The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-08-26
BICYCLE NEWS NOTES,
4 NEW RAILRoAD BICYCLE AT
 TR.ICTS ATTENTION.

the coming National Meet In This City- Trying to Force Connecticut Town to Improve It's ROads-Agitation Against Low HandIebars in New Ha- ved-Notes.
 The talk among wheelmen at the present time is centered in the coming meet to be held at Elm City Park Sep tember IS under the auspices of the New Haven Cycling club. It will be a national circuit meet and the best rid CTS in the country will be here to com- pete for the prizes. Eddie Bald cham pion of the one-half mile open at the l.. A. w. meet at Indianapolis, F. c. Mcfarland. Mertens, Kimble, Tom Cooper, Major Taylor, Gardiner, Earl Kiser, Karl Kaser. Stevens, Eaton and all the crack professionals of the coun- try are among those who have signi- fled their intention to be present and compete In the two professional events. There will also be a race between Coul- ter, the unpaced champion, and AL batross, the horse which goes around the track in very fast time without a driver. Besides these events there will be four amateur events, in which George Fl. Collett, who won the one quarter one-half and two-mile national championships at the Indianapolis meet and with his mate, Edward c. Haus- man. took the tWo-mile national handi- cap, will try conclusions with the crack amateurs of the country. He and Hausman will endeavor to break ec- ords here and will no doubt succeed. Ertz and Kramer, two fast amateur riders, will be here and will be pitted against Collett and Hausman. There will also be city championship race, which will be decided by points. All in all this meet will eclipse anything of the kind ever given in this city or state, and Secretary E. F. Peckham of the club is besieged with letters for entry blanks. There is also a large demand for reserved seat tickets, of which there will be limited number, but it has been decided not to place them on sale until the first of September. It be- hooves all those who wish to secure good seats to get them when they are issued.
 A new railroad cycle is attracting much attention. It was recently pa- tented by two westerners, and from all accounts is a great success. The new wheel may be operated on either a wide or narrow gauge track. The wheel proper runs along the left rail of the track. The attachment supports the larger wheels by means of brace connected with a third wheel smaller than the others, which glides along the opposite track. The machine is thus virtually tricycle.. The braces con- meeting the bicycle with the smaller wheel are attached to the bicycle frame several inches above the axle, and thus prevent it from falling inward if un- skilfully guided. The larger wheel is made heavy to balance the weight of the bicycle and the rider and prevent them from toppling over in the opposite direction.
 The third wheel is provided with a deep fange which extends below the surface of the track on the innerside. This is opposed to the f1ange device on the bicycle, and tends to keep it on the track A corresponding fiange is at tached to the bicycle wheels. This is done by suspending frame below the
 
 forked brace which is in turn at tached to the bicycle frame. A series of rollers are attached to this frame, which are set close to the inner side of the track. These engage the track and the inner portion of the tire. Two more rollers are journalled on a similar frame, which sits close to the tire of the rear wheel These rollers, by press ing against the rail and the adjacent tire, also serve to keep the tire on the track
 The attachment is lightly construct ed, and may be packed in comparative ly small compass and carried about by a wheelnan. A rider equipped in this fashion can take advantage not only of all ordinary roads in the usual fashion, but can ride on all railroad tracks as well. A man can ride across the con- tinent and find an ideal bicycle track wide enough for all practical purposes. A good wheelman mounted in this fash ion could equal the speed of most freight trains and of some passenger trains, allowing the time they take in stopping at stations The suburbanite of the future can wheel to town, no matter what may be the weather, as quickly as his train can carry him-un- less the company shoos him off the track. Although the bicycle is capable of great speed it is not recommended to the amusement seeker. It's awk- ward meeting train coming around curve.
 Forcing Town.
 It seems a novel idea to force town, in the courts, to grade one of it's streets, but this is what is being attempted on Wolcott. The Waterbury wheelmen are complainants and are circulating the following petition:
 "We, undersigned, propose to pay the sum affixed to our names for the pur- pose of calling out the county and state commissioners to provide for whatever cost is necessary to procure from the town of Wolcott a more satisfactory grade of the road in Wolcott commen- cling about four hundred feet east from the top of the mountain, on the noun tain road, known as the Waterbury and Meriden turnpike. The town of South ington having built a new road of over three thousand feet at an expense of about one dollar per lineal foot the sub scribers are desirous of having said four hundred feet brought to about the same
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