Somerville Bike Monument a Focal Point of the Tour of Somerville

As bicycle racers from around the world lean into the West End Avenue turn during the 78th Tour of Somerville, few will realize that across the street sits a monument to the historic beginnings of this legendary event. Encased in Plexiglas is and stone is the actual bicycle, ridden by hometown hero Furman Kugler to win the first Tour of Somerville in 1940, and again in 1941.

The fixed gear, steel frame, wooden-wheel Shelby classic, with no brakes, is fittingly located along the 1.2 mile downtown course that current race competitors navigate hundreds of times while competing in America’s oldest major cycling event.

The monument includes a framed photo of Kugler, who also rode the bike to win the 1940 men’s National Championships in Detroit. It was erected in 1974 with funds raised by the Somerville-Area Junior Chamber of Commerce and donations from bicycle manufacturers, cycling clubs ,and private citizens. Located in a small park on the grounds of the Somerville Senior Citizens building, the monument attracts cycling enthusiasts as well as casual and curious visitors on a regular basis.

Much has changed in the eight decades since Furman Kugler bested 130 riders to win the first two Tour of Somerville races. Furman and 1942 winner Carl Anderson gave their lives while serving their country during World War II.

The genesis of the Tour of Somerville dates back to 1939 when Somerville bike shop owner Fred “Pop” Kugler answered a plea from Furman, who been winning bicycle races up and down the East Coast and wanted to race closer to home. In an interview before his death in 1990, “Pop” recalled that “Furman wanted to sleep in his own bed for a change the night before a race, so I figured ‘why not, let’s give people something to look at.’ ”

The elder Kugler got the necessary licenses and sanctions from cycling officials as well as financial support from town merchants, but the one thing he didn’t count on was a snag from Trenton. “I wanted to call it a race,” he said some years later, but New Jersey law specified that no contest of any type for wage, purse, or prize could be held on a state highway.

The dilemma was that Somerville’s Main Street was, and also still is, a state highway. The state motor vehicle commissioner at the time suggested to “Pop” that if the race be called a “Tour” he would issue a permit. It was, he did, and it has been ever since.

UPDATE:

In Monday’s 50-mile featured Tour of Somerville event, 2019 men’s winner, Connor Sallee of Ft. Lauderdale , Florida will return with a strong team of Butcher Box Cycling riders while Laura Van Gilder of Cresco, Pennsylvania will attempt to win her sixth 25-mile women’s event.