SPOKES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1250, 13 February 1896, Page 26

SPOKES.

By “Cyclometer.” At the first day’s racing on Saturday at Lancaster Park of the International Cycling Meeting, promoted by the Christchurch Cycling Club, over 3000 people attended. The Premier was present. The principal events resulted : —Half-mile Handicap, open—W. Martin (America), scr, 1; H. Uru (Christchurch), 65yds, 2; S. Cleaver (Ashburton), 95yds, 3. In tbo second heat, Pither, scr, beat Martin by 10yds in lmin 6 4-ssec, which establishes a world’s record. Five-mile Scratch Test Race—Pither, 1 ; Martin, 2 ; A. W. Harris (England), 3. Boyd, Clarkson, Barker, Dunn, Chainey (Christchurch) and A. E. Hobbs (Manawatu) also started. Two-mile New Zealand Wheel Race —Dunn (Christchurch), 110yds, 1 ; Dey (Dunedin), 165yds, 2 ; J. T. Andrews (Ashburton), 210yds, 3. Harris, Martin and Pither, scr, were among the starters. The One-miie Handicap was won by Marlin.

At the Dunedin Cycling Club’s sports on Saturday C, H. Jones (Christchurch) won the Two-mile Provincial Championship of Otago,H. Thompson second, and McDonald third. The general opinion was that Thompson, who was pacing Jones, blocked McDonald. The win of Jones was received with silence, and there was a demonstration against Thompson. In the Ladies’ Bracelet Cycling Race, five of the competitors fell, and one of them, White, had his head cut. Thompson won the Five-mile Open Handicap.

At Lancaster Park on Wednesday evening last week J. W. Jones lowered the New Zealand five-mile bicycle record, covering the distance in 12min 57sec, beating the previous record by 38sec. He afterwards lowered the New Zoaland amateur one mile record to 2min 16 2-ssec.

At the League of Victorian Wheelmen’s Cycling Carnival at Melbourne on Saturday there was fine weather and a large attendance. Following are the results : —League Cup, two miles —L. B. Scharp, 125yds, 1; M. J. McLean, 130yds, 2 ; A. W. Hill, l«oyds, 3. Won by several yards. Time, 4min 51 3-ssee. Ten-mile Championship—M. J. McLean, 1 ; C. Porta. 2 ; K. Lewis, 3. Won by a wheel. Parsons fell. Time. 27min 12 l-ssec. Mile Test Race—J. W. Parsons, 1;D. J. Kirk, 2 ; P. G. Iredale, 3 Won easily. Time, 2min 12 l-ssec. Scratch Quarter-mile Race —J. Megson, 1 ; D. J. Walker, 2; R. Lewis, 3. Won easily. Time, 31 4-ssec.

A large number of spectators assembled at the Telephone Exchange shortly after 5 o’clock on Saturday afternoon to witness the finish of the Wellington Cycling Club’s Fifty-mile Road Championship. At 2.30 the five riders who had entered were sent on their long, and, as it proved, exceedingly rough ride. The pace going out was very fast, owing to the fair southerly wind, and the turning-point at Mungaroa (25 miles) was reached in an hour and a quarter. Fabian, who had just returned from his tour in the North, dropped out of the race at Ngahauranga, while Nicol, Jeffrey, Muir and Lucy kept together as far as the Taita.

At this point Nicol began to drop behind, but at Mungaroa he again caught the leaders. The four kept in a bunch till Silverstream was reached, but here Muir punctured his tyre while riding over a stretch of road which was submerged early in the week owing to the Hutt River overflowing. At Taita Lucy collapsed, while Nicol’s front tyre shortly afterwards began to go down. Jeffrey and Nicol, however, took matters coolly to within .a short distance from home, where a final spurt landed Jeffrey a winner by 30 yards. Lucy arrived 15 minutes later. Jeffrey’s time was 3hr 2min 47 2-ssec, rather longer than the time occupied last year. This was due to the bad state of the roads, that portion between Wellington and Petone being in its usual disgraceful condition, while patches between the Lower Hutt and Silverstream had been practically wrecked for cycling purposes by the flood. Nicol is to be commended for his riding so prominently under adverse circumstances. Mr W. F. Christie started and judged the race, Mr D. Brand acted as teller at Mudgaroa, and Mr W. Ross kept the time. The winner rode a No. 8 Humber, obtained from Messrs Inglis Bros., Willis street. The Wellington Cycling Club will hold a run to Taita on Saturday, starting from the Club-room, Willis street, at 2.30 p.m. Mr R. P. Hood, hon. secretary of the Wellington Cycling Club, has received a letter from the secretary of the “ International Cycling Tour” asking for particulars as to holding a sports meeting here, and also whether the W.C.C. would cooperate. The writer stated that A. W. Harris, W. Martin and H. J. Pither were members of the team, and their appearance should warrant a good “ gate.” At a committee meeting on Tuesday evening it was decided that no action could be taken.

