DON'T BET ON THIS ONE
(photo by John Lopinot)

THE BIG RACE

An unusual event was held this past summer in Springfield which matched the horse against the bicycle.

The race covered 24 miles between Springfield and New Salem State Park. The race was completed in just under one and one half hours with the bicyclists finishing about 5 minutes ahead of the horses.

The race was ran as a shuttle relay with six horses and six cyclists. Each rider covered a distance of four miles.

Each team found the course sometimes easy and sometimes rough. The horses held an advantage going uphill while the cyclists whizzed ahead going downhill. Horses found recently grades roads more to their liking while the cyclists naturally preferred the stretches of smooth pavement.

And so the race went: "bad" roads found the horses in front, while the bikes pulled into the lead on the "good" roads. The back-stretch of the race contained smoother roads and the going downhill kept the bicycles in front for good.

The horses were ex-race horses provided by the Fox Horn Stables of Springfield and the Springfield Bicycle Club provided the cyclists.

Trainer Jim Schuecking who groomed the horses for the race; seemed a bit surprised at the outcome. However, the cyclists believed all along that in a race of this kind, they would finish first.

Purpose of the event was two fold: One, to focus attention and draw publicity towards the need for more bicycle, hiking and bridal trails throughout the state; and two, to help celebrate the first anniversary of the Springfield Bicycle Club which has grown from its original 23 members to its present 350.

A VICTORY FOR CONSERVATION

By voting to purchase 32 acres of the Edgewater Golf Club, (in Chicago), the Chicago Park District has moved to complete a conservation effort initiated by Gov. Ogilvie and the Department of Conservation nearly two years ago. At that time the Department of Conservation announced that they were purchasing 60 acres of the site for development of a state park. The remaining 32 acres were owned by Kenroy, Inc. which had scheduled the land for development into a shopping and housing complex.

With the park district's purchase, the entire 92 acres of grassland will go to the public for parks and recreational use. This will mean an expenditure by the park district of about $4 million which will provide for additional facilities of baseball fields, a fieldhouse and an Olympic size swimming pool.

It all adds up to a rare achievement . . . a benefit for thousands of recreation-starved people . . . instead of the few who profit from filling up priceless open land with shopping and housing.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 16 September/October, 1972