The 1894 Los Angeles to San Diego Relay

I would have to think that whole idea of holding another bicycle relay between Los Angeles and San Diego in a "not too distant future," turned out to be a little more distant than D. C. McGarvin would have liked. I have not been able to find any evidence that a second race took place for another two years after the 1892 first. I suppose in the end the only thing that matters is that a second race did take place, on Sunday the 17th of June 1894.

At 4:30 that morning, Carson Shoemaker, paced as far as Puente by Charles Cowan, departed the Los Angeles Herald offices carrying two messages - the first from Los Angeles Mayor T. E. Rowan for San Diego Mayor William M. Carlson, the second from the Herald editor to the editor of the San Diego Sun. The route this year would take the riders 189 miles through Pomona, Riverside, Perris, Temecula, Escondido, and into San Diego. Twenty-two riders would pass the messages along in relays averaging nine miles, with the longest being between fifteen and twenty miles. The first pair of riders made their relay in fifty-five minutes at a pace so fast (the fastest ever made between the two cities) that Cowan was "killed by the hot pedaling of the orange-eater [Shoemaker]." At Puente Shoemaker handed off the letters to H. E. Scott, who was forced to ride an extended relay of twenty miles, as far as the Gird's Ranch Winery. Shoemaker, far from done in, was determined to set a new record to Riverside kept pace with Scott all the way to the next handoff. 

At the winery Casey Castleman took up the race, with Shoemaker again in tow all the way to Arlington. The two sped into south Riverside at 7:40am, three hours and ten minutes into the race. Castleman and Shoemaker made their twenty mile relay in little more than one hour, though the final three miles in to the city were among the worst along the route. When the pair turned onto Magnolia Avenue Shoemaker surged forward, passing the relay riders, intent on his record. At the south Riverside wash he damaged his wheel and had to change bikes with Castleman; still eight miles from Arlington Shoemaker suffered a "faint feeling under the sweater" [which in more modern parlance seems to mean that he began to feel the bonk coming on, and was paced the rest of the way into Riverside by Simms and Schroeder, snacking on a couple sandwiches tied to his handlebars. Shoemaker reached Riverside at 8:45am, covering the sixty-eight miles in four hours and fifteen minutes, one hour and seven minutes quicker than the previous record.

Meanwhile, back on the relay route, Castleman had passed the messages on to Harry Trowbridge who carried them as far as the head of Magnolia Avenue, from which the route turned east along Washington and out over the hills around Box Springs. Ernest Hess did the climbing, while "Pop" Bigelow raced down the other side toward Perris. Seven miles from Perris Garrison took over, arriving in town at 9:40am, now five hours and ten minutes into the relay. Catching the message "on the fly" Luis Brundidge sped on toward Elsinore. The next thirty miles to the Temecula River were equally split between, first Brundidge, and followed by Willard Sylvester and James Patterson. Patterson reached Temecula at 11:13 and continued on to the river just out of town where Frank Fernald took over, followed by Roy Fernald, and finally William Wolf who carried on to Vista (or Bonsall); those three relays, twenty-four miles along the roughest, most mountainous portion of the race.

Con Callowy rode between Bonsall and Escondido, where he arrived at 2:16pm, not quickly, but with much "pluck and endurance." The final thirty-four miles into San Diego were run by riders of that city, beginning with George Lemon. H. B. Cromwell took over half way to the Poway Grade, before transferring to Bert Reed, Carl Harlan, and then Loring. Harlan continued up the Grade along with Loring who, at a narrow section of road collided with a wagon, busting his wheel. Harlan resumed Loring's portion of the relay solo. A short distance from the next handoff his pedal broke forcing him to walk to the meeting with H. W. Cobb who carried on half way across the Linda Vista mesa, at which point W. L. Tibbles rode into Mission Valley, handing off to L. A. Blochman, followed by W. V. Franklin, and finally, Bud Story, who reached the Sun office at 4:42pm. The goal of riding the relay under thirteen hours was met with a time of twelve hours and twelve minutes.

Mayor Carlson acknowledged receipt of the letters from Los Angeles, noting that "the wheelmen deserve our highest compliments fo rtraversing the lengthy and dedious space of 189 miles in the short space of time of 12 hours and 12 minutes, as well as for the pluck and energy displayed."