Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1914-12-17

beginning would be on the roads.
Riding up grades and over steep hills
would develop one quicker than on
the track and would, at the same
time, test ones courage. Courage is
very essential, and the lad who will
quit going up hill will be very apt
to quit in five-mile race If it is fast.
@
To the young man who wrote the
letter for advice, and to all beginners,
would suggest that they ride fifteen
miles on the road every morning at
a fair gait and ten miles each after
noon at stiffer pace. Then, after a
month or two of this kind of training,
they should try sprinting-sprints OF
from 100 yards to a sixth of a mile
1t would be we'll to sprint at the end
of each long ride after the first month
of training. The length of this course
of training will have to be judged,
according to the progress of the rider
Some will show development before
others. 1t might take one rider a
miles over average roads at a three
minute gait. while another would be
able to do it after two or three
months of training. After a rider is
able to do ten miles on the road at
an average OF three minutes to the
mile he should be able to ride one
mile on the track at pretty fast clip
Then 1t is time to go in novice race
After winning a novice, q rider is
warranted In continuing on the track,
and IL he falls to show improvement
after a year in the amateur class he
might as well quit, for he will never
make a bike rider.
@
| knew a dozen boys who started
riding at the same time that l did.
Half Of them improved more rapidly
than did on the track, but before the
end of the first season was riding
better than any of them. rode in a
number of novice races without sue
cess. Then there followed rapid i'm
proyement and one day was aston
ished to find myself the winner of
both the handicap and the open
scratch race at a meet at the old
Clifton track Had I not won those
races my career would probably have
come to an end that season. 1t is
foolish for beginner to expect to at
tain success in a short time. yet it
is equally as foolish for one to con-
tinue to ride after two years Of fail
ures-that is, unless one is riding lust
for the enjoyment he gets out of the
sport.
@
have seen thousands OF riders
come and go. A perusa1 of the old
programs at the Velodrome will show
how many have tried to become bike
riders, but failed. Each year there is
a new crop and out of each crop there
comes to the surface three or four
good amateurs, and out of each bunch
of good amateurs there may be one
good professional but more often
there Is not even one Since the velo-
drome was built, four years ago, there
has probably been over a thousand
amateurs competing at the races at
different times. Out of all of those
riders the only sprinter OF any class
that has been developed is Frank
Cavanagh. In 1911 Frank Blatz won
the amateur championship at the
Velodrome, but he is q failure as a
professional. The next amateur star
was Alvin Loftes He was a better
amateur than Blatz and he looked
very promising, but he failed in the
professional class. Then Cavanagh
came to the front and he made good.
Donald McDougall was the next anna
teur star, and although he did not
ride as well this year as he did in 1913,
he is a good boy and think he will
be a pretty good professional. But
the most promising amateur have
seen for a long time is Harry Kaiser.
Kaiser was slow in developing as On
amateur and he may be slow in COM
ing to the front in the professional
class, but l believe that some day he
will be the best American profess
sional. He is strong and game-the
New York six-day race proved that
he has good sprint and he is the
coolest and best general seen in the
amateur class since Marcus Hurley
was the champion.