CYCLING. (BY DEMON, IN THE OTAGO WITNESS.)

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11113, 14 May 1898, Page 7

CYCLING. (BY DEMON, IN THE OTAGO WITNESS.)

The Portobelio read chows just now a decided improvement on its surface of former years. In parts the surface is quite smooth,. and a number of riders make regular trips up and down tbe harbour aide. , . The Mimiro Cycling Club are at pres«nt practising the graceful evolutions attached to a jjymkana. The function is to take place in the Exhibition building about three weeks hencPj and the laditts are to be assisted by several members of tbe Dunedin and Ofcago Cyclitig Clubs, : I am pleased to notice that A. Maxwell was successful at Nelson, pulling off a big race and altogether making a biff haul. ——The roada about Dunedin Were well besprinkled with cyclists last week. Henley, PalmerstoD, MiltoD, and Outr«m came in for a fair share of visiting cyclists. ft. Crow seems to have loot little of his road form when he can cover the Henley to DuDcdiu distance, in au ordinary otrotch out, in an houi- and fifteen minutes. I would like ito see him make an attempt at lowering A. • Ralston's record. The first; of the Otago Cycling Club's series of smoke concerts held last Wednesday evening was a decided success, A number of D.C.C. members were present at the gathering, and they «pealt in bigh terms of the hospitality of their fellow-wheelmen. ——I', notice that the Dunedisi Gymnastic :Club has among its membersa good proportion of cyclists—members of the Dunedin and Otago Clubs. Cyoliag and gymnastics aetm to go well together,, and the cyolistfwho, ttearjf of the'web weather: and muddy roada of the winter time, turns his thoughts and riliiscles to gymnastics will flud that the early rides of the ensuing season do not canise thata acheis and pains that often become the after effects of a ride taken after a lengthened spellof inactivity. > On Monday, 2nd hist., Ji Grant, of Chriijtchurch, well paced by the Dunlop \ncia? tesuij rode three miles down to Bmm 43 S-sse&| taking saec off J. Barker's time oßtablish'qd in the Three-mile Onuterbury Championship on Good Friday laxt. Oa the previous Saturday B. Archer, a member of the Dunlop paciug team, succeeded in breaking the Hkraile Cash record in 22min 28iee. He rode 25 tuiles to 57min 50aec, and covered 26 miles in the hour. . .'--■ George Sutherland and Ernie Wall have by now reached Australia, whore, they intend to take part in next season's racing! It will take time to became acclimatised to the place, and once form is reached I anticipate good performances from Sutherland at least. • Wall isacoming madj but he cannot be compared to Sutherland. . , ■-,:■. ■•..■,■.•" —— While looking over the pages of the Rambler, a bright weekly illustrated paper published in London, an asticledh "The World* Armies Awheel" caught my <.y P) arid on reading it oVer I -was oti'ueik. ivifcti the idea that it fitted in well with the present project to form a cycling corps in Dunedin. To those who take an interest in military cycling the.article should prove of interesb, so it is reproduced iw this WeekVaotea. ' .;,: ■'. •'-;■• ■: ~

