CYCLING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11200, 21 October 1899, Page 7

CYCLING.

The opening run of the season in connection with the Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cyclo Club, postponed from October 7, takes place this afternoon, weather, of course, permitting. As considerable interest is be--1 ine evinced in the function, and a large nurai j ber of ladie3 have accepted the club's invitation to join in tho run, it is confidently • anticipated that the outing will prove one of 1 the most enjoyable and largely-attended yet held under the auspices of the amateur ini stitution.. The procession will leave the ' j corner of Symonds-street and Karangahape ', Road at half-past two o'clock sharp, and pro--1 ceed through Newton and Ponsonby to the 1 Three Lamps, and returning the same way, : will pass through Khyber Pass and New--1 market, finishing at Ellersl.e _ racecourse. i Afternoon tea will be provided for the lady cyclists in the spacious luncheon room in the . grandstand, and an impromptu gymkana wih take place on '.he'lawn, the events to include ■ tiltin? at the ring, tent pm, tack nd.pg, ; etc 'The thanks of the club are due to the • Auckland Bacinc Club's committee for kindly ' placing the stand and lawn at their disposal. i p Tlie Pioneer Canterbury Cycling and Ath- ; lotio Olub having notified the- Management I Committee of the Auckland' Amateur Ah- ■ let o Club of. their, intention to send riders » to Auckland to .compete at he November I carnival,'the latter . have decided to place a I I Two-mile -Alliance* Biorcls l.'inmniuiuhiD

on the programme. Ridere from the Waikato and other country districts, and in all probabu'ty from New South Wales, will also take part m the event. The spring carnival of the Auckland Cycling Club will be held at the Domain Cricket wound on Saturday next, and as satisfactory entries have been received for the various events on the programme, an enjoyable meet--S S ho„ld result. The principal attraction ot the day will, of course, be the meeting between E. Reynolds, of Auckland, and Wall, the Southern crack, between whom rivalry is so pronounced that they have entered into an agreement to meet in a match for a substantial sum at Ohristahurch next month. Saturdays racing should give a line as to the proT i "ij SUlt ' ' ou ' fls as now the pair, should be inclined to invest a modest cigar on the Aucklander. D. Reid, the ex-Alliance amateur, is the scratch man in the Amateur Wheel Race to be decided at the Auckland Cycling Club's sports next Saturday, while Stewart, an old clubmate, is his nearest companion, with 35 yards. Reynolds, a younger brother of Teddy s, is on the 80yds mark, and if he is anything like the " flyer" alleged, should be very hard to beat in this race. The novice can usually be detected by the tracks he leaves. If discernible at all, his " line of sction" resembles that described by a corkscrew. At the Austral meeting (Melbourne) this year the prizes will amount to £1000—the Wheel Race £300 first, £150 second, £50 third. The Commonwealth Stakes, scratch events, has £160 added. A careful man will overlook his cycle before every run. Mishaps put in an appearance at most inopportune times, and no amount of self-reproach will help .natters then. There arc strong indications that many of the better machines in England will be fitted with automatic coasters (free wheels) for 1900. The idea is now regarded by English riders as approximately standard. Australian amateur champion cyolist Ben Goodson lately won two (third-of-a-mile and half-a-mile) out of six Yankee championships at- tlia big meeting of the American League held in Boston. Representatives from Scotland, Fnnce, Canada, and, of course, America competed. " Ben" was also third in the five miles and fourth in the one-mile ohampionsliips. Occasionally, on attempting to remove a nut, it wili be found to be fast, and resist all efforts used with the ordinary spanner carried by the cyclist. In the event of a large spanner being unprocurable, if the nut be warmed slightly, by holding a light underneath, it will usually bo found that it will then give to the spanner. In oase of this method failing, the nut should be well oiled all round with ordinary lubricating oil or paraffin, and allowed to stand for several hours, when it will probably be easily' removed. Next teaeon (says the Pall Mall Gazette) the ten-guinea machine will be general and a reliable cycle will fie placed upon tho market ac an even lower price than that. If the customei will be contont with cheap, but good tyres, and accessories of a second-grade character, ho will bo able to purchase a really serviceable pneuinatic-tyred cycle at from £8. Below that price the cost of cycles is not likely to go. Many tyre troubles are due to the inefficient repair of punctures. Sometimes it is tho inferior quality" of the solution, or the rapid and careless manner of the operation, or that the rubber is porous, if not altogether perished. From the exhaustive experiments made by the Frenchmen in their use of the motor vehicle, the driving wheel tyro is the woakost spot in its entire construction. When a 20001b motor vehiclo is driven up a 10 por cent, grade, and, at the same time is required to turn a sharp corner, the compensating gear will allow the inner driving wheel in the curve to remain almost stationary, and nearly the entire driving stress will be borne by the tyre of the outer driving wheel. It is said that- the tyres cause tho owner more oxpenso than the whole of tho rest of the mechanism. Our recent visitor, J. Green, has been tho most successful professional rider in England this season, his record (on Dunlops) comprising 16 firsts, nine seconds, and four thirds, including the Quarter-mile English championship and several world's records. Apropos of motoring in England, the Queen, tho big English society journal, expresses tho opinion that English society will shortly contract automobilism and that for intensity and duration it will exceed the recent society " cycling fever." It is practically a- certainty that tho match between E. A. Wall and E. Reynolds, promoted by the C.A. afid C.C., will eventuate at Christehurch next month, the club having been able to make satisfactory terms'with the Aucklander. A mild sensation has been caused at Homo through the recent performances established on the Bricknell gear, which adopts the principle of utilising tho arm power as well as tho leg. The new gear is affixed to tho handles, which work as levers, and are connected with the front wheel, tho gearing not interfering in any way with the steering. A very similar gear to this was patented in Brisbane a few years back, and was exploited by a local syndicate, who paid W. Martin a good sum to accomplish certain records, on the Brisbane track, amongst them being the one hour record. Martin put up now times, and tho syndicate was going to do wonders; but nothing las since been heard of the gear, until the Bricknell gear is now placed on the market with a great flourish of trumpets. Rims made from an aluminium alloy are being marketed in England. They are specially recommended where rim brakes aro used, being stiff, light, and strong, and havo no enamel to rub off from contact with the brake. The adoption of the free wheel .device has done much to exploit the possibility of reliable rim and other brakes. A new chain bicycle has been developed, which is said to be an improvement on the chainless along the lino in which the latter appeals, especially to the oyoling public— cleanliness and simplicity. The chain is concealed in the tubing. Some of tho English cycling press refer in glowing terms to the free wheel bicyoles, and there seoms to be a unanimity of opinion tint it is only a matter of time when they will replace the present style of bicycle. Rim brakes aro also referred to in the highest terms. The opening day (Saturday fortnight) of the New South Wales League of Wheelmen at the Agricultural Society's Ground (Sydney), didn't draw tho huge crowd anticipated, despite tho fact of tho best riders in the province being engaged. Chief event was the mile championship. A high-class field competed. W. Martin, Forbes (M.L.), Mogson (N.S.W.), Walker, Gordon, and Lowis (Vio.) qualified for the final, wliioli caused immense excitement, and was hot from the jump. Martin, riding in splendid form, and with great judgment, won by about 2ft from the dusky-hued Gordon, who just beat tho Sydney crack, Megson, by about more. Megson was badly served at one stago, and finished at suoh a clip as to indicate that, but for his ill-luok, he might have secured first money. Time, 2m. 21 3-ss. j I