The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-24
NOW GET A HUMP ON.
This Will Be a Season of ScOrcherS
and Record Breakers.
SOME GOOD, SOUND ADVICE
The Wheelers Should Organize
Themselves and Show the World
What M ontana Can 10 in the
Matter of Speed.

The wheelmen of Montana have been
very poorly organized during the past
seasons. There have been clubs, which
were short-lived in some of the smaller
towns, but Butte and Helena are the
only cities that have maintained L. A.
w. organizations and are the only
towns where special attention has
been paid to racing. In the other
Stowns the ambitious scorchers have
COMMENTED themselves with passing
Everyone they could while spinning on
rahe streets or highways. There is no
treason why Montana should not have
amen capable of travelling In any class
: of riders IL attention were given to
Z this, the latest line of sport, that Is
given to all other kinds of such amuse-
xment.
1t would be well for these organiza-
lions which are now being talked up
so vigorously to establish some sort OF
Sincentive to speed making among the
members and perchance 1t may develop
that in this state there is Tim,
johnson or a Bald. all unknown.
The expense of making a bicycle
sstrack is not very great and a small
company sharing in 1t will very easily
establish and maintain course from
which they might collectively and in
sScorching on the highways is a dan
agerous pastime not only for the
.swheelmen but for others, and with the
zprospect of pace setting ordinances in
'the town councils, the scorcher will
find that he needs a stretch that he
may fly over as fast as his winged feet
can pedal and to the danger of no one
but himself, before the season Is over.
few clippings from the trade jour
nails anent the wheeling trade and
wheelmen have been scissored, and will
be read with interest by the cranks in
the Northwest. glimpse of the great
cycle show at Chicago is given by
correspondent of the Cycling West,
who says:
Amid the acclamations of the bicy-
Gle admiring cftizens of Chicago, which
includes large number of newly-made
converts, the second annual Chicago
Cycle Show came TO a close. The fact
that the sale OF tickets had to be stop
ped early in the evening during the
last two or three evenings, sufficiently
attest success from the standpoint of
popular favor. There were in the main
building and the annex nearly 400 evChfb-
iuion spaces, more than 2 900 wheels were
on view. Everything appertaining TO
- the cycle trade-sundries Of every ma
Hure-met the eye In every direction.
The most curiosity seemed to center in
the wheel built for John s. johnson and
which 1t was stated he would take with
him to Europe. The bright colors of
the decorations, the artistic arrange
ment of the booths, and the effective
use OF lights. combined to make
scene of great beauty and animation in
the evenings The mass of literature
distributed by exhibitors was sufficient
to make cycling enthusiasts of millions
of people, and 1t is safe to state that
many millions will see the unique SOU
venirs so freely given to those who
would take them. Not since the close
of the worlds fair have the hotels of
Chicago entertained 90 many guests.
all talking wheels.
"A noticeable feature was the small
ness of the spaces allotted to exhibit
ors. and 1T Is quite likely that exhibit
ors will demand a larger building and
more space for the exhibit of another
year. The prices charged for the spaces
seemed very high, due, 1T is understood,
to the demands Of the National Board
OF Trade of Cycle Manufacturers. Such
prices hardly could be charged for
space to exhibit anything else than a
bicycle. The week was divided up
among the various interests, such as
club evening, etc. The evening of the
10Th was set aside as ladies' night, and
styled 'Bloomer Night" an appellation
which the women appear to have rath-
er resented Out of the thousands that
tfronged the building, a thorough
search would have found not more
than half a dozen women clad in
bloomers.
IF there are as many innovations
and improvements in the 80 bicycle as
there have been in the SO wheel over
that of '95, We may well say that the
limit of perfection is yet far away, and
that. we may be prepared at any time
TO see an improvement which will tend
10 add still higher degree of perfec-
lion to the bicycle than that which is
found in the 90 model One feature
noticed at the show. which viii have
an. important bearing on the future Is
me presence of and demand for so
pnany medium grades. The smaller
Dealer nowadays thinks no more of put
sting in a supply of wheels without pro-
Aidtng line of medium or low-priced
wheels to go with his high-grade stock
Than he would think of buying q suit
OF clothes without a vest.
1.-THE changeable gear, too has found
a permanent place in the demands of
rhe trade. Several of these devices were
SHOWN and, while the cycling public
has not as yet considered Their value,
NOR hooked into them with anything
Ike proper study. they are working
rheir way gradually, and will eventu-
ally be very appreciably recognized as
yaluable additions 10 the wheels of the
culture. For $40 a cyclist may fit his
wheel with csnangeable gear weigh
ing less than pound, which. by a lever
- NNN manu. may Uc lilSNdhtiy
changed from an so to a 56-inch gear, |
or vice versa. or from almost any high
gear TO most any of the lower STAN
dards. When one considers the enor-
NOUS advantage this affords the wheel !
men travelling over billy or mountain
Gus country. or riding against and with |
the wind on the same trip. the claims 4
OF the chang bic gear people are not /
% be sneered at nor dlsparaged."
J. W. Spalding arrived home recent |
~. says an eastern paper, after his /
three months trip abroad. While IL
was Mr.. Spalding's intention to so for /
pieasure-trip. he nevertheless made I
careful study of the bicycle situation /
L..