CYCLING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10589, 5 September 1896, Page 7

CYCLING.

(By Demon, in the Otago Witness.)

In marked contrast to the proviou* Saturday, list Saturday wait wet, cold, *u''<" dismal, putliug a stop to all thoughts of cjcliug j and driving cjclisls to their respective olub-

rooms to console theaiMlv-s over their disappointment aud to discuss the prospects of this season from _ racing am' from a touring point of view.

There, is little ol vi/ moment utiremg iu club life, the only thing cf -.-terest to office-bearers just now bting ths data and procedure of th* opening run, ><.hich I (-.pecfc wil! take p!*c.>: (jarly iu October. Since the annual meeting ot" t!; • Dunedin Cycling Club, held last Wednesday, there has been considerable discussion on tbe idea of the I'eri/iatioii of a cj cling track along tbe Anderson's Bay real1 to St Clair via the bjck of the isercoun-e, and among cyclists thets is a unanimity ot opinion regarding the utility of such a track aud tho decided advantage to br> derived from an agitation to improve the roads aboufc town. That our roads are illformed and not at all favourable to pleasant riding by reason aX the nnevenness of! surface caunot be denied, and any effort on thc part of clubmen, or' cyclists as a body, to bring about a Letter state of roads will be met with approval and suppott of a solid nature, not uuU' by cyclists themselves, but by a number of ochers interest*'- in the pastime. The whole matter of road improvement is to coma up for considerauoo at the uext committee meeting of the Duuedin Cycling Club. This matter, though introduced at the meeting of the Dnoediu Club, must be taken up by ■be Otago Club—in fact, by all cyclists—to be of an effective character. If any action is to be taken both club3 should combine aud try and sain the influence and support of those cjclists >tho are non-niern-rra—and there ure a number of these iu Ducedia—for, it is a big question, •.un once euten d into and taken up ever* effort nhould be made to secure a victory ; aud co■ipfjration is, and will be io this caie, a strong t*rv<ir as a means to an end. The practice of putting children, either boys or girlr, on bicycles made for older people cwnnot be too strongly .ROtidoouned. Recently 1 came across" > case of a small boy with a large machine —on.! of th« oidiuary sisso built for young men. Hi» posr little aruin werestratched out to their full extent to grasp the handle-bars, ind although the saddle was lowered as far a* possible still il was an efforD for him to reach the pedals. Now, let me speak plainly and impress upon parents that in is almost a certainty that if a boy is allowed to go qn using a nuchine to ill-suited to his Irani? xnd otcehsitating so

inuch extra sirainicg after a riding position, iu c. yerynhoiS time he will .develop some complaint, and then ojclinf- will get the, blame of raining the child's eoastisutioi*, whereas it is the fault of the parent or guardian, and so a good and healthy exercise will for that child be taboDe-, as hot agreeing with him. Those who wi*- their children to derive a benefit froiii cycling should" consult _■ manufacturer and arrange for the uia_uf actor* of a bicycle of a proper size and fit. So sure as a boy or girl is allowed to conatautly ride a machine uusuited b7 reason of size, necessitating undue -.tretchiug to reach the pedals and the handle-bars, ■;">u:e evil will result, aud ». dearoiharmb-; doue to cycling, which is - patti.ine, under favourable circumstances, is; well. tilted for the developia'pat of "youth as for the. pleasure and exercise of those of miturer age.

;',—.— -Mr Joh-'M-Ijarsii, jun., who is aboutto iVive Oamaru to tike up a position in Christ-. church,1 wss on the 21st ult: the recipient of a presentation from a fen cycling friepds and others. Mr A. J. Grave made the presentation on behalf of fcheNorch OiagoCyelingeiub, an-' «_r, M'Laren suitably acknowledged the premutation and its „ccoi»*}&nyiiig'good wishes.

