The 1910s and the Next Generation

The period of time corresponding roughly to the 1910s was, by and large, a valley rather than a peak in terms of bicycle racing in Los Angeles. While the preceding ten years saw a succession of board tracks bring national and world class athletes to the city to compete, as well as serve as a means for local racers to develop against that high level of competition, the ultimate demise of those tracks left a competitive void.

It may not be too surprising then that accounts of races during the 1910s are heavily skewed toward youth races, equal to today's junior category races. Albert Menasco, the young rider pictured below, was typical, winning the Overland Wheelmen's road race of 4 July 1912 (the bottom photo is a scene from that same race), but not progressing beyond the local scene. What the preponderance of youth races during the 1910s did accomplish was to develop the next group of national and international racers - riders like George Vigliani, Gus Hakanson, the Testa brothers, Frank, Eddie and Felix, and Earl Thompson prominent among them. If you ever needed evidence that providing opportunities for younger cyclists to develop the skills needed to succeed at high levels, the 1910s was it.

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