The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-08-12

stopping as guest Of his countryman, DR..
! Y. c. Ramm.
Speaking of wheeling in America ana in
other countries through which he has
Travelled. Mr.. Staal said that he was agree
ably surprised to see the wonderful i'm
prOvements Americans have made in
racing tracks.
So far as bicycles are concerned, he
thought that the racers and light roadsters
used now by the riders of Denmark we're
of this country.
"We have" said Mr. Staal, sat least
$1,000 bicvclsts, including ladies, in Den
mark, and dare say Copenhagen can turn
out as many as 10000 riders.
with very few exceptions the farmers
of Denmark use bicycles very extensively.
They ride daily over beautifully macad-
amized roads from the farms to the vii
lagos and towns, and, indeed. many OF our
best riders are what Californians call
ranchers.
In Copenhagen there are two good bicy-
Gle tracks, one composed OF cement and
the other of wood. The latter was con-
structed since my departure for this coun
try, consequently l cannot say ii 1t has
proven satisfactory. The cement track is
four and three-fnurths laps to the mile.
which makes it exactly the Same size as
the Buffalo track of Paris.
"In South Sweden there are three splen-
did tracks, on which races are held every
Sunday. commencing in May and ending
in December. l have witnessed several in
ternational competitions between Danes,
Norwegians, Swedes, German, French and
English riders. and in most cases the
Danes were victorious
Road racing is very important
feature Of sport in Denmark. and the dis
tances vary from 300 to 400 miles.
| "W. Bramson. the celebrated English
bicyelist, visited Denmark in 1889 pur-
posely to teach some of our riders how
short-distance races should be ridden.
The result was that the English champion
was easily defeated by two Danes in the
championship contest. and he returned
home satisfied that we had fast wheelmen
On the other side.
Il think one of the most interesting
contests have ever seen so far took place
last year in Denmark There were two
road races. one distance of 300 miles and
the other $50 miles. The last event was
captured by young farmer from thirty
competitors. He covered the distance in
IS hours in the face of storm. and when
he was assisted from his wheel his clothes
were soaking wet. This victory greatly
pleased the farmers and made the winner
very popular"
Are there many ladies who ride on
BICYCLES ?"
'Well, you can imagine the interest
they take in the pastime when there are
over 1000 ladies in Copenhagen who ride
on roadsters. A large number of the
ladies are representatives of the aristoc.
racy, who consider wheeling far superior
to tennis and croquet. Miss Johanne
Jorgensen of Denmark. who is at present
on a pleasure trip tn Italy. Is an exeep-
tionally fine rider; in fact, she can defea,
a number of our best men. You can
imagine what she is capable of accom-.
plishing on wheel when in a contes,
last year she covered 103 miles in six
hours. am surprised to see so few ladies
in this country who are devoted to wheel.
ing But | dare say as the country grows
older the ladies will learn the benefit thai
accrues from bicycle riding.
Yes, there are several large clubs in
Denmark The Danish Bicycle Club has
a membership of 700. and owns Its own
track and grounds. The Cyclists CluU Of
the same town has 500 members.
Mr.. Staal will leave in few weeks. and
on his return he con templates visiting the
Yosemite and other points OF interest or
this coast.