-—, The concert and dauce in aid of the fund*! of the West Taieri Cycling Club, held at Outram ou Friday evening,, was largely attended, the Seating aqcomuipdation of the hail beiug taxed fo the utaaost. The "concert was x coost enjoyable'one. Miss Blakeley playqd r. •lanofbrte solo in sfScinnt style; Mr *_'A. Ds> (Dunediu) received weli-aeserved applause.for his reudering of " Out oo the.deep " and ,""Bid me love" ; while Mrs and Mr Taylor also rendered . valuable assignee. Mr .). M'L'.au played a cornet solo ia first-class style; Miss Slakeley and Mr J. M'Bryde played a dust (piano and violin) iu a pleasing manner;" and ilr Shearer! danced a c^ag, dance, /The comic element was in the hands of Mr G. C. Matiißsdu, who sang "Mrs 'Awkins" imd; "The aipper's lullaby," and wis loudly qncoredi" The drawing of prizes iu the art uu'ioh'was'watched Biih izitirsot. The dancs th&t followed largely attended, The" art union and social nombined will result in a profit of between £30 jAid'_.*o."':'"-. ■'•"■ ;":'■''-

— The first regular meeting of the newlyelKCled committee of the Dunedin.Cycling Club «»s held in the rooms, High street, on Monday evening, Mr E- Boot (captain) in the chair. A letter was received from Dr Batchelor in refer-"

swim* to the club using its influence in getting'a statable eycii'ug road made iu Duuedin. After -sr-me discussion, it was rtsulrcd that the secreU.ry communicate with the Otago Cycling" Club -(ith the view of receiving their co-operation in holding a "meeting of cyclists and others ihterejied to discuss the matter. , Fifty-two, new j/eosbers were 'elected.'" .■'..'.,*.,•

—— The New Zealand Cyclists' Touring Club, recently formed, is recsiving candidates from -11 parts: ofc tbe colony, and already _as over KOO members.... • A club gazette will be'issued on the Ist September for circulation among members. "... The first president is Mr Justic-*-Edwards.! v .; ; ,7 .'7...'. ,-•' ■\ ." ,77

7™- At'the eighteenth.annual'meetihgof the Pioneer Bicycle Club 'the 'following bffice-bi-arers were elected for the ensuing year ;— Patron, his Excellency , the Governor; president, Hoh.'E; C. J. Stevens; vice-presidents, -Sir W. B. Perceval and Dr Jennings ; captain, Mr F. Deuby ; deputy-captain,- Mr Harry Thompson', hon. secretary, Mr J. C. Baldwin; lion, treasurer, MrT.E. Chisnall; committee— Messrs B. E. Daniels, v/. j.'g. Bay ward. ,F. J. Dunn, W. LangdowD. W, F. Waller, F,Wynn.Williams, G...A. Rankin; delegates to. the Cyclist*' Alliance, Mes*r*-o W. J. S. Hay ward and F; J. Dunn: audiie'rn, Mesßrs A. Lowry snd F. Cooper. The membership roll stood at 134 active members last season; as against 110 •c the previous season. The club starts the •s'iPSOD with a credit balance of: £43 19s 8d a-id assets showing a balance of £195 14s over liabilities. ' . ,

I dislike to see a lady "giving a leap into ker.. saddle, and I feel sure it would be far easier, with a little practice, to manage it. more gracefully. The , rider, should.hold herself upright when she stands with her foot on the pedal, and she would then, find herself directly over the saddle as soou as she, puis her weijght on the pedal and takes the other foot from the grbnud. It is not a jump, but a light springing movement that is required, and the rider will find that she sink- naturally into the saddle. The seoond pedr.l should not be caught too hurriedly, and should never be looked at. .It is a-great mistake to. accustom yourself to look down at your pedals, and if .the pedal is not caught at the first revolution it does not matter in the least... .< ~ >

