Cycling and Motoring.

Free Lance, Volume XVII, Issue 920, 1 March 1918, Page 31

Cycling and Motoring.

, Muriel Starr is joining the ranks of "the naotprist& in Australia. She is pur- ■ ■chasing a caiv and is now//busy taking': lessons. Up to the present, she says, she has.missed ; : running ever three boys and seventeen children. : :. ' '. A strange story comes from America ■ relative to the well-known.. German racing, cyclist, Walter Rutt," ; who some 12 years 'hack raced ■ with considerable success in Australia, and more recently has carried- off some of'the biggest' x events in America, including, three New York "6 days" races! It appears that for many months last- year, ; the French lines were frequently Visited by .enemy aviator known' as the "Grey Ghost," whose -during;;:raids/ on. tiie Western Front caused muclv comment. ■ At last the "Grey Ghost"., lias.been unmasked and found to be none othei* than Walter Rutt. The news of Rutt's death was cabled to America in November last. ; .. ' . ■■;'■•' ■ ; A letter from u member, of the American Ambulance Unit in France, ■written before Rutt was brought. ,to gives the following interesting details of the German's tactics: "We have-a German aviator here who calls: -■. himself -VFantomas' 'or thei Ghost. His name; is Walter Rutt. It appears . from '"■' the notes that he 'has dropped that he has "had tlhree brothers killed in the war, and to avenge them he has adopted the plan of strafing the French.' from an aeroplane. He never fights other planes or makes observations, but just flies over the French lines .at a . •!height f; frpm -30(5 ta ; 400 feet, and everything he sees, even one poilu or wagon or auto, hadives at it, banging away with his machine gun; He . hovers around all day long, and al- ■ though he has been shot at with machine guns, rifles, and anti-craft ":-■' guns" he never seems to be touched. It .certainly is because he often copies olose enough for us to hit ''him.with a stone. :■'• . '■ i Particulars are now to hand of the big six days' 'bicycle race held annually at Madis6n S.quare Gardens, New Yprk. A cablegram V few weeks back gave the result^—Gdullet and .".; Magin the winners.. During the week's race, !th6 captured naost' of the special prizes given for intermediate sprints, the two riders scoring 1103 -points as against 592 by the .next best -team. '.During ~the .final hour 22 •sprints were decided, 10 of which were "won by either Goullet or his team mate Magin. In fact, this combination practically, out-classed the field. The r winners collected, in addition, to special prizes, £600 for the first prize, ■whilst another Australian in F.; Gorry participated in the second prize of £400., : During the contest, extending over 143 hours l 50 minutes, the -leaders rode 25091 miles. Tremendous' crowds witnessed the event. '■" ~ ; .''-'■.'.■.'* The whole of the American automobile industry has offered its' assistance and: 'whole-hearted support to the TJ.S.A. Government. This is the decision of over 600 manufacturing con- - cerns and some 27,500 dealers> The influence of this industry in America, is enormous. All told it is computed that over ,£211,200,000 :is invested in the American motor industry, which is many times bigger than all the motor businesses of the rest of v the world combined. • T ■ .