“The bicycle has killed the demand for hacks.” Thus reads the report of the Wellington horse market.

Mr F. Fabian, a Wellington cyclist, accomplished a good performance yesterday. He left New Plymouth at 4.45 a.m. and arrived at Palmerston North at 9.45 p.m. The distance travelled was about 170 miles, and Mr Fabian was 21 hours off the road. He was accompanied from Wanganui by Mr Hadfield. —Manawatu Standard.

At the Melbourne Cycling Carnival, in the Ten-mile Championship Race, won by McLean, Parsons fell shortly after passing the seventh mile, but re-mounted with the field half a lap in advance, and by a splendid effort managed to come in fifth. The race homo was a rattler. Porta beat Lewis, who had a good place and rode well all the way, by four lengths. Lewis won his heat in the Quarter-mile handsomely, beating Parsons by half a length.

The cyclists who wears rational dress (says “Wommera” in the Australasian) has to put up with a good deal of annoyance in the streets, especially when she rides without an escort. Lately one of them was riding along the St. Kilda road with an escort when a gentleman holding on to a tree-guard yelled “ D fool.” The escort promptly jumped off his machine and approached the critic in an attitude that promised lively times for somebody in the next few minutes. “ Did you address that remark to me?” said the angry cyclist. The incautious critic stammered and stuttered for a minute, and then answered, “Well, no; I was just talking to myself.” “ In that case,” said the cyclist, “it was a most appropriate observation.”

The first prize (<£2so) in the Australian Natives’ Association Wheel Race, won by H. A. Hourigan, is the largest prize yet awarded to a bicycle race in Australia.

Some riders were born tired, and some are born to make others tired. If you own a tandem you will soon discover that one or tho other occupies the other seat.

A. W. Harris thinks he would not have been defeated by the trotting mare Mystery had he also had a tandem to pace him. He afterwards endeavoured to arrange another match for a mile for .£SO a side, Mystery to have 50yds start and he to be tandem-paced, but her owner was “ not having any.”

The cableman omitted to wire the result of the race for the biggest prizes yet offered for a wheel race in Australia, viz, the A.N.A. Wheel Race, for which the prizemoney amounted to <£3oo. In place of this omission he sent us, in addition to a few results of other events, the astonishing information that <£2ooo were offered in prizes at this meeting. This would lead one to believe that this amount was allotted for the races, whereas <£soo would more than cover the race xjrize-money. The balance was devoted to the lottery in connection with the Australian Natives’ Association’s annual fete. The result of the big race was—H. A. Hourigan, 110yds,

1; J. Carpenter, 120yds, 2 ; J. A. Granter, 190yds, 3.

W. Martin, the American cyclist, who was disqualified after tho finish of the recent five-mile championship race at Melbourne, is after R. W. Lewis’s scalp for entering' the protest It will be remembered that the race was awarded to Lewis, who protested that Martin had bored him on to the grass when catching the pacer, and that after the American had caught the tandem he wobbled his back wheel, causing Lewis to strike it with his front wheel and thereby lose his pedal. Martin has now challenged Lewis to a five-mile race and the championship for <£so or upwards a side. He has also challenged J. W. Parsons over five, ten and 50 miles, the best two out of three races, for <£loo or upwards a side. The Australians have readiiy responded, Lewis being particularly anxious to meet the Yank. The result is that a five-mile race has been arranged between Martin and Lewis for <£lo a side, the race to take place on the Hampden track on the 7th or 14th March. Parsons has also backed himself against Martin for <£2s to ride one, five and ten miles, and the match will propably take place in Melbourne between the 16th and 31st March. Martin is also endeavouring to arrange a match between himself and Mr Robertson’s trotting mare Mystei'y.

Zimmerman told an Auckland interviewer that he couldn’t go fast enough on Australian tracks to fall.