St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-16
BIRD MERITS HIS NAME.
THE SPEEDY WHEELMAH WINNER OF
THE TWENTY MILE RACE,
THE TRACK IN BAD SHAPE.
Several Very Close Finishes ADD
an Exhilarating Test to S.,e
Sport - Tennis Tournament
With Social Trimmings at
Minnetonka This Week.

Better time might have been encom-
passed were it not for the fact that the
board of park commissioners are just
now acting under the advice of that an
cient sage who said make hay while
the sun Shines" and the tremendously
heavy loads of the product of the rich
lands of Como park had cut the boule-
ward shockingly in places. 1t was the
annual twenty-five-mile road race given
by the ST. Paul Cycle club at Como
park, and B. B. Bird, the ST. Paul IA
vorite, carried off the honors with a
squirt at the very finish that can only be
called brilliant. He has carried the
club to many victory, and it Is fair TO
say that had the road been in better
condition it were possible that he broke
the amateur record for the state. As it
was, he covered the twenty-five miles
In hour IL minutes and 3-5 seconds.
The feature of the race was the work
done by the scratch candidates. This
was especially true Of B. B. Bird, George
Il. Biggs and T. l.. Bird. They made
the race of lifetime. Biggs set the
pace, and the two Birds trailed up to
the finish, when the struggle of the
race ensued, and set the audience wild.
1t was an ideal day. The sun shone
bright and resplendent, but the temper
AZURE was several degrees too high for
comfort. The attendance was fully
5000, and the entire course of the race
was lined by eXuberant admirers of the
sport. The fair sex was largely repre-
cantad in ba The
called at $3.50, but it was uninteresting
for several minutes. The handi-
cap allowances that had been
presented to some of the candi-
dates for the rich prizes and the honors
of the day were so generous that it was
seemingly an interminable time before
the scratch men were given the word.
But when they were off the excitement
remained at fever heat until the finish.
In speaking of the handicap allowances,
it is only justice to the st. Paul partici-
pants to relate that the Minneapolis
boys had much the best of the odds.
The handicap committee were person
ally acquainted with the respective
proves of the st. Paul boys, but they
were compelled to listen to the state
ments of the Minneapolis contingent
in fixing the odds for the candi-
dates from the Flour City. The
result was that some of the cyclists
from the city by the falls carried Off
rich prizes with little effort. whereas
had they been placed where they be-
Ionged they would have been given all
the work that they could handle. But
it was an exceedingly pleasurable event,
and one that will be long remembered.
1t was principally married by the
wretched condition, in places, of the
road. The heavy loads of hay that
were being at short intervals
hauled across the course cut so
deep II to the smooth surface OF
the boulevard that accidents were
of frequent occurrence. Several of the
sturdy wheelmen, and some who had
great promise or making things decid-
eddy interesting for their rivals, were
not only thrown from their wheels, but
they were injured, and many of the
wheels we're SO badly damaged that it
was impossible for the riders to con-
tinue the race. This accounts for the
few who had started who crossed the
scratch at the finish. Crawford had
particularly bad fall, and was quite Sc
riously injured in the left shoulder and
lIl6 l6II hllee, UuG uO lOuO llllOuSh anu
won a good prize. Had he not met
with this accident he would have been
placed much better.
w. j. Martin, the St. Paul skater,
broke his wheel on the fourth lap, and
was forced to retire from the contest,
and a similar accident drove Harley
Davidson off the track shortly after the
conclusion of his tenth lap. 10 make
all this ineligible to the reader not
familiar with the course, it should be
explained that the course lacks a few
rods of two miles to the lap,
and that thirteen laps were rid
uen to complete the twenty-five miles
OF course this was q little in excess of
the distance that had been determined
upon, but, owing to the desire to facil-
itate matters by having the finish at the
precise spot of the start, the distance
was extended. This was unlike the
conditions of the race year ago. Then
the contestants were given the advant-
age of only riding the prescribed dis
lance. The start was made some dis
lance from the finish, but this was
found very confusing.
The official record of the race is given
below:
The time prize winners were:
b. B. Bird, st. Paul, first; 1:13:03 SIS.
George L. Biggs, st. Paul, second;
1:l3:04.
L. l.. Bird. st. Paul, third: 1:13:05.
The handicap prize winners were:
G. j. TurnQuiSt first, Minneapolis;
time, with handicap allowance of ten
minutes, 1:22:36.
Roach MiDnnonnlic