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Perhaps the most successful bicycle tournament ever held in this country was that which opened at Springfield, Mass., on Tuesday, September 18th, and continued for three days. Over one hundred clubs were represented, and there were besides two hundred unattached riders, among whom were a number of famous English experts, besides one from Australia and another from Japan. The exhibition included bicycles of all shapes and sizes, tricycles, and almost everything pertaining to wheelmen and their steeds. The street parade, on Wednesday, in which six hundred participated, displayed nearly every kind of bicycle known, and one of its most attractive features was the appearance of about twenty women tricyclists. The prizes offered aggregated $6,000 in value, including a $1,000 cup, and a gold medal studded with diamonds. The races took place in Hampden Park, upon the upper end of which many of the visiting wheelmen were quartered in hundreds of tents. The races were the best ever ridden in this country, and the records were beaten in a number of instances. The tournament attracted great crowds and as the weather was perfect every day, it proved an entire success.

Reprinted from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 28, 1883.