CYCLING AND MOTORING NOTES.

Northern Advocate, 17 June 1920, Page 4

CYCLING AND MOTORING NOTES.

The "Indianapolis 500," th e most important and longest automobile race in America, and one of the classic events in the motor world, was decided on 31st May and was won by Gaston Chevrolet using an Ablani car. According to a cablegram he covered th c 500 miles at the rat e of 91 m.p.h., which would mean that he compassed the full distance under f.i hours. If the speed mentioned in the message is correct, then he seems to have reduced Ralph de Palma's record of 5 hours 33min. 55 sec. It is further mentioned that Ralph de Palma was second n this year's race, leading until nearly the end, and if h e adhered to his choic e (in March) of the car he would use, he drove a Ballot (French) racing motor. For fuller details of the race we shall have to wait for the automobile papers of the time. Th e Indianapolis 500 miles motor race was resumed last year after being allowed to lapse in 1917 and 1918 —America's war term. Last year's honours fell to the Peugeot (French) cars, which filled first and third places, and was a great victory for the French automobile industry, as both ears were built for the Grand Prix (France) 1915, and fitted with 4-cylinder engines, successfully competed with American motors of six, eight and twelve cylinders.

According to American papers just to hand, it appears that both German and Austrian motor manufacturers desired to compete in the big event on the Indianapolis speedway this year, but the prospective entrants wer e advised that it would b e well to postpone all thought of competition for a couple of years at least. German manufacturers are no doubt anxious to renew business relations with th e rest of the world, and recognising the prestige that would come to them from capturing an international event like the Indianapolis 500 miles sweepstakes, they marked it for attention at th e earliest possible date. The speedway manage' ment took a vot e on the point as to whether or not Germans and Austrians should be allowed to compete this year, and a popular poll was in the negative. Therefore it was felt by the management that if contestants from these countries took part in the race it would b e attended by danger of personal injury outside of the competition itself, "an opinion," says the U.S. Motor Journal, "that was fully vindicated by the storm of popular antipathy that broke wben the public was made aware of the proposition. It was understood that racing cars were being constructed at the Mercedes factory, Germany, and that a driver named Pilette had made arrangements to secure one of them in th c belief that he could enter and compete with it at Indianapolis this year. In view of the above decision, however, his entry of such a car would not have been accepted. The new German cars are of the same piston displacement as the 1920 Puegeot models —183 cv. in.

Many touring motorists driving from New South Wales into Victoria expressed themselves as much disappointed at finding so few fingerposts on the road in the last named State. They greatly deplored the absence of these helpful sign-boards, and several instanced cases where they went miles out of their way and lost much time by mistaking the road. They also missed the familiar mileposts—familiar in their State—and mentioned that on many of the main roads posts indicating half miles are also in position, It is a great drawback to easy movement in a strange State to find few or no direction boards on the roads; even Victorian tourists deplor e their absence in their own State, and it is the more interesting to learn that the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria has resumed the work to supply local bodies with finger-boards for erection at road junctions within their bounds. The club has undertaken to furnish only main routes with these boards, and not local roads, which ar c properly in the province of the shires.

The French Ministry of Public Works has recognised that the roads problem cannot be properly handled by present Government departments, and is endeavouring to reach an. agreement with th e Treasury Department for the formation of a special National Roads Office. This body, while being attached to the Ministry of Public Works, would have complete autonomy on all matters dealing with roads. Its administrative council would consist of engineers from the Government Roads Department, delegates from th e Touring Club, the Automobile Club and the various automobile manufacturers' associations. On e of the greatest innovations is that taxes levied on road users would be specially ear-marked for road maintenance. This point has never previously been admitted by the French Government. Further, all road vehicles, whether mechanical or horse drawn, would be taxed.

Higher fares and poor transporta-! tion facilities in the cities and subbui*bs are combining with better roads in the country in giving the motorcycle and the bicycle an evergrowing popularity in boh congested and thin-ly-settled sections of the United States, and it is a lead that might well be followed in this country, for the conditions are practically the the same. The bicycle makers particularly should comb'm c and make the best of the opportunity, for with the cost of operation of motors steadily increasing ther c must be thousands of potential purchasers of bicycle. who merely want th c matter brought directly under their notice to appreciate the advantage of having a vehicle to use that will obviate the necessity of paying high fares for the privilege of standing in tightly packed trams and trains.

There is no doubt that the cyclist who becomes a motor-cyclist or a car user is likely to possess a greater measure of road sense than one who begins his road career on the petroldriven machine. Th c experience with the slower-moving machine count 1 , for much, and it enables on c to realise more fully th e sense of increased responsibility that th e user of t. motor vehicle entails. Further, it inculcates a judgment of pac e and distance that is a factor to the user of the self-propelled machine. The ability to judge pace and distance in stinctively—the quality that distinguishes the first-class jockey from the mere horseman —is a most valuable characteristic. It can come only by experience, as is the case with every factor that makes up road sense; and it is the inability (in many cases) of the beginner to realise his limitations in this connection that has led to his being involved in ac cidents mor c or less serious. It may be said that,..without a single exception, all of the early motorists graduated from the ranks of th e wheelman.