Fast Digs in the Arroyo Seco, 1941
The National Amateur Bicycle Championships for 1941 were held in Pasadena's Arroyo Seco, site of so many bicycle races over the decades. Unlike the single race championships of today, the championships of yesteryear were run as an omnium with as many as four races taking place, and points awarded to placing in each; the 1939 championship, for instance had 1-mile, 5-mile, 10-mile and 25-mile races. I am yet to find any evidence of how many events took place in 1941 (or 1940 for that matter), and what distances they were. None-the-less, we do know that Marvin Thomson won the gold medal with 17 points, Bob Stauffacher won silver and, finishing 3rd was Don Ferguson. The Championships were suspended from the three years 1942 to 1944, due to World War II, but were then run continuously through 1964, with such amateur racing standouts as Jack Disney and James Rossi tallying multiple wins - five each. Gus Gatto placed five times between 1949 and 1953, including a win in 1951, with ...
