The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-26
THE WHEEL.
Success of Local WheeImen at Dem
Ver-The Local Champion.

Success of Local WheeImen at Dem
yer-The Local Champion.
The success met with by the California riders
. who attended the races OF the League of Amer
lean Wheelmen, held at Denver, Colo last
week, has been very gratifying 10 the cyclists
Of this State, for while IL was anticipated that
they would do fairly we'll it was not expected
that their success would be so phenomenal.
California was represented there by four
riders, viz: W. j. Edwards Of the Garden City
cyclers, San Jose, who rode in the Columbia
team; Walter f. Foster of the Olympic Club
wIeelmeD. San Francisco; Otto Zieger Jr. of
the San Jose Road Club San Jose. and Charles
S. Wells of the Bay City wheelmen, San Fran
cisco.
Edwards and Foster did not GO very well.
The former had been on the Eastern racing
circuit for several months, with but little sue
cess, az ne was mo ST unfortunate and suffered
a fall or some sort or an accident in tile major
Ity of the races in which he started. He was
therefore Ia no condition to ride when he
:. Teached'there and will soon return 10 his home
:: In San Jose TO enjoy a much needed rest. Next
year he Will again try his luck on the circuit IN
. Tie East.
Foster was the only one OF the Caifornians
who was affected by the climatic and other
. conditions prevailing in Denver. He was taken
Ill anu, although he rode IN several preliminary
: tryouts and finished third In the mile Western
: championship (Which race Wells won easily.
20 he:Was obliged 10 withdraw after the second
day-aud thereafter was only spectator.
Had Foster and Edwards, whO with Ziegler.
rep{obably The Ihrre fastest riders in CalIfOr.
MIA been In the best of condition, was the
. good fortune of Wells and Zegler there Is not
the slightest question bur that would have
seen them sharing with their fellow riders the
: h0nOrs IN SOM of the championships.
..CAaUles S. Wells did wonderfully well in the
a: races. Wells IS nearly six feet tall aud weighs
. 800 pounds. and is so ponderouS that you
= w&nld think his smaller ana more agile con-
reStants would be able 10 get away from him,
but IN every race in which he started he was
well up in the punch at The finish On the 18th
De. won the haI-mile handicap, class b, the race
IN which the scratch man, Z. Z. Bald Of Buffalo.
=: broke the worlds record for the distance, COW
: ering il IN exactly one minute. On the same
day Wells also won The One-mlle Western
championship. open 10 all riders living west of
: the Mississippi River, and in this broad eX-
panSe OF territory you may believe there are
some pretty swift racers, that his victory
was well earned. On the following day, the
18th. Wells won the two-thlrds-mle open and
The half-mi!e open, TWO events in which he had
large Held 10 compete against.
Wells had been considered by the wheemen
OF this coast as being rather man for ir''s
distances, bur his recent performances pr, -
that he Is equally as good for anything from
the One-haf mile upward. Wells was always
very popular with his eliminates III the Bay
Clly Wbeemen, and they Will give the hoy
wonder lOusing reception on his return.
- The particular bright star OF all the racing
talent gathered at this meet however, was young
OttO Ziegler Jr. Of san Jose. He met and de-
feated the best riders from all over the United
Statesmen like Sanger johnson, Titus, Bald,
Kennedy and Mcdonald, whose names are
familiar TO us all, and who are known 10 rank
. among the fastest men IN the world. And this
without the experience ana advantages of train.
ing which they had over HIM, for most OF them
have been CD the track several years, while the
Californian has lacked all these advantages
and has been riding but TWO years.
ZegleT's victories commenced with the first
day OF the meet, The 18th, when he went against
The worlds unpaced mile record, then held by
Sanger. ana succeeded IN reducing 1t 10
2:09 1-5. On the 10Th, he finished third in the
half-mile national championship, Bald and Nc
Donald beating him. The same day he also got
Third in the fiVe-mile national Championship,
Titus winning, with Murphy secOnd. The fol
lowing day, however the 18th, he turned the
tables on these two latter gentlemen, winning
the two-mlle national championship Ia 4 81 SO,
breaking The worlds record for the same dis
lance in competition, formerly held by Tyler at
4:2S %. Murphy was second and Titus third.
Ziegler was given an ovation upon winning this
race, as the little Californian was very popular
with the spectators, and his appearance on the
track was always the signal for hearty cheers
The same day ZiegIer got second place 10 the
third of a mile open. Mcdonald Just getting in
ahead, with Taxis third.
But tue final day of the meet was when he
made a name for himself, winning the quarter
iuile national Championship, the one-mile 80
class, and the one.mile national champions ship
The latter being ridden in 2:12 10. This was
the great race OF the meet. and nearly all the
fast men had been laying for il, particularly
johnson, who refused 10 enter any other race
that day, but the best lie could do was TO get
Murphy of New York second.
Again has California asserted her supremacy
as a home for athletes and athletics We have
before turned out men who have been cham.
pions in other branches Of sport, but In bicycling
we were behind the times and our riders made
30 much poorer time than those OF the East
tney were 10th to compete with them. But ft
has always been held that with equal advan-
taCes in experience and knowledge OF proper
training our men would class with the best, and
the results OF the races al Denver go 10 prove
this.
The meet has bad an eXhilarating effect upon
the sport out here. The local riders are now
training for the September races ana they put
new vgor into their efforts for they now feel
Eastern cracks and think correctly that with
proper and conscientious training they can
equal them and perhaps do better. And why
not? Wouldn't Harry or Win TeTrIl. Al Grit
fths, Bob Long, Haley, NisSen, Davis and Il
host OF our local men of whose names | cannot
think stand equal chances with the Fasteners
under like conditions? In class A Harry Ter
Tnl or Griffitns would make them hustle to keep
up with them in anything from quarter OF a
inile, while it Is generally conceded that VIII
Terrll can beat Wells, and the others named
all rank high. Truly, we nave some excellent
racing talent on this coast. and L expect that
now that the sport has been gwen such an i'm
petus by our representatives we Will have an
influx OF n0yices on the path whose numbers
Will be legion.
Alter leaving Denver last Sunday the Cali
fornians started for home in a roundabout
Way as they viii race along the route-at Pu-
eblo CcIo at Salt Lake CITY and several other
TTtah towns-and we expect them back here
about the middle OF this week. Already they
have raced al Pueblo, and Ziegler was peck
eted and lost the race, while at salt Lake ne
reduced The quarter-mile record for the Terri
tory.
promiuently connected with cycling in the East
will accompany our men TO TINS coast. Among
them are mentioned TWO well-known cycling