in 1920, the big earners in american sports were six-day
bicycle racers. frank kramer, alf goullet, and reggie
mcnamara, each exceeded the paltry $20,000 paid to baseball’s
babe ruth, who hit 54 home runs that year for the yankees.
- in the summers, track riders competed in sprints on
outdoor tracks. from november to march, cyclists commuted by
train on a circuit from new york city to chicago, boston,
toronto, st. louis, minneapolis, san francisco and other
cities for six-day races around steeply banked indoor board
tracks. north america had as many sixes as in europe.
- fifteen teams of two riders each competed for six days and
nights straight—up to 146 hours of nonstop action.
- each team had a rider pedaling around the human squirrel
cage while his partner left to eat or nap. the launch of a
cyclist bent low over his steel frame, suddenly shooting from
the rolling pack to “steal” a lap, ignited a chase.
- the best riders of their generation from both sides of the
atlantic and pacific competed in u.s. sixes, including tour de
france champions; tour of italy winners; victors in
one-classics such as paris-roubaix, tour of flanders, and
milan-san remo; and road and track world champions.
- new york’s madison square garden held the super bowl of
sixes. audiences watching the racers tear around the board
oval at breakneck speed yelled themselves hoarse and shook the