CYCLING NOTES.

Cromwell Argus, 2 March 1908, Page 5

CYCLING NOTES.

An effort lias been made to belittle the l'oeent line motor drive by Messrs Kellow and .Tames from Melbourne to Sydney (577 miles) in 25 hours 40 minutes. Tho statement put forth by interested parties is that the drive was accomplished in faster time three years back in the Dunlop Reliability Motor Contests, between Messrs H. Stevens and G. Hobbs. To a degree this is correct but the whole truth should be stated so that the public be not misled. In the Dunlop Contests, tho route was spread into live sections covered on live successive days, so many hours being allowed for each day's run. Independent of this, cars were allowed to bo oiled, adjusted, and tanks refilled outside of such' driving allowance. Naturally no night driving formed part of the programme. A large number of temporary danger and direction boards were erected by the Dunlop Co., rendering the track fairly safe for fast travelling. Under these easy conditions, cars cooling down over nieht, drivers fresh —being only at tho wheel four to sev«n hours daily—good times were registered each day, but to class the sum total of five daily runs and pit it against tho straight out gross time of 25 hours 40 minutes is on the face of it, unfair, absurd, and misleading. The two performances are so dissimilar that one might just as well compare sunlight to moonlight. Messrs Kellovv and James had their time sheet stamped at the Melbourne G.P.O. at L'.oO one morning, and at 4.10 the following morning again " signed on " at the Sydney Telegraph Office. Tho arrival and departure were witnessed by a number of spectators, and there is not the slightest doubt that their time is bona fide-. The time taken from G.P.O. to G.P.O. was 25 hours 40 minutes, including all stops for everything, getting railway gates unlocked throughout the night, and losing over 00 minutes through having to take unknown, circuitous routes, through a part of the main track being impassable owing to being ploughed and under repair. The actual driving time was under 20 hours, but this fact has no bearing on place to place records, the gross time or time from departure to arrival being only recognised. To claim as record performances put up in pieces and patched together for the sake of gaining publicity is not playing the game fairly by tho public, a fact that the public will readily estimate at its proper value.