SPOKES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1205, 5 April 1895, Page 23

SPOKES.

Ry ** Cy'o'L'oS ,, fu : fr-” Cohsideßtble Interest whs ByirlGv& 3* the Wellington Cyolitig club’s' last road raceb'i the season on Saturday tftteiftpp'it/ arid! a large number of people assembled at the Telephone Exchange to witness the finish; The distance of the race was about 12 miles, the starting point being from Guildford’s Hotel, Taita. As I anticipated, 11. Smith, with 20sec handicap, won rather easily* A. Nicol being second, with 50sec. The Winner's time was 49min SOsec, and NicoPs 50nli:a 23sed. The other competitors were—G. Jeffery, 60sec <L. T. Herbert and T» M; Lucy* scratch ; Bty. Je'ssmp* bOdee.Smith assumed the lead at Fetone',- and maintained it to the end. Jeffery was third* and Herbert arid Lucy tied for' fourth place; The roads Wei-6 heriwy after the rain, and a stiff head wind was blowing, consequently the time for tlie race was slow. Owing to an injury, Fabian was unable to compete. The first prize is a trophy presented by Mr John Danks, the second prize being a trophy gifen by tlie Club. Mr H. Coombs acted as starter, arid Messrs H. F. Christie and W. Chegwidden as judge and timekeeper respectively.

F. W. Shorland, the well-known English long-distance rider, has an interesting article on “ Cycling as a Pursuit ” in the first number of the Windsor Magazine. He states that he has known little girls of six or seven who ride well, and old men who have learned to ride at the age of 70. With regard to long-distance riding, he says : —“ Cycling as a pleasurable pursuit ceases to be enjoyable when it becomes sheer hard work. In nothing is it so easy to make a toil of a pleasure, and therefore, strange and contradictory as it may seem for me to say so, my strongest advice to everyone indulging in the pastime is to take it easy and not to overdo it. This is, of course, a personal matter entirely. One man’s bobbing-pace is another man’s highpressure effort, and I have often noticed how inferior riders will utterly ruin their enjoyment of a run by dreading to acknowledge that they cannot keep up as high a rate of speed as other men with whom they may happen to fall in during a spin. Club runs are often spoiled this way by weaker members not caring to ask for the pace to be moderated, and so enduring discomfort rather than be shown up.”

Upon the subject of touring, Shorland gives the following advice:—'‘The first consideration in choosing a, companion for a tour is to know that Iris views of pace are not very different from your own. To he tied to a crawler is no whit worse than to have to make violent efforts to keep going in sight of the back wheel of a crossbred speed-tourist. This same principle of taking things easy underlies my next piece of advice to those contemplating a tour, viz., not to frame a huge programme. If you do, you will probably enjoy the first day or two and no more. Remember that freedom from time-tables, schedules and fixed plans is one of the features of cycling. If the wind is with you and the day fair, enjoy your run and by liappy, but do not grind through mud against a gale just because you have set down a fixed programme. ... A tour will be all the better for a few preliminary evening spins before the holiday, and it would be just as unwise for anyone to suddenly leave an inactive and sedentary occupation for a long ride as for a racing man to attempt to score without undergoing some kind of preparation.” F. B. Muir will not be a competitor at the Druids’ sports on the Basin Reserve on Easter Monday, as lie is unable to find sufficient time to train. “ Tuck ” Herbert won the two bicycle events for which he competed at the Wairarapa sports last week. A Wairarapa paper says : —“ The cycling events proved a good thing for Herbert, who apparently frightened all other competitors out of the field.” A. 11. Hunt, who had also entered, was unable to obtain the necessary leave. A Judge at Reading, Pa., has decided that the payment of a road toll cannot be demanded from cyclists. The League of American Wheelmen brought the action

into court as a test case. The Judge said that the most liberal construction imaginable of the legislative language cannot it include a bicycle any move than a wheel-bferroT; tolling chair, baby coach, or mere foot pas'tsn.C er -

A Maori lady cycfKst dressed in the rational costume is attracting the atteni "ion and apparently the admiration of the pxkW&mi public of Napier.

The latest regarding' “Zimmy” is that he will be in Australia in time for the next Austral Wheel Race in November.

As an instance of the popularity of cycling in Canada, it may be mentioned! that the Toronto Globe has sufficient wheelmen on its siaft' to form a club with a roll large enough to become affiliated to the Canadian Wheelmen’s Association.

Two well-fchO'bn' members of the local Cycling Club are to her United in the holy bonds of matrimony during Easter,

xti Canada the cycling clubs divide' their' members irito two classes, A and B. Thosebelonging to tli'e former class are not in any way connected Vifh the trade, while those of the latter class' %£'& employed by cycling firms, and, of course, hi all contests ride their employers’ wheels. Hitherto the clubs have maintained trainers for their members, irrespective of the class to which they belong. Now, however, they ate unwilling to pi’ovide trainers for Class B riders, and, while allowing these men to race under - their colours, their employers will probably - have to find trainers for them.

A cycle ag'ent endeavours to convince the public of the supeiiority of cycling over walking by advertising as follows: — “Walking v. Cycling-.—With a 63in gear, CiiCh revolution of the pedals of a bicycle Will seiitl the wheel forward 16-J feet. The number of revolutions required to drive ibid - bicycle a mile - is 820, If a person in walking Should talc© three feet at each step, the number of steps necessary to travel a mile would be - 1760.” Of course, the advertiser does tlo t forget to add that his wheels are unquestionably better than any other make.

There were 6336 persons injured in the streets of London last year. Of this number over 600 were injured by cyclists.