SPOKES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1289, 12 November 1896, Page 27

SPOKES.

[By Silverspur.]

Fully fourteen or fifteen hundred pooplo must have swarmed into the Exhibition cycling ground on Saturday night, when a programme consisting of nothing much in particular was gone through. The cycling parade could not bo termed a success; the riders weren't numerous, and not one wore a uniform, being garbed in everyday attire, coat and all. Tho tandem pair, Dusinbury and Bell, who led the scraggy following-, were certainly costumed as Chinese, and carried a bamboo umbrella and Chinese lanterns ; and there, was also an alleged female rider on the wheel, but there the unique and fanciful ended. The Wellington Garrison Band, under Mr Herd, opened with a march, "Tho Moa " (Bulch), and later on gave tho test pieces they played at the Dunedin Bands Competition, viz., " I Puritani " (arranged by Kapper), and ' Tannhauser " (arranged by Round). The two latter were not given from the rotunda, but from the sea end of the enclosuro, and took considerable time to get through. The Christchurch cash cyclist, J. Barker,during one musical interval, essayed to put up a local record for a mile. The previous best time was done by F. Muir, 2min 31 l-ssec. This was com-

fortably broken. G. H. Goodall and H. Peacock paced the visitor, who got home in 2min 30sec dead. And he might have done even better had the pacing been more perfect. His next effort was over three miles. There was apparently no record to beat, and Barker announced that he would endeavour to crack eight minutes. Goodall and Peacock again made the pace, taking turns every two laps or so, but Barker seemed to get on to their wheels as soon as they started, and was yelling for the leader to "go on." The first mile was covered in 2min 35sec, the second in smin 18sec, and the whole distance in 7min 56 l-ssec. The rider was loudly applauded for his performances. Messrs G. Humphries and Blanchard acted as time-keepers. The lamps recently erected round the enclosure, and tried publicly for the first time, did not realise expectations. It was very apparent that much more brilliancy was required. A.t the outset riders were dubious about rounding the corners in an indifferent light, but their fears were not iustifiod by results, the participators in the record events taking the turns splendidly. The arrangements were ably supervised by Mr R. Bannister, who must have been pleased with the large receipts. These evening entertainments will certainly grow in popularity, but more numerously itemed programmes will have to be presented to achieve this result.

The Exhibition Sports on Monday were a great financial success ; and they were also a success from a sporting point of view. There were only two absolute champions on the track, Hunt and Barker, but the programme events contained a lot of interest and the public had the worth of their moneys In the five mile scratch record race Barker beat Hunt ; but the latter, it must be remembered, was riding all day, and, even then was not beaten by much. Hunt will learn a lot when he gets on Sydney side, and, after his corners are rounded, so to speak, he should win a good race or two. There is not much room for notes this week, but full particulars of the next meeting, and criticisms, will appear in next week's Mail.

At the Exhibition track on Tuesday evening, J. O. Shorland made an attempt to break the one, three, and five mile local records. He was paced by Wellington riders : Muir, Hunt, Grove, F. Castle, W. Castle and Wilkins. He was not successful in the mile or the three miles, but in the five mile he reduced the time from 13min 39sec to 13min 32sec. Muir subsequently went for the mile record, but only succeeded in tieing the existing record, 2min 30sec. There was a great deal of barracking, and Grove had a shot at the six laps also, but he only did 2min 32 l-ssec. Subsequenly F. Castle went for the record, and, amid great cheering, he put up 2min 29sec. He was rushed, and carried round the track shoulder high, and well he deserved it. Castle rode a Barnes' American " White Flier," 201 b weight, geared to 76, and fitted with Morgan and Wright's tyres.

At the last Melb. wheel race 3 the peoplo were singularly quiet and undemonstrative. This bodes ill for the sport, says Punch. When contrasted with the frantic excitement exhibited at the leading events last season —particularly at the Zimmerman Carnival —this sudden coolness is remarkable. The competitors were good class and some of the finishes well fought, but the public looked on with a cold and fish-like eye. Occasionally a rude man would cheer ironically as some doubtful rider quickened his pace in the neighbourhood of the officials. Beyond doubt, there was a very strong current of feeling in regard to the " waiting " tactics displayed by more than one i*ider, and the words " stiff" and "cronk" could be heard frequently in the enclosure. No doubt, the handicappers, who stood a watchful trio near the members' pavillion, will dock the offenders in future events, but drastic action is required from the officials to check this malodorous practice. If punishment is not meted out —and quickly, too—in glaring cases cycle races will cease to attract anything like a " gate," and the sport will rank with professional pedestrianism in the opinion of the multitude. Disqualification for the season would " fit the crime " and act as a warniag to some young riders who elect to wait for the big handicaps.

