The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-11
MEMORIAL DAYS CYCLE RACES
TO BE RUN FIVE MILES ON THE
AUGUSTA ROAD.

est Ever Run in This Part of the
South-Thc Handicapping 10 Be
Carefully Looked After.
The arrangements for the fve-mile cycle
road race to be run Memorial day have
about been completed. and the race is now
a certainty. The race will be run on the
Augusta road, starting just the other side
of the Central crossing, out two and
| half miles and returning to the starting
| point.
Twenty prizes have already been secur-
| ed, and the list includes some very hand
! some articles. Entry blanks can be OBJ
tanned from Mr.. Frank Williams at the
Savannah Cycle Agency on Bull street.
! The entry list is expected to be a large
one, even exceeding that in the Ogeecnee
road race last August. The Ogeechee
race was more successful and created
more widespread local interest than any
event in the history of cycling in Savan-
nah. 1t was gotten up by several local
wheelmen, their first intention being to
have 1t on a small scale, but it developed
! into magnitude such as exceeded the
| expectations of the promoters. 1t was
well managed and successfully carried
through.
The handicapping in the coming races
is a particular that will be given careful
attention. The handicapping in previous
races in Savannah has been anything but
good and successful. 1t was not the fault
| of any one and this is not said in detri-
ment to the gentlemen who did the hand
| icapping. They probably performed their
| duties to the best of their ability, but 1t
was not ability they lacked so much as
| knowledge of the abilities of the riders.
The handicapping of a race, especially
| road race, is a very difficult thing, and
one which requires the services of some
one widely acquainted with the abilities
| of the riders and their records. To show
! how difficult it is, it can be said that
| there are not a half dozen successful
| handicappers in the country.
There is no official Handicapped in Sa-
vannah, and it is not known who will do
| the work in the coming race. Whoever
| does should be a man not connected in
any way with any of the cycle agencies,
| and yet to find man outside of them
| capable of doing the work would be very
| hard matter 1t Is offered as a suggestion
| that three disinterested wheelmen be Sc
lected to do the work, the decision of two
| of them to make the handicap With one
man doing the handicapping, there would
| be some riders unknown to him and many
! whose abilities he would not know cor>
| rectly. With three men Ii would be diff
| ferent One of them at least would know
every man. 1t looks as if better results
could be accomplished and there is no
| doubt of it giving more satisfaction.
Now that the race is assured the riders
| will begin training at once. Kinsey will
! begin training to-day and if the eXpecta-
lions of this young mans friends are re-
allied, he will do some good work. There
| is good stuff in Kinsey, and If he could
| learn to use his head some, and not to lose
| his heart so quickly he would be able to
| show his rear wheel to any of the south
| ern cracks. An effort is being made to ar
range a match race between Kinsey and
| Bob Walthour of Atlanta, to be run at the
race track some time next month. Wal
| thour is a very fast man, and has done
some good riding, but the Savannah boys
are willing to back Kinsey against him.
The Young Mems Christian Association
bicycle club had arranged to have a run
to White Bluff, with an oyster roast at
tached, last Friday night, but the run
had to be postponed on account of the rain
The next run of the club will be Friday
night and will be to White Bluff, where an
oyster roast will be served.
The Catholic Library Association Cycle
| Club had run Thursday night and over
twenty members were out. The club took
a ride to the end of the paving on Waters
road, came back through Estin avenue
and afterwards rode around the city. The
club buttons have arrived and are being
distributed by Prof Lyon. 1t is a large
cap button Of white, with the letters &C. L.
A. c. c. in maroon letters. The club
now numbers about sixty members and
the boys are taking lively interest in il.
Tom Cooper will try to break the south
ern records for one mile at the track this
| morning. Cooper will be paced by the
| crack triplet team, Gross, William and
| Dixon, and If the wind is good the boys
expect to carry the Detroit man over the
| tape in two minutes or less. Last Sun
| day Cooper was carried mile, paced by
Williams, Newman and Dub in 2:O5, and
| with good conditions, and such men as
Gross, William and Dixon to follow
Cooper should not have any trouble IN
coming under the two-minute mark
The trial will be made at 1879 O'Clock
and the track will doubtless be crowded
with wheelmen to see the effort.
Cooper has been trying to arrange a
| match race with Eddie Bald for the past
year and Bald has just accepted Coopers
| challenge. The race will be run at De-
troit May 81, and will be for one mile
| best two in three heats. It is not thought
that Cooper has been notified Of Bad's
| acceptance yet, but a te egram from
| Louisville confirms the report.
Cooper is one of the cleverest and most
popu ar racing men that have ever visited
Savannah, and he, has made friends rap
| idly.
Charles M Murphy of Brooklyn, one Of
the fastest racing cyclists in the country.
arrived in Savannah on the Grand Duchess
yesterday, and Joined Cooper and Michael
| az Thunderbolt This makes a trio Of
the fastest men in the country at the
track
Charlie Murphy has trained in savan-
! nah upon several occasions and is well
| known among the wheelmen Last year
he was here with kid" Wheeler He will.
begin work al the track at once. after
| which he will follow re national circuit
| Murphy has a 4-year-old SON who is one
Of the youngest riders in the country. He
Is a verltable chip off the old block and
his proud father predicts that he will be
a champion in 'th early part of the next
century He rides a twenty-eight gear
against the eighty that his famous father
rides when he is struggling on the track
for prize money with which to support
| the little fellow.