THE WHEEL.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1182, 26 October 1894, Page 28

THE WHEEL.

W.C.C. RUNS AND RACES. October 27. —Run to Tawa Flat November 17. —Maiden Handicap Road Race December 1. —Run to Lowry Bay December 15.—Twenty-mile Club Championship Road Race

SPOKES.

By “Cyclometer.” The opening" of- the Wellington Cycling Club’s room on Lambton quay will take place on Wednesday evening next, when the members will hold a lantern parade, meeting at the Basin Reserve at 7.30 o’clock. From this point they will ride to the Clubroom, when the formal opening will take place. Harry Coombes, the indefatigable bugler of the Club, lias been busy every evening this" week getting the room into order. It is intended to erect a shelter for machines in the yard at the back of the room. The Sydney Bicycle Club has elected Mrs H. A. Maddock a lady honorary member, in recognition of her being the first wheelwbman ■; to ride overland from Sydney to Melbourne, a distance of;580 miles.

At a committee meeting of the local Cycling Club held last week, Messrs Castle, Fear, Mawson, Nicholls, Dacre, Neilson and. Henry Jessup were elected members. . m

Owing to the threatening aspect of the weather, the Wellington Cycling Club did not hold their run to Waiwetu on Saturday. The fixture has been postponed for a favourable opportunity in November.

Wally Kerr, the champion cyclist, who has retired from the racing track, now plays cricket with the Paddington (Sydney) Club.

On the 9th of November a number of local wheelmen will leave by the morning train for Palmerston North, where some of of the party will take part in the cycling events at the Caledonian Society’s sports on that day. Next day the party will proceed to Mastertpn by way of the Manawatu Gorge and the Forty-mile Bush. A start will be madefor Wellington early on Sunday morning, where they expect to reach in good .time the same evening. It will be seen that the pace is not to be very fast, and should, any other riders desire to join the party they will, I am sure, be made welcome. The ride through the bush districts just now will be much more enjoyable than later in the season, when the bush fires will be raging, the smoke from which does not at all add. to the pleasure of the ride. ■ , (

The fortnightly run of the local Cycling Club takes place on Saturday next to Tawa Flat, starting from Martin’s Fountain at 2.39 p.m. Unattached wheelmen are invited to join in the ride. ‘

A. A. Chase, of the North Road Club, has ridden 2121 miles in 12 hours, beating F. W. Shorland’s 12 hours’ record by nearly a mile and a half/

The opening of the Auckland cycling season took place last Saturday afternoon, when 50 wheelmen took part in the procession. ; !

The cyclists of New South Wales are looking forward With great interest to the cycling carnival to be held at Goulburn on the 9th and iotli of November. A large body of wheelmen intend riding from Sydney—l3s miles—to take part in the meeting. " •

At a meeting of ,the Cyclists’ Alliance at Christchurch oh Tuesday the Gore Cycling Club was affiliated. Permission was given the Napier Wanderers Club to run a Mile Provincial Championship in Napier on November 9th. Permission was also given the Timaru Tourists Club to decide the Five-mile Championship of Canterbury at its meeting.

Muir and Macandrew, the two local cyclists who have been touring from Picton to Christchurch via the West Coast, reached the Cathedral City on Monday morning last. They were fortunate enough to get fine'weather and good roads, and were six days and a/half upon the journey. As it is the intention of some more local riders to take-this trip during the present season, I will give the distances of the different stagesPicton to Nelson, 16 miles j Nelson to Hope Accomodation House, 61; Hope to Lyell, 46; Lyell to Reefton, 29 j Reefton to Greymouth, 48; Greymouth to Kumara (via Marsden), 21; Kumara to Otira Gorge, 41; Otira Gorge to Springfield, 60; Springfield to Christchurch, 45 • total, 367 miles.

It is a noteworthy fact that our colonialmade machines are coming to the front, and are ridden by some of the best riders. At the Championship Meeting in Sydney recently they were successfully lidden, and in the Twenty four Hours’ Race of the Dunedin Caledonian Cycling Club the majority of the riders were mounted on Christchurch-made machines. When the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company start the manufacture of tyres in the colony the

price of cycles will no doubt become a little cheaper. At Edinburgh in August last J. H. Petersen, the Danish rider, secured the Scotch 12 hours’ track record by lading 236 miles 275 yards in that time: Eugen Sandow, the strong man, takes regular exercise on a bicycle. On October Bth S. Bertles, of Maitland (N.S.W.), lowered the 21 miles record from Maitland to Newcastle by 74min. He covered the distance in lhr 13min, the previous record being lhr 20^min. In America there is a lad of 13 named Richardson who can ride a safety backwards. He recently rode half a mile in this fashion in 2min 37 2-ssec.