On June 1, 1896, Roper rode one of his later velocipede models, a Pope Manufacturing Company Columbia bicycle with a steam engine added, to the Charles River bicycle track, near Harvard Bridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts where he made several laps, pacing bicyclists there, including professional rider Tom Butler The same Tom Butler was overtaken 10 feet from the finish by Major Taylor in the 1899 world 1.0 miles track cycling championship.