen left last Wednesday for Trinity County, where they purpose engaging in mining. If they are successful they will have many followers from the rank and file of the club.

C. Michener, ex-president of the California Cycling Club, who suffered a stroke of paralysis about a month ago, is very much better, and his friends hope soon to see him in his former good health.

Captain Hadenfeidt is arranging a run of the Olympic Club Wheelmen to Stockton the latter part of this week. They will take the boat from here Saturday evening, returning early Monday morning. This is an annual event with the Olympics.

Rumor has it that the Olympics will conduct a race meet at the Velodrome Track the first Sunday in October or thereabouts.

The members of the Golden Gate Cycling Club are in active training for their five-mile road race, to take place on Sunday, September 5, over the San Leandro-Haywards course.

The attempt to start a new cycling club in San Jose, to take the place vacated by the disbanding of the Garden City Cyclers, has proved a failure and been given up. The Garden City Gun Club, formerly an annex of the Cyclers, has taken clubrooms on the west side of South First street, midway between San Fernando and San Antonio, and many of the ex-members of the Cyclers will join it for the social privileges, the initiation being but $1.50 and dues 50 cents a month.

The total collapse of the Garden City Cyclers is fully realized when one reads a dodger now being circulated, stating that all the clubroom effects, including furniture, piano, pool and billiard tables, desks, tables, curtains, carpets, rugs, pictures, gas fixtures and gymnasium apparatus, will be sold at public auction this morning in San Jose at 10 o'clock at the clubrooms. John B. Alexander, the ex-Garden City racing man, who was prominent on the path in 1893 and 1894, is attorney for the assignee, and, will you believe it, ex-Captain Joseph A. Jury printed the dodger in his printing establishment. It must, indeed, be a bitter cup for them.

The demise of the Garden City Cyclers is to be greatly regretted, as the club was a power in cycling circles on the coast and controlled one of the finest tracks in the State. Its race meets used to attract the flower of San Jose society, besides numberless wheelmen and devotees of the sport from this City and Oakland. There was a time when its membership numbered over 300.

It would seem that San Jose should support at least one strong, active cycling club. It is evident that the one-man government that is said to have caused the downfall of the old club should not prevail, but a good board of directors could be chosen, composed of many of the old members who still have an interest in the sport, and who knows but that we may again taste the hospitality of the Garden City in a cycling carnival.

Herbert D. Clark, the popular cycling writer, is now unattached since the disbanding of the Alameda Cyclers, he having concluded not to join with the proposed athletic amalgamation now being formed there

Irving A. Powell of the New York Athletic Club, who won the two-mile amateur championship at the recent league meet at Philadelphia, is a "pure" beyond question. Powell is worth $500,000 in his own name, having received it on his coming of age early this month. He is a member of the Columbia College team and is now following the circuit just for the fun of the thing, his traveling team-mate being Ray Dawson. These two and Eddie Bald are almost constantly together, and all
three may go abroad after the circuit is ended.


The Southern Cyclists' Association of Louisiana and the California Associated Cycling Clubs have joined in a statement to the cycling governments of the world, the original of the appeal having been filed with the International Cyclists' Association of Coventry, England, and copies have been translated into various languages and sent to the different cycling associations. The appeal sets forth the facts now so familiar to the wheelmen of this State that we have wrested the control of all cycling affairs, and particularly racing, from the League of American Wheelmen, and requests that our association and that of Louisiana be recognized as contemporary cycling organizations in order that our men may go abroad and race on the International Association's tracks if they so desire, and also that foreigners may ride here and in Louisiana.

The different responses to this appeal will be awaited with particular interest, especially that from Australia, as Ziegler and another prominent local racer intend making a pilgrimage to Australia if they learn that their entries will be accepted there.

Since the addition of individual membership the name of California Associated Cycling Clubs has become a misnomer, and it should be changed at an early meeting of the beard of governors. This is the more desirable, owing to the growth of the association, it having already spread beyond this State to Oregon and Washington and south to Arizona. The name is not broad enough as it now stands.

The championships, recently decided at the League of American Wheelmen's meet at Philadelphia, resulted as follows: Professional — Quarter-mile, F. Loughead; half-mile, Earl Kiser; one mile, Fred Loughead; two-mile tandem, Bald and Church; five-mile, A. C. Mertens. Amateur — One-mile, C. M. Ertz; two-mile, Irving A. Powell.

There will be a large attendance of the Cycle Board of Trade on its six-day ride through Lake County. It is proposed to start from here Saturday, September 4, returning so as to be at Santa Rosa on the 9th to take in the cycle races in conjunction with the Native Sons' celebration.
SPALDING.



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