An English paper states that there is every prospect of a large party •£ leading professionals visiting Australia next year. Several men have been approached, and the number will probably be about seven or eight. A start will be made in the early part of May —or it may be in the latter part of' April. The party will be split up in sections, one to attend to long-distance work, another for the sprints. The whole will bo under the care of a managertrainer, who will book engagements, arrange the tour generally, and look after the men who will be riding. Judged by the form of the Australians who have visited England, there should be considerable profits to be made in the Antipodes.

At Melbourne recently Parsons, the Australian champion, made an attempt to lower the half-mile grass track record of the world. The record stood at Imin 3 2-osec, and was put up on the Melbourne ground early last season by Parsons himself. When the champion appeared he was presented to Lady Brassey, and warmly applauded by the crowd. He did a preliminary lap behind a triplet, and as he moved to the starting-post it was apparent that he had improved in style and in pace-following ability since his visit to the old world. He got off the mark with a flying start, and, riding easily, and calling for more pace, got over the first quarter-mile in 29sec dead, and the full distance in 59 l-ssec, or 4 l-7sec bettor than the world's previous best record on a grass track. The achievement was a notable one in the circumstances, and

gives hope for wonderful record-breaking in the next month or two, when Parsons has regained his proper form.

The money earned by the professional cricketers at Home would bring a smile to the face of Huret, Michael, Barden, PlattBetts, Jacquelin ard other tip-toppers of the pace-path. The story told by Wood, the Surrey cricketer, in a recent issue of the Daily Mail makes interesting reading, and will be a revelation to those who have been supporters of the noble game of cricket. Here is a man who has played cricket for his county and country, and who, in return for this, receives the miserly pittance of £2 odd per week, and who in the winter months, considers himself lucky to earn 20s per week for " turfing" at the Oval. Yet this man is in the pay of what is perhaps the wealthiest cricket club in England. Such a state of affairs, if Wood's story is correct, is absolutely disgraceful, and thoroughly justified the professional cricketers in seizing the bull by the horns, even at such a moment.

We wonder what Abel, Hayward and Richardson would say if they knew the sums earned by crack professional cyclists. During the last seven months alone one well-known pro. has earned .£2OOO in prizes alone, not to mention his retainer from the tyre and bicycle company >vhose wares he uses. The winner of the Grand Prix of Paris receives in hard cash a sum of .£260 as prize money alone, in addition to the " perquisites" referred to, and the winner of the great Austral Bace at Melbourne gets over £3OO. Yet these men are not racing for as many minutes as the professionals are occupied hours. Nor is the practice necessary to keep in form so arduous. It would be hard to state the exact figures earned by Michael, PiattBetts and Jacquelin by their racing, but, counting prize - money, retainers from makers, &c, their annual income muss average anything from .£IOOO to .£2OOO.

With a view to eliciting some reliablo information concerning the earnings of " star " cyclists, as compared with those of professional cricketers. A representative of The Cycle called upon several people in tho trade. One of these was MrSimpson, of Caversham fame. "lb is really hard," said he, "to institute a comparison, but the cyclist is certainly the best remunerated man o£ the two. A man like Jacquelin, for instance, earns anything from .£2OOO to .£3OOO, and Huret is reported to be worth fully £2OOO. I should say that, all things taken into consideration, a 24 hours race would bo worth .£3OO to Huret. And, under present circumstances, I consider the work of tho cricketer requires greater mental capacity. The paced race of the present day does nob require so much mental strain as the position of a man in the cricket field, for the cricketer must be a man of infinite resource. On the whole," he concluded, " I certainly think the a crack cyclist is a much betterpaid individual than the cricketer. Why, even some of the pacers earn more than crack cricketers. The former, however, are becoming so rapacious that they threaten to kill their work; and I may tell you that very shortly the electric tandem will reduce their number considerably."

Mr D. Weigel, of the Gladiator Company, also gave much information on tho earnings of the professional cyclist. "Tho system of professional cycle racing on tho Continent," said Mr Weigel, " is an admirable one. The proprietors of the track offer very tempting inducements to firstclass men. Michael, for instance, would receive about .£BO from the track proprietors for winning an important match, and in the event of loss would be guaranteed JJGO. Of course, it must be remembered that in most cases the long-distance man will have to pay his own pacemakers, which cost him on the average £2 per man, so that every quad employed would cost him £B, I may here remark, too, that one of the great secrets why professional racing is kept so pure in Franco is because the sum paid by the track proprietors in France is reduced for every race a crack loses, so that it is to the evident advantage of the rider to win each raco in which he starts. Then there is tho question of records. A world's record is worth £4O, but on special occasions a greater sum, of course, is allowed. Foi* instance, if Huret were to pull the 24 homvj record at 900 kilos (563 miles), it would be worth about .£2OO to him. No," he added in response to our query, " I do not think the cyclist's money easier earned than the cricketer's; at least, in France. It is very exhausting work, and requires tho most constant training. Why, the night before the Simpson chain matches we actually locked our pacemakers up, so that no opportunities should be thrown away." There is, therefore, little doubt that the lot of the professional cyclist is cast in better lines than that of the professional cricketer, but as to which has the harder work there exists a difference of opinion.

