The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-25
Western Wheelnen.
By FRANK I'll. KERRIGAN.

The sport of sports, to my mind, is wheeling.
say this advlsedly and from personal expert
ence, for | have peen more or less intimately
connected with the various outdoor sports for
many years and have personal knowledge OF
their pains and pleasures, their uses and their
ends.
And the place of places for wheeling is Cali
, fornia This is so for many reasons. Our long
seasons of pleasant weather. interrupted by
rains only sufficient to keep the roads in the
best condition which their construction is
susceptible of. and the variety of scenery
within easy access of almost all the wheeling
centers, have helped to render the pastime here
popular and fruitful of pleasure; while the
peculiar efficacy OF our climate as element
in training for athleti cs OF all sorts is lately
being emphasized particularly in this regard.
This latter fact is just beginning to be appre-
ciated by the Eastern riders, who are now
present in our midst in greater numbers than
at any former period, and the outlook for
broken records in the next few months is
promising indeed.
The guardian of the sport throughout the
United States is the League Of American
Wheelmen. This, the largest amateur athletic
organization of the country, is composed of nu-
merous divisions, one for each State or Terri
| tory. except in the case of California, where,
on account of the immense State area, there are
J two.
The Nor til California Division has within its
| Jurisdiction that portion of the State north OF
| Tehachapi, the South California Division covers
| the remainder Of the State.
| The league was organized in California in
! 1886, and the North California Division has
| now a membership of nearly thousand. This
/ represents doubling of the number of its
! members for the previous year, and the out
look is promising for 1000 members before the
| close of 1896.
Probably the league has done more than any
! other agency to establish the rights of the
bicycle and to effect an adjustment of the
privileges of the road between pedestrians, the
| wheel and other vehicles. 1t is not easy for
! the rider of to-day, spinning along in conf
| dence on a crowded thoroughfare with the
| feeling that the roadhog who would run him
| down is the exception and not the rule, to ap-
preciate the struggles which the league has
had to make to bring this state of affairs about.
The time is not so far remote when G wheel
was considered nuisance on a public road,
! and the wheelman had to take his chances
| against the determined opposition OF almost
! every driver. Now, however, drivers and
wheelmen are united in common cause, the
! securing of good roads, and have learned to
! accommodate themselves to each others needs.
The distinction between the wheel and other
! vehicles is now fast disappearing, and with
! the advent OF the horseless carriage wheelmen
may look for another ally in their efforts to
| accom- plish the ends that they are seeking.
| To tell what the league does for its members
| would take volume. Suffice it to suggest
here that race meets are under its supervision,
and thus the sport is being kept remarkably
! clear OF professionalism; it employs an attor-
ney who looks out for the legal rights OF its
members as wheelmen whenever they are
trenched upon; it agitates good roads and
| good streets in united and systematic man
| ner only possible to a numerous and well-or-
| ganized body. These are its main objects, but
| host of minor advantages ere offered to its
members. A local consul is appointed for each
! town in the State, to whom any travelling men,
/ Der can go for information. Concessions are
J obtained from hotels throughout the State, and
/ it publishes road-book each year containing
maps and descriptions of the principal roads
| in the territory covered by the division.
While the League of American Wheelmen
! exercises a supervision over ell track-racing,
another important and popular department of
the sport is not within its jurisdiction. Road
racing in this State is under the charge of the
| California Associated Cycling Clubs, an organ
ization composed OF all the principal wheeling
! clubs OF the State. This class of racing has de-
veloped in California to an extent unequaled
! by any other State in the Union, and the an
/ nual relay race of 100 miles around the bay,
| given under the auspices of the Associated
Clubs, is an affair that awakens National in
! terest and enthusiasm.
This relay race requires greater preparation
! from greater number OF wheelmen than any
/ other event contested on the coast Including
the actual riders, their trailers and assistants,
/ fully 800 persons took part in the last race,
and it seems probable that the next event of
| this nature will involve some 400.
AS to the number of wheelmen in California
it is almost impossible to determine, with any
definiteness. The dealers estimate the num-
! Der OF wheels sold during this year alone at
from $4,000 to 100000 and to this number
must be added those who are riding wheels
purchased in previous years. 1t is the inten-