Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-05-24
RYUS SETS NEW
\ SAN DIEGO MARK
WHITE STEAMER MAKES GREAT
ROUND TRIP
Tires Withstand Rough Usage and
Not Bolt in Entire Machine
Shows Evidence of
Hard Strain
nY 1. GEoRGE rHoMPsoN

From the motor car buyers point of
view the run made by Captain II. d.
Ryus in White steamer to San Diego
and return ought to rank as the best
performance pulled off in Southern
California with motor car.
For one man to drive the same car
for 800 miles with less than a half
hours intermission at the wheel speaks
as highly for the driving as for the car.
Over roads that were only fair the car
was sent along at good average pace
on the coast route. When The road was
good the pace was made faster, but not
a chuck hole or ditch was jumped, and
the three persons in the tonneau were
never made uncomfortable on account
of rough driving over bad roads. Just
at daybreak the car was started out
from the Alexandria hotel. and soon
was outside the city limits.
The country roads varied; stretches
there were that would allow of thirty
miles an hour, or even thirty-five, which
was about the maximum speed, except
for few short bursts over road that
was free from bumps and holes.
Santa Ana was reached in fast time,
and good run made from there to
CapiStrano over very good roads for the
greater part of the distance Below
Capistrano more good road was found,
although there are a number of hills
that eat up good deal of time, espe
cially with gasoline car when it is nee
essary to change into low gear to climb
some of the steep places In the Vicin-
ity of Del Mar and almost to San Luis
Rey the road is very poor, being full
of ruts and deep sand
The road down the canyon leading
into Oldtown is fine and it is only the
winding road on narrow grade that
prevents better time being made
through there.
Some of the grades are very steep and
Will necessitate low gear with a gaso-
{ line car and the low powered ones
would probably have difficulty even
+ then. The steamer took most all of the
grades on the high gear having TO drop
into low in few instances where the
surface was cut up or deep in dust.
Y Coming back the coast road was fol-
Z lowed for ten or twelve miles. and then
run was made inland over the La
Jolla-Miramar road until the coast road
was reached at Miramar After pass
ing Miramar the Scripps grade was
gone down. 1t is a good piece of road
building and in fine shape.
Near Red Mountain some of the most
beautiful scenery on the whole trip was
seen, as the read winds in and out
of picturesque canyons shaded with
sycdInOIeS ana OdkS.
Grades Easy
The grades are all easy on the inland
route. being laid out as rule on
3 or per cent gradient
Wherever the road has been oiled It
has developed ridges and holes that
make comfortable driving impossible
even at low speed.
From Rainbow to Elsinore nearly all
of the road is good, and from Elsinore
on there is little low gear work and
good speed can be made.
From Pomona to Los Angeles the San
Bernardino or lower road was taken,
coming through Puente, Savannah and
Shorb, leaving San Gabriel and Alham-
bra on the right. The road from the
junction of the Mission road and the
San Bernardino road Is as good If not
better than the one that connects with
the Pasadena boulevard, and is con-
siderably shorter.
When the garage was reached at the
end of the return journey the car was
inspected carefully and not a bolt or
screw seemed to be loose.
Tires Withstand Trip
The tires, which were Goodrich, were
in fine shape. One of them had cut
in the thread from piece of glass in
the road, but there was no indication of
weakness in any of them. Not a pune
ture or blowout was experienced.
The fact that the White steamer was
so easy on the passengers, who were
newspaper men invited to take the trip
with Capt. Ryus, showed conclusively
that 1t must be as easy on tires,
springs and frames, as if they had been
Jared apd jolted very much some of
it would have been communicated to
those in the car.
The smooth running quality of the
White Is very deceptive to one not ac-
customed to it and it is readily be-
lieved that poor time is being made,
but when the mileage is figured up an
average of twenty miles per hour seems
slow gait
AS it is the record for the round trip
has been established and the record for
the inland route cut from nine hours to
eight. That ought TO be glory enough,
but on top of that is the feat of driV-
ing car over that distance without
relief and only twenty minutes inter-
mission While the car was not running.
Capt. Ryus stands among the drivers
who top the list, because he can drive
fast when the occasion demands as
has been shown by his handling of the
Nelson car from Santa Barbara to Los
Angeles on its record breaking run,
and before that in his winning of the
Fenner medal in the Mount Badly race.
''Who is that big MANI" asked the
stranger
That replied the native, rs Mr.,
Pompus."
"only plain mister Why, he has the
bearing of major general"
Eyes, and the overbearing of young
lieutenant Standard and
Times.