Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-09-13

A few weeks ago the Wilmington
Wheel Club challenged the Chester
Bicycle Club to q five-mile road race,
each organization to be represented by
a team of five or SIX men, which chal-
lenge the Chester club accepted and
selected as the course the Darby turn
pike. The date has not yet been fixed,
however, as the Pennsylvanians do not
know Just when they can muster their
strong team, but the probabilities are
that the meeting will take place early
next month.
The race will be for the championship
of the East, which Philadelphia claimed
until recently, when picked teams were
defeated both by the Wilmington and
Chester clubs, and in order TO determine
where the honor properly belongs a
meeting between the clubs of Whining
ton and Chester will, of course, be
necessary.
The Chester boys will have every
condition to their advantage, for they
will be right on the course over which
they ride continually and where they
train almost daily--a smooth and pretty
nearly level road-whle the Whining,
tonians will be away from home and on
q road that is far different from what
they are used to. Our boys do their
riding and training on hilly and rugged
| roads and rs consequence are more
familiar with them and can master
them more readily than people who use
only smooth highways. However, our
boys are away up in the art, when it
comes to team work particularly, and
they are confident of success.
Hearing that local team composed
oil riders Of particular make of wheel
expected to race team from the Ches-
ter club; that the Wilmingtonians in
tended to ride in the interest of their
machines and not under the auspices of
any club a representative of THE GA
zETTE sought to gain the facts by o
personal investigation. The Chester
clubhouse was visited and there the re-
porter was informed by the members
of that club that they positively would
not race any team not riding under the
auspices of recognized club. An
officer of the Chester club said that d
challenge had been received from the
team of Wilmington riders of a partl.
cular wheel, but said that the stand the
club had taken would necessarily pre-
clude the acceptance of the same.
"We have two reasons" the Chester
wheelman said. First, we have riders
of all makes of wheels with us which
we could not consistently pit against
any particular make Of wheel, and,
secondly, if we race such a team we
would have no end of challenges from
teams riding other makes of bicycles.
So you can say that we will race only
teams connected with and riding under
the colors OF responsible clubs"
This statement will set right matter
that has gotten all twisted up and which
as late as Sunday was published in
J such form as to intimate just the
opposite to what the Chester wheelman
, told to the representative of The GA
zETTE.
, A BIG MEETING.
The Wilmington Wheel Club will
hold big meeting next Monday night
when it will be imperative that every
member attend who possibly can. The
clubhouse is now in the hands Of sew
eral real estate dealers for sale, and az
soon as transfer Of the building /!
made the outstanding bills will bt
cleared up and the club will remove tx
, other quarters, to locality bettel
l adapted to the uses of wheelmen. The
d. meeting next Monday night will be fol
the purpose of formulating the future
plans of the organization.