in the same way dismounting should not bo harried, except in emergencies. Slow down :ybai: paoe just before dismounting, wait until the pedal is rising oh the side you intend to dismount, then just as it is parallel with the ground raise yourself quickly and firmly on it and bring, the other foot through the loop of tha machine to the groirad. There should be uo jump, and the foot should, especially on loose stones, be put dowu firmly. Many.ungraceful dismounts are caused by the riders neglectiDg to slow down eufiiciently, and others by hesitating until the pedal is in the wrong position. If ladies find dismounting difficult they will find a. little qniet practice on some unfrequented road quickly lead to proficiency. -—-Gloves of white doeskin are very nice wear for cyclists, eg they look clean and cool, and cau be pipeclayed when soiled.* They should, of course, never be worn by ladies V-hose hands are naturally large, as white has the curious effect of increasing the apparent size. If stained by any means a little weak solution of oxalic acid rubbed oh the stain will remove it, the acid being quickly washed off again with clean water. Of course, these gloves should always look fresh, as a soiled glovei looks very bad. If you have cork handles on your machine wash tbem frequently with soap and water, "as the cork collects the dust and dirt.

* If you have a friend who is a great bicycle-riderj ask bim off-hand, when he is out of sight of his machine, how long a bicycle is. First he'll look puzzled, and then he'll make the wildest kind of guesses. Ibis almost as puzzling as the question : " How high is a Derby hat?"

—— A little lanoline rubbed over the Bkin jast after washing, apd wiped carefully off again with a soft towel, will keep the skin from Retting harsh and dry with'the March winds: l)o not use cosmetics of any kind. Just . \\tt_\_ pure animal fat to restore the natural oil oE the skin when it is dried too much by wind or *y*a is'ailyou want. ■"■' ' '""""".''." . .".'._. r--—The Century Cup, a 100 miles, scratch race*, prompted by the London'-'Comity Club;' produced a good cbntesf: 'at' Heme Hill this year. The "Century '. Cup was put up under novel conditions 'by the Bondoa County"C;»nd AC, Limited, iiv'lß9s, so as tn'complete their list of races—loo milw, .12 hours, and 24 hours. The trophy, a contemporary says, haß a carious history ; it is an exact, reproduction of a corporationcup presented in thu reign of Queen Anne. It was made to bs presented to th. late Uuks of Clareuoe and Av'ondale on his Marriage, and on his sad death was left on the hands of the makers. It weighs no less than 500oz, aod cost the London Count* Club exactly £100, and is a worthy trophy for a great race, G. G. Wridgsw?, who has since become a professional, won in'lß9s. There were over 20 starters'.'' Ellis.led at the start, and broke amateur record at 11 miles. At 20 he waa leading, but his machine went wrong, and Pa liner got to the front, scoring 28 miles syds in the first hour.' SI miles' 1360yds in two hours, aud over 78 mile- in three hours. He waa sever caught, and woa easily iu 3hr 47miu 47 3-ss«e, which is world's record. The previous best was tosna's3hr 52miJi9 3.53"-c. ,„. - Auto-cars are evor on the increase.' lhe Ktest i« the Gladiator,' which is said to present a "handsome and shapi-ly exterior," propsrties which the former auto-cars we cannot say possessed. In thin carriage the roar wheels are the drivers, and measure 30in, whilst the fore wheels, which are also-the'steerers, are only 26inin diameter. This motor car i:i a French make, and is driven by the " essence of pstroleum," which we hear so much of iu -Vance. The weight is said to be altogether only SJe-vt,-apd the machine can,. be very easily hindled, whilst the motor by which it is driven is a fouc'Horae power.- ,'.'. " . '

—7 The Referee says -.—" There are many machines on the market which cost -"hout. £7 10a each. ' Thev are mado of material it would be sarcasm to" call steel,' The lactone**, socalled, where these alleged bicycles are made are well nigh impossible to find-—they ara like the sweat shops of tha garment store. How different the naachjiios with which old reliable firms have built up their immense trade. How different the machine that, light as a feather, yet solid aB a rock, esri'ies you over good -ind had roads safely and surely. The tubiug is specially rolled and forced. It is so perfect in construction that both iotide and out it has the polish.of a shotgun barrel. '■If the casual observer''visited a bicycle factory aud s*w the rows of intelligent face** bent over powerh}! magnifying glasses giving each aud every ball used in a bicycle bearing a critical examirißlion he would, doubtless, wonder why the mea were wasting their time there. A good bicycle, like a thoronghbred horse, costs money, because it has got the stufl in it, ant} both hive taken years te perfect." '