The San Francisco call., 1897-08-16

San Leandro. Their tandem broke down,
however, and Kanzee and Raynaud, who
had followed close behind all the while,
again took the lead and brought him
through.
Kraft had to negotiate two treacherous
turns in San Leandro, and here the tan
dems dropped out and he rode unpaced
around these and over an Intervening
block, back to the Haywards road again,
to again circle the triangle. Bacon and
Peck were there to receive him, and after
hem came Vincent and Ferguson again,
Thesen and BirdSall, Davidson and Mem
del, Kroetz and Kingsley and Kelly and
Tobln.
1t was on the second round as they came
to the railroad track that the delay oc-
Cured. A freight train was slowly cross.
ing as he hove in sight around the cor
ner, and he had to slow up and wait fully
fifteen seconds. and some say half min
ute, for it to get by.
At the finish the scene was most eXclt-
ing. large crowd had assembled and
there was great deal of discussion and
figuring as to whether he would break the
American record, which is also the world S
record, and stands at 4S:5S, or whether he
would lower Bozio's record, or whether he
would break any record at all.
There is a slight rise in the road about
ar eighth of a nile from the finish and
he was not in sight at the top of it as
Timer Wetmore announced: "He has
now been out just forty-eight minutes and
has got to cross the line within fifty ight
seconds TO get under the record" And
KRAFT was not even in sight. Five, ten,
fifteen seconds went by and still no signs
OF him. They were getting anxious.
Suddenly a head bobbed up over the
crest of the hill, then another and another
Here he comes" yelled the crowd.
Twenty seconds more and he won't
make il" said Mr.. Wetmore. "some of
you fellows yell to him to hit it up"
And yell they did with a will. There
were three tandems in front of Kraft as
he loomed up over the hill, his pink
racing suit distingulshable from the
darker suits of his PAGERS. With mighty
effort he pressed forward and passed TWO
OF the teams and was up even with the
other as the crowd swept over the tape
just two seconds to the good for be had
ridden the twenty miles in 1885, as
against the American record of 1858
made by |. n. Walleston of New buryport
Mass, October 4, 1895.
My, but he had a narrow escape was
all that Mr.. Wetmors could say, as he
! clicked his watch at the finish.
Kraft rode into San Leandro apparently
but little distressed after his hard rlde.
He had good deal to say about the de! ay
caused py the railroad train, but also said
that for once he had got all the pacing he
wanted, and modestly attributed his re-
markabIe performance to the important
: assistance rendered by his tandem teams
| Five watches were held at the start and
| finish, all having been first compared, and
the only variation was in one, which
showed the time fifth of second slower
th an tha given out. The officials at the
trial were: Referee, r. NJ. Welch; starter,
Henry L. Day; timers. J. S. Shedd, George
P. Wetmore, P. H. Bernays. E. E. S od-
dard, Fred L. Day; judges, Herbert D.
At 2:30 in the afternoon the Acme Club
Wheelmen held five-mile road race from
San Leandro to Haywards, with twenty
entrants. Several suffered minor acci-
dents from ialls and punctures, but four
teen finished and the time averaged well,
as the following score will show: