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HEALDSBURG WHEELMEN

Healdsburg Wheelmen

The original “Healdsburg Wheelmen” formed in the spring of 1895.  They quickly gained a reputation for being the club to beat in regional races run against clubs from Santa Rosa and Petaluma. In their heyday, the Wheelmen numbered several dozen riders and included in their membership some riders fast enough to be considered “professionals” by the League of American Wheelmen.

In the summer of 1895 the Wheelmen hosted a series of meets and invited cyclists from the surrounding area. The League deemed these meets “illegal races” even though the Wheelmen insisted that they were simply speed trials, no different than their informal club road runs. In spite of the Wheelmen’s protestations, the League suspended all the riders who took part. The response from a prominent member of the Wheelmen was quoted in the Healdsburg Tribune – “We don’t care a rap and we will henceforth disregard and ignore entirely the dictations of the League.”

Sonoma County has a very large and active cycling community that supports all cycling activities from casual riding to regional and statewide competition. The north part of the county however is not well represented and to rectify this, Spoke Folk Cyclery had been working towards reforming the Healdsburg Wheelmen. Until then, we enthusiastically recommend the Santa Rosa Cycling Club. The have rides starting in many parts of Sonoma County and cater to riders of most any ability.