If the wheelmen's organisations should lend their influence towards suppressing the reckless riders they would bo doing an obvious duty as good citizens, and contribute as well to the development of a form of recreation which, properly controlled, is destined to be of inestimable advantage in promoting the public health and the interests of business.

Bill Martin says he first heard of hi 3 disqualification when he was returning from church.

The subject of bicycling for women is now receiving great attention. We move so swiftly nowadays that we bestow but a passing thought on the things that were, and press eagerly and continually forward to the possibilities of the future. The case of the woman of whom Bill Nye wrote, who for thirty years had washed dishes without any change from the monotony

until the sight of the kitchen sink and the odour of dish-water caused insanity, was most deplorable, and must, I think, have happened befoie the bicycle came into such general use. These are the days of perpetual youth, when, by the use of the wheel, one defies Father Time and forgets life's worries. The exercise brings a bloom to the cheek, a sparkle to the eye, a picturesque grace to the figure, and a lightness to the heart, so that life seems to glide by with an unruffled surface.

Very few in the crowds that surge along in this age of advancement fail to see the marvellous and beneficial changes cycling has wrougbt in the habits of the people, especially women, and the facilities it offers for the enjoyment of material life. It is an impossibility to have health and strength without fresh air and sunshine. It is a woman's duty to herself, and those near and dear, that she plan to spend a portion of each day out of doors, forgetting for a time the perplexities and cares of a busy home life. Trust yotir wheel rather than your doctor. A spin, if only for an hour, directs the attention in so many pleasant ways, and puts one in such delightful frame of mind, and all one's blues and discouragements to such reproach that one shakes them off in very shame.

H. Bailey, of Hobart, has reduced the Tasmanian 100-mile unpaced record to 5 hours 44 .V minutes, and the 25-mile Tasmanian road record has been reduced by Crisp, the winner of the last Austral Wheel Race, to 1 hour 17 minutes.

Coolgardie cyclists will compete in Melbourne and Sydney this season for the first time.

Four clubs have seceded from the Vic. Rowing Association owing to their decision to debar cash cyclists from rowing as amateurs.

Two cycling papers have made their appearance in Brisbane almost simultaneously.

At a committee meeting of tho "Wellington Cycling' Club held last week two now members were elected. It was decided to abandon the maiden road race. A handicap road race of 10 miles was fixed for Saturday, 2lßt instant. Tho captain intimated that he intended inviting the members to MoNab's Gardens on Friday night, 20th instant.

Mr J. Beckingsale put up tho first record run from Eketahuna to Wellington on Monday. Leaving Eketahuna at 5.50 a.m. he arrived at Greytownat 8.8 a.m. and Wellington at 12.5 p.m. A gold medal has been offered for this record, henco Mr Beckingsale's attempt. Mr J. Brodie started out with the rider, but had an accident after going ten miles.

The Wellington Working Men's Club committee are desirous of constructing a bicycle shed on their premises, and have written the City Council in respect thereto. It is intended to erect it in the side open passage—a wooden partition, with sliding doors, the roofing to be of wood and iron. The Inspector has notified, however, that the proposed work would not be in accordance with the building regulations. The Council's Public Works Committee will consider the application next meeting.

ThsHutt County Council at its meeting on Tuesday received a letter from the secretary of the Wellington Cycling Club, asking if the Council had any objection to the Club holding a road race from Petone to Wellington, and it was decided that no racing should be allowed on roads under the jurisdiction of the Council.

A committee meeting the Wellington Cash Cycling Club was held on Tuesday. Sixteen now members were proposed and accepted. A letter from His Excellency Lord Glasgow (patron of the Club) was received, permitting their inaugural race meeting on the 12th December to be held under his patronage. The programme offers £7O in prize money, besides trophies and special prizes presented by local firms. The event of tho day will be the Lord Glasgow Handicap, of 30 guineas. This will probably induce riders to be present from allpart3 of the Colony, and, if properly managed, the occasion should prove the largest cycle race meeting yet held in Wellington.