Wow, Ted. I read this twice, to re-experience what I
missed on the first read. With text like this and
some well-chosen pics -- book-length -- I see a
masterpiece. It'd bring the world up to snuff on the
subject...and blow their mind...GET A PROPER AGENT TO
FIND YOU THE BEST PUBLISHER AND DON'T SETTLE FOR LESS
THAN PERFECTION.
Joe Starck
Madison, Wisconsin
> A little history to set the scene:
> >From the 20's and maybe before, the relieving of a
> rider was done by pushing
> one's partner into the race by placing the hand on
> the left hip and
> propelling him forward.
> An inside pocket was eventually sewn into the left
> rear side of the riders
> racing trunks, shorts and then reinforced by extra
> layers of fabric cross
> stiched across the back side of the backside.
> A "jamming tool" made of wrapped up paper, sock ,
> rag was taped up and
> inserted into this narrow sleeve pocket.
> The rider would make up the tool to fit his hand and
> give the tool to his
> partner to put into the partners pocket so that the
> riders could grab the
> tool comfortably and confidently when in a hurry
> racing around at 35 miles
> an hour while jamming. Many shorts had a white
> stripe over the pocket for
> easy location.
> As your partner on relief would see you coming he
> would swing down into the
> lane above you, you would come by close, grab the
> jamming tool and push as
> hard as needed depending on the race situation at
> the moment.
> Hard in jams, easy when close in the field.
> A touch was always needed however, to complete the
> relay. A lap loss could
> be the penalty for a "wireless pickup".
> The shorts had to be very strong to handle the push
> and shove so that they
> shorts wouldn't rrrrip and reduce the bicycle race
> to a cheek to cheek
> ballroom dancing contest.
> As best I can remember, hand slings were always
> allowed even back in the
> '30's but usually only during the jams when the
> field was separated and
> riders were far enough apart to have room.
> The race officials always told us what was allowed
> before the start of the
> race.
> Rmember also that many of the old tracks were much
> smaller and steeper so
> that the room to maneuver was somewhat constricted.
> The advent of the skin suits during the '70's and
> the new fabrics as well as
> larger tracks made it easier to do handslings and it
> slowly became the norm.
> Pockets were eliminated as fabrics became lighter.
> Our old shorts were mostly wool and wool blends,
> very strong and now that
> stuff is almost all gone by the wayside.
> Interestingly enough, there are less spills now with
> handslings than before
> with the hip shove.
> When a team does a real smooth and close hip sling,
> the inside rider would
> lean his bike to the left and "throw" his partner
> across his front wheel
> slightly down the track banking for better
> acceleration.
> If you misjudged and locked bars, touched knee on
> bar, or pulled to hard all
> kinds of strange things could happen. It only hurts
> when you laugh.
> The guys are giving themselves more room and even at
> higher speeds it's not
> quite as tricky although it seems so at first glance
> to the uninitiated
> whose nerves haven't been steeled to handle the the
> seemingly death defying
> mayhem swirling maelstrom in front of them on the
> spaghetti bowl.
> I think at first the officials thought that
> handslings were to dangerous for
> amateurs, but that was quickly overcome and now even
> without a jamming tool
> you see riders making just a soft touch when pace is
> regular and riders are
> close. If you look close you will see riders making
> an exchange in the field
> with their arm straight down along body and the
> partner coming alongside and
> gently pushing the rider with hand/arm very close to
> body, sort of easy
> stiff arm.
> Hope this gives a little background, if something
> isn't clear enough in my
> review, ask away , I'll do my best to clarify.
> Ted Ernst
> Palos Verdes Estates, CA
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <greenjersey@ntlworld.com>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 1:56 AM
> Subject: [CR]Madison change
>
>
> > When did the madison change go from the push of
> Ted's time to the sling of
> > today? Was it down to a change of rule or did it
> evolve over time. Maybe
> > Ted could say if you could have the two methods in
> one race-without blood
> > on the boards.
> > Ray Green, Brighton, England
> >
> > -----------------------------------------
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> information
> >
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