CYCLING NOTES.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9301, 31 December 1895, Page 2

CYCLING NOTES.

By Yjslox. In a chat I had with the Sydney rider W. L. Kerr, I expressed the opinion that where the pace was made solid throughout, Zimmerman would find in Australia .some tough opponents. Kerr told mc that Zimmerman was far from well when he left Sydney for New Zealand, which the American expects to visit in February, and afterwards to return to Sydney for the March meeting, when he hopes to be really fit and show what he is capable of. Kerr is a great believer in Zimmerman and I fancy he would not be prepared for his defeat on Saturday by the New Zealander, Pither, who appears to have ridden a really fine race. Pither, it may be mentioned, rode a splendid race in the Five Miles Scratch Raeo on the second day of the Melbourne B.C.'s Meeting on December 7th, though owinij to a mistake, he failed to finish in the first three. Parsons, who won, went off at sxich a rate, paced by the triplet, that he lapped the field after going two miles and a half. When the bell went for the final lap all the men spurted except Parsons, and riding the lap at a tremendous pace Pither passed the post first in front of Martin and he thought it was all over and pulled up, but they had another lap to go. Martin, Porta and Carpenter went on and finished in that order behind Parsons. In commenting on the race "Lex" in the Melbourne., Sportsman writes:—"lt v/aa a great pity for Pither, who rode a wonderfully tine race right through. Although Martin and Porta got second and third, their positions being greatly popular, Pither's performance must not be forgotten. Only those who watched him closely can have a good idea of his battle against odds, and he must be reckoned with by the beat in future contests." Pither, by his latest euccess, has fully justified the high opinion " Lex " formed of his riding. Writing about Zimmerman's defeat by Pai-sons, "at Adelaide, " Veteran," in the London Sportsman, say 3 is doubtful whether very many good judges will attach much importance to the defeat of Zimmerman by J. W. Parsons in Australia. The loser, likely as not, was far from fit, and will doubtless have a very different tale to tell when the men meet again. Anyway, I shall expect to see the " skeeter" beat Barden easily enough if they come together ; and Barden, be it remembered, is out with a challenge to ride Zimmerman's conqueror five miles with pacemaker's for £200 aside. " Wheeler" in the Sydney Referee writes :— "A New Zealand paper prints a btatement that Zimmerman said the Half Mile Championship, which he won on the first day of the Carnival here was ' the hardest race he ever rode.' Rich, is it not, considering it was a 200 yds sprint, and that the Champion left them alias if they were anchored." I would point out that the item of news referred to wa3 cabled to all the principal New Zealand papers from Sydney. On December 10th paced by a tandem mounted by Lewis and M'Combe, W. L. Kerr rode five miles on the Redfern track in 12min 8 2-sth sec. Pacing has been done in France by an "electric eafety." An exchange says that though somewhat clumsy in appearance, it was surprising to see the way it whirled round and round the track, and how perfectly it was under its rider's command. It has certainly a future before it, and will be found of the utmost value for track-pacing purposes. A Victorian inventor claims to have perfected an idoa which will revolutionise cyclings By an ingenious contrivance he has minimised effort to such an extent, so he says, that anyone using it may propel a machine up hill without appreciable effort, even though the gear be raised to 120. Patents throughout the world have been applied for, and a syndicate has been formed to finance the contrivance. Writing of W. L. Kerr's visit to this colony a Sydney paper says :—Wally Kerr, the Australasian amateur champion, who has done practically no racing since September, 1894, will represent New South Wales at the Australasian championship gathering to be held next January at Christchurch. Kerr has been training pretty consistently for about three months, and many of our wheelmen were wondering what hia objects in undergoing such a preparation were. Indeed their minds were sorely exercised over it, and one northern writer went so far as to predict a meeting between Kerr and Zimmerman over a mile for some huge amount. Other equally unreliable rumors to the effect that Kerr would join the league, and make an attempt to " down" the champions of that class, were circulated, but now all these hopes and fears are set at rest. Kerr, who has been doing good work at the Rad/ern Oval may be depended on to uphold the honor of his colony in Maoriland. It has been decided to form a cycling club at Petone, Wellington, and Mr J. H. Vincent has been appointed secretary pro ttm. The following won £5 or over at the late Austral Wheel Meeting:—A. B. Crisp, Tasmania, £200; E. Payne, New South Wales, £60 ; G. Peart, Victoria, £40 ; W. Martin, America, £35; J. W. Parsons, Victoria, £25; A. G. Bungey, South Australia, £23 ; J. B. Gargurevich, £10; H. J. Pither, New Zealand, £5. An extraordinary fact in connection with the meeting (says a Sydney writer) is that of the seven events on the programme not a single one was won by a Victorian. Certainly Parsons appropriated the five-miles scratch race; but although he is a recognised Victorian rider, he is a native of Botany, near Sydney, where he spent many years of his boyhood. The prize money was distributed among japreeentatives of the following countries ; Tasmania, £200 ; Victoria, £86 ; New South Wales, £67 • America, £35 ; South Australia, £23; New Zealand, £5; Italy, £3; and England, £5. The Five Miles International Scratch Race at Melbourne last Saturday (says a Sydney paper of December 13th) turned out such a fiasco that lovers of close finishes are now crying out against pacers. One tiling is certain ; that if pacers are dispensed with, and the old order of things reverted to, the public will be given another opportunity of hooting and yelling at competitors as they crawl around the track until the last lap, and the scratch event 3 wiil merely rek>lve themselves into one-lap sprints. Perhaps the

