Thirteen years passed before this record was lowered, and the one that replaced it was not a remarkable performance, considering the further great improvements in cycles. This ride, in the summer of 1889, performed on a solid-tyred “safety,” took 21 hours 10 minutes, and was beaten in the same year by six minutes by H. R. Pope, riding a tricycle; himself displaced, shortly after, by F. T. Bidlake, also mounted on a tricycle, who did the 197 miles in 18 hours 28 minutes.
In 1890, and for several years following, records came and went with increasing rapidity. In 1890 J. M. James put the safety record at 16 hours 52 minutes, and T. A. Edge soon followed, reducing it to 14 hours 33 minutes, James regaining the record again in 1891 by a bare thirteen minutes. In the following year, S. F. Edge, on a front-driving safety, made a splendid record of 12 hours 49 minutes, but had the mortification to see it beaten the next day, June 27, by F. W. Shorland, in 39 minutes less. In this year there were several rival tricycle records: that of W. J. A. Butterfield, of 18 hours 9 minutes being lowered by F. T. Bidlake by nearly three hours, and beaten again, on September 29, Bidlake’s figures on this occasion being 13 hours 19 minutes. On the same day M. A. Holbein and F. W. Shorland rode to York on a tandem tricycle in exactly the same time.
C. C. Fontaine went for the safety record on August 29, 1894, when he put the figures down to 11 hours 51 minutes. Fontaine lowered his own record in the following year, on October 18, by 21 minutes 45 seconds, and this was disposed of by George Hunt on May 7, 1896, when he got well within the eleven hours, at 10 hours 48 minutes.
This was lowered by F. R. Goodwin on July 19, 1899, his time being 10 hours 16 minutes; the speed on this occasion averaging rather over nineteen miles an hour. Even this could not have been accomplished without the aid of the most perfect motor pace-making arrangements. Goodwin smashed all these previous records on his way to establish the London to Edinburgh record of 25 hours 26 minutes, in which the average was somewhat higher; nearly twenty miles an hour.
The next, and latest, safety cycle record to York was made, unpaced, in 1900; when H. Green performed the journey in 10 hours 19 minutes.
The tandem safety London to York records should be mentioned. The first two were set up on July 24, 1895, and October 2, 1896, respectively: by G. P. Mills and T. A. Edge; and T. Hobson and H. E. Wilson, the times being 12 hours 33 minutes, and 11 hours 35 minutes.
These were followed by:—
| Hrs. | Mins. | |
1901. | A. H. and P. S. Murray (unpaced) | 10 | 59 |
1905. | R. L. I. Knipe and S. Irving (unpaced) | 10 | 52 |
1907. | F. H. Wingrave and R. A. Wingrave (unpaced) | 9 | 30 |
The London to Edinburgh records are:
SAFETY BICYCLE.