Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1896 — LOSES BY THREE SECONDS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

LOSES BY THREE SECONDS.

E. O. Anderson Fails to Ride a Mile in a Minnte. But for an accident Cyclist E. O. Anderson would have made a mile in one minute in the recent race behind the Bluff line engine at Alton, within 500 feet of the finish he was close behind the

coach, which was moving at just sixty mill's an hour. At that distance from the finish Anderson thought he heard, amid the rour of the train and rushing wind, the torpedo that was to announce that the run was ended, lie slowed down, then, seeing his mistake, again spui-ted. But lie had lost three seconds. .' The train covered the ground in something better than a sixty-mile gait, but the rider came short just sufficiently to miss by three seconds his wager to cover the mile in one minute. However, he demonstrated the fact that a bicycle can be put - qj-et ground a ..great deal faster than anyone has ever before thought of doing, anil thereby earned the laudation of wheeling enthusiasts, every where, A great cheer went up from the throng when the result was announced. The first half mile was covered at the rate of sixty-two miles an hour. , In this trial Anderson used a wheel geared to 180 inches. It covered about 40 feet to one revolution of the pedals. To cover the 5,28 j) feet inside of 00 seconds he*was required to make about two and one-half revolutions of each pedal a second. The great drawback that stands in the way ot-mn-hTug a ]oite~?r minnto ip the open air on a bicycle is the wind resistance. Could this lie overcome it would be possible to ride a mile in 50 seconds, provided the rider could revolve the pedals rapidly enough. The “home.trainers” now in use in bicycle academies have shown that it is possible for a rider to revolve his feet or make tlie njiuscles of his log art three times a second, and cover a mile in from 40 to 50 seconds. The distance is accurately measured on the “home trainer” and it is beyond dispute that where a,rider is putting forth his best effort in a dead-.caltn on a “home trainer 11 - he can revolve the rollers .so as to register a-mile in 15 seconds less than a minute. .

CYCLIST E. E. ANDERSON.