best two ways out of the difficulty are to offer substantial amounts to the competitorleading the greater part of the journey, and employ no pacers, or else provide more than one pacing machine, so that the back men, after getting over their " bad time,' , might have an onportuuity o? recovering their lost, .ground. It is tho suction or vacuum caused by tho leading machine which gives a competitor immediately behind it such an immense advantage over his other opponents : and it is difficult at present to suggest a means of properly solving the pacing problem. The Danedin Cycling Club have postponed their annual sports until January 16th, and the team race between the Diinedin and Otago Clubs ha 3 been put off until February Bth. Messrs Waller, Myhre & Co, the bicycle manufacturers, have Just issued an illustrated book catalogue, profusely illustrated with photo process representations of the "Rapid and "Swift" machines. The work is well <;ot up and reflects great credit on the Job Printing Department of the Christchurch Press Company. On the opening day of the Austral meeting tho referee fined a number of riders hsilf-a-crown each for " scratching" less than a quarter of an hour before the events. Two others were fined half-a-crown for taking advantage of the pistol in the big two-mile race. The cash governing body, the New Zealand Cyclists' Union, have submitted the following conditions for the approval of the Mauawatn Cycling Club :—l. That a Championship be held at Palmerston North under the auspices of the N.Z.C.U. and the M.C.C. 2. That bare travelling expenses of two competing delegates from each club affiliated to the Union be paid out of the funds of the meeting. 3. That should the Union elect to send a representative, his expenses be paid out of the funds of the meeting. 4. That the Union receive half the net profits of the meeting." At a meeting of the club held on December 13th it was decided to agree to the first three conditions, but the last one was not approved of, the meeting considering 25% of the net profits sufficient. In view of the probability of Zimmerman and Harris competing at the Championship meeting, the secretary was instructed to confer with the Manawatu Racing Club suggesting that tlicre.be an offiiay between the race days on which the Championship meeting could be held. Commenting on the final heat of the Austral Wheel Race the Melbourne Argus sa y S : _« The Austral Wheel Race, the plum of Australian meetings, proved a great race for one man. When the half-dozen photographers had " snapped " the group, the field was sent merrily on its way. It had been hoped that Pither and Parsons would have arranged to race eacli other so as to give one or both a chance of catching the leaders, but the hope was vain. Inside three laps Walker had been overhauled, and it had been settled that machine jealousy was to prevent any one of the three going to the front. None would make the pace for the others, so after going a mile the flyers at the back took things easy and watched the fight for the sovereigns and the glory at the other end. l?or a time Anderson rode strongly, but eventually he dropped back, and, with Hall, came to grief at the pavilion end. Middleton, too, seemed full of going, but he shot bis bolt in the fifth lap, and thenceforward the men who seemed most dangerous were Crisp, Gargurevich, Peavfc, Elliott, Snowden and Hill. At the last lap Crisp showed that lie was still fresh, though the pace had been very fast. Running strongly and well he left the field, and won with ease by ten yards. Peart followed him home as he had done in the fourth heat, but Hill, who won that heat, was unable to stand the extra pace, and demonstrated that he was all out when he romped home with a twelve lengths' win the previous Saturday. The Tasnianian was enthusiastically cheered for his fine performance, and though the time was unusually fast he could have cut the distance afc an es r eu better pace. He finished as strong as a lion, and refused the usual helping hands to lift him from his saddle. Lithe and wiry, he has the build of a sprinter, yet his records show him to be equally at home over a long distance. His head is level, his judgment of pace excellent, and his seat that of a veteran. Yet he is only 20 years of age, and has not been riding longer than eighteen months. His full name is Alfred Basil Crisp, and be is a son of Mr Alfred Crisp, member of the House of Assembly of Tasmania. He was born in Hobart, and is now articled to Messrs Dobson and Mitchell, solicitors, of that city. Amtjngst his victories are the road records of Tasmania for-10, 25, and 50 miles. His time 3 for the distances were 31min, lh 23min, and 2h 58min respectively. He trained at the St. Kilda track under the direction of Herbert Ingham, and while in Melbourne has resided with his uncle, the R.ev. J. W. Crisp, Wcsleyan Parsonage, St. KiLla. The young champion* does not drink, smoke, or bet. The appended table shows the winners of the Austral Wheel Race since 1886, together with the number of starters and the time occupied. The distance in 1886 wa3 three miles, and in every subsequent year two miles:— — Winners. *££ Time. m. a. 1885.. W. Bvotvn. England ..23 * 1837.. H. 11. Lambton, K.S.W. 55 5 43 2-5 1883.. R. Davis, S. Australia .. 40 5 53 2-5 1883.. J. J. Mullins, S. Australia 37 5 361-5 1890.. T. \V. Bus3t, Vie. .. 36 5 40 1891.. A. Turner, Vie. .. 43 5 45 1892.. H. K. Lambton, Vie. .. 33 5 29 1893.. G. K. Woodward, Vie. .. 84 5 3 2-5 1854.. A. A. ilidrtleton, Vie. .. 79 5 1 3-5 1395.. A.B. Crisp, Tasmania.. 86 4 421-5 *Three miles.