annual pullman bicycle race
The Annual Pullman Road Race
Long before Bike the Drive...
By Jim Nugent
THE bicycle event in 1891 Chicago was the fifth annual Pullman Road Race on Memorial Day. Sponsored by George Mortimer Pullman, owner of America's preeminent railroad sleeping car company, the 15-mile race started in downtown Chicago and ended in Pullman's newly built industrial community at 111th street on the shores of Lake Calumet.
One hundred seventy-five riders lined up for the start on Michigan Avenue. Some were on the traditional high-wheel bicycles while others rode the newfangled safety bicycles with smaller wheels and chain or gear drives. Before the start, riders were placed into handicap classes based on their speed and equipment. The five fastest racers, riding safety bicycles with the new pneumatic tires, left last.
Bikes raced down Michigan Avenue to 35th Street, east to Grand Boulevard, south to Midway Plaisance, and then east to Stony Island Avenue. On Stony Island, racers went south to the Pullman dirt road. After traversing the infamous sand hill they crossed the finish line at the new Hotel Florence.
Thousands of friends and fans gathered at the starting line to see the start of the race. Many of them would catch a special ten-coach Illinois Central train to be whisked south to Pullman in time to join the 10,000 viewers cheering the riders over the finish line. According to the Chicago Tribune, the whole 15-mile route was lined with policemen, crowds of viewers, and all types of [horse-drawn] coaches.
The pneumatic riders posted the fastest times, finishing between 50:17 and 50:39, while the fastest solid tire rider came in at 53:12. First place went to a relatively unknown rider with the Chicago Cycling Club, R. M. Barwise on a safety bicycle, the first time a safety had taken first in a Pullman Race. The next day the front page Tribune story attributed his victory over the favorites to unreasonable handicapping.
Chicago cyclists in 1891 faced almost as many dangers as they do today. One racer on a high-wheel ordinary was only 100 feet from the finish line when he took a header and broke his shoulder. Another ordinary rider broke the solid tire of his small trailing wheel as he turned off Michigan Avenue onto 35th street. By the time he reached Stony Island Avenue he had a half dozen broken spokes and his wheel collapsed. Seeing a spectator leaning on a new safety bike he made a quick swap and rode off at such a clip he soon had regained his previous position. He went on to finish in 11th place.
When depression struck America in 1893, the race had grown to 271 starters. In May 1894, the workers at Pullman went on strike. The Associated Cycling Clubs of Chicago took over the ride and ran it north along the lake. The Tribune reported 50,000 fans in Lincoln Park and crowds packed along every street of the route to watch the 400 riders.
By the end of July, government troops and court injunctions broke the strike. Pullman also lost; the state forced him to sell his model town, Congress investigated his firm, and he died but two years later. Bicycles, bicycle racing and the great Memorial Day Road Race also faded, replaced by a new fad: automobiles and automobile racing.
Long before Bike the Drive...
By Jim Nugent
THE bicycle event in 1891 Chicago was the fifth annual Pullman Road Race on Memorial Day. Sponsored by George Mortimer Pullman, owner of America's preeminent railroad sleeping car company, the 15-mile race started in downtown Chicago and ended in Pullman's newly built industrial community at 111th street on the shores of Lake Calumet.
One hundred seventy-five riders lined up for the start on Michigan Avenue. Some were on the traditional high-wheel bicycles while others rode the newfangled safety bicycles with smaller wheels and chain or gear drives. Before the start, riders were placed into handicap classes based on their speed and equipment. The five fastest racers, riding safety bicycles with the new pneumatic tires, left last.
Bikes raced down Michigan Avenue to 35th Street, east to Grand Boulevard, south to Midway Plaisance, and then east to Stony Island Avenue. On Stony Island, racers went south to the Pullman dirt road. After traversing the infamous sand hill they crossed the finish line at the new Hotel Florence.
Thousands of friends and fans gathered at the starting line to see the start of the race. Many of them would catch a special ten-coach Illinois Central train to be whisked south to Pullman in time to join the 10,000 viewers cheering the riders over the finish line. According to the Chicago Tribune, the whole 15-mile route was lined with policemen, crowds of viewers, and all types of [horse-drawn] coaches.
The pneumatic riders posted the fastest times, finishing between 50:17 and 50:39, while the fastest solid tire rider came in at 53:12. First place went to a relatively unknown rider with the Chicago Cycling Club, R. M. Barwise on a safety bicycle, the first time a safety had taken first in a Pullman Race. The next day the front page Tribune story attributed his victory over the favorites to unreasonable handicapping.
Chicago cyclists in 1891 faced almost as many dangers as they do today. One racer on a high-wheel ordinary was only 100 feet from the finish line when he took a header and broke his shoulder. Another ordinary rider broke the solid tire of his small trailing wheel as he turned off Michigan Avenue onto 35th street. By the time he reached Stony Island Avenue he had a half dozen broken spokes and his wheel collapsed. Seeing a spectator leaning on a new safety bike he made a quick swap and rode off at such a clip he soon had regained his previous position. He went on to finish in 11th place.
When depression struck America in 1893, the race had grown to 271 starters. In May 1894, the workers at Pullman went on strike. The Associated Cycling Clubs of Chicago took over the ride and ran it north along the lake. The Tribune reported 50,000 fans in Lincoln Park and crowds packed along every street of the route to watch the 400 riders.
By the end of July, government troops and court injunctions broke the strike. Pullman also lost; the state forced him to sell his model town, Congress investigated his firm, and he died but two years later. Bicycles, bicycle racing and the great Memorial Day Road Race also faded, replaced by a new fad: automobiles and automobile racing.
posted by racerpat at 5:50 PM
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