My neighbor and friend (Tanya Bailey) just finished her book "The First American Grand Prix - The Savannah Auto Races 1908-1911"
I just finished reading the Prologue and thought it was really cool how she tied in early bicycle racing in Savannah as the precursor to the grand prize races that followed in 1908-1911.
Turns out there was a race track in Warsaw (now called Thunderbolt) that held large scale bike races in the late 1800s. Also in 1893, the Savannah Wheelmen built the Savannah Bicycle Coliseum at Wheelmen's Park, the first paved cement bicycle track in America (the only other one in the world was the Buffalo Velodrome in Paris). The League of American Wheelmen held their first race in Georgia here.
Bicycle racing was a big spectator sport back then and it was followed by motor-paced bicycle races, then by motorcycle racing. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book. The early Vanderbilt and Grand Prize races held in Savannah have always fascinated me. Another surprise for Queenfish and I was the fact that Tanya thanked us for our support and advice in her Acknowledgements page. That was VERY cool to see.
Here is her book on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/The-First-American-Grand-Prix/dp/0786476974
Tanya also owns the Great Savannah Races Museum just down the street from me. Here are a couple of pics of Firewing and Flexy in front of it.
I just finished reading the Prologue and thought it was really cool how she tied in early bicycle racing in Savannah as the precursor to the grand prize races that followed in 1908-1911.
Turns out there was a race track in Warsaw (now called Thunderbolt) that held large scale bike races in the late 1800s. Also in 1893, the Savannah Wheelmen built the Savannah Bicycle Coliseum at Wheelmen's Park, the first paved cement bicycle track in America (the only other one in the world was the Buffalo Velodrome in Paris). The League of American Wheelmen held their first race in Georgia here.
Bicycle racing was a big spectator sport back then and it was followed by motor-paced bicycle races, then by motorcycle racing. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book. The early Vanderbilt and Grand Prize races held in Savannah have always fascinated me. Another surprise for Queenfish and I was the fact that Tanya thanked us for our support and advice in her Acknowledgements page. That was VERY cool to see.
Here is her book on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/The-First-American-Grand-Prix/dp/0786476974
Tanya also owns the Great Savannah Races Museum just down the street from me. Here are a couple of pics of Firewing and Flexy in front of it.