I ■■" —• A correspondent sends siting the following:-^" On Easier Monday I *aw for the first time a real Wellington crowd. The weather I was Miperb, slid ail the town and its witV rolled I up to the Drnids' Sports in tbo; Basin Reset*e. There were several millions (.'). present, attracted by the fine weather and the presence of ■some waek cyclists.- A ladies'* bike race whs oil' the programme, and7 ifc w&8 the funbießt thing I bare ever seen on tbe brack. : There were only two sturter^ and one of them was winning by about 100 yards when the fun commenced.'. As j she nearsd the finishing po»t= the crowd,; of I course, begauto applaud* st> my lady, thinking, womanlike, that when she got Hp among the officials it was all orer, turned off the track about 10 yatda from home with a smile 6f cpQecious pride and gratification, dismounted, if yoti ploase, and begun to Walk away ! An official, however drew her attention to the fact that she had not finished the course,.and led her back to the track flurried arid excited. She attempted to mount, And iv; her Confusion turned the bike found ths wrong way, rodn through several figure B's,> and filially fell off ! In the meantime the other dsm'ael, urged on by theories of the crowd, with » took on'her face that words fail to deecribe, put on-a pound and came toiling onward to the goal, but a kindhearted cavalier threw the leading lsdy on to her machine, and a tangled mass of bike,; skirt, and lady, forged past the poet a brilliant winner by four good inches. How tbe crowd howled ! I never saw a funnier burlesque on the stage.— The Fbothbb." •:. ■ » yl ■• ■■■■' • - A 28in wheel revolves about 720 times per mile. This means that every portion of the sides and tread of the tyr« ie flexed and recovers iteelf that nnmber of times in enehmile. In a 50-mile run, therefore, tHis action Ukes place some 36,000 times. It is evident that remark-' able qualities are required in the fabric and rubber which nre to withstand this action alone, without considering the straina imposed by the air presHure nnd the friction and concussions of the road surface. - '• A new ehainlesa bicycle has been built by a cangijine inventor, in which there is an auxiliary dtiving gear direct from the saddle iteelf. The flaps of the soddls are larger than usual, and move up and downrwith the motion of the rider's legs, and this movement is communicated to the back wheel. < One of the newspaper-carrying cyclists who scorch through Lbndoti from the publishing offices of evening papers to the various terminal stations with bundles of red-hot-from-the-press special editions has knocked down a child and been fined the extraordinary Bum of 2s. These paper-c&rriors ars employed on the understanding that they find their own cycles, but any fines for fadous driving and the like are paid by the officf;.- Speed is everything to the London pajicr in despatching its newu broadcast, and therefore naturally the cycle is au essentional adjunct in the dis-tribution-of the papers, and the offices by paying the fines encourage tha defiance of traffin regulationa and give the boys no excuse for delays or missing trains. And their general dexterity is one of the marvels of London's traffic. Should dusb or an insect lodge in the eye the rider should never rub it with a handkerchief or ■ finger. The beat plaD is to get hold of the top la^hea and draw the eyelid over tbe lower lasheß. The intruding speck can in Ihis way be both easily and painlessly removed. —- The German Emperor attended the last tnauceuvreß in his carriage drawn by the well-known four grey horses, reputed to be tbe fastest steeds in the Fatherland.- The cavalry orderlies could not keep up with them,' and it was resolved to employ cyclists, Who had no difficulty in doing so. — The old warning about excessive cycling being prejudical to the healthy action of the heart, is again to the front, owing to the refuoal of the French military authorities to pass several well-known track sprinters for military service. These men start their cycle-racing very youbg, and sprinting is the hardest task that they can set themselves) especially when they keep it up all the year round on enclosed tracks an well as in the open air in summer time. Th« stendy-going, long-distance rider is far less likely to injure himself in this way, although of course every form of athletics carried to excess enlarges the heart, and then, from lack of practice, it becomes disordered and degenerates.

flinch hag been heard of the deadly bicycle. Statistics show, however, that the bicycle was responsible for only eight accidents in London's sheets last year ! and of a total of 129 fatalitieß the bicycle caused but one. —- Ball bearings were invented by John Wyatt in 1760. ——England has 1437 cycling clubs, Scotland 242, Ireland 153. A feature of the Paris Exposition ia 1900 will be a bicycle built for 2000. A cyoling club for Parsees of all denorninati.jns has been, after much trouble, organised I in Bombay. j The first; recorded ride from Land's Bud to John O'Groats took place in July 1880. and took two week?.

Consumptive* or persons nufferiuf; fr&m v/euk or delicate chests should not fail lo try Town- j end's celebrated ClDnarnon Cure. A sure remedy for ordinary colds, recent cough, loss | of voice, bronchitis, bronchial sathmn, whocipiDg cough, croup, inßueoza, pleurisy, pneumonia, and catarrh, Sold everywhere. Pries, 2s 6d.—Advfc.

t ! In Sierra Lnone quite a large number of i : old high-bicycles are ridden by the natives, who ' : purchased them with ivory. 1 : Inflators, wrenches, &c, carrier! in the ' ■ pocket may cause serious injury to a rider in [ i the event of a fall. Carry them in the proper " i place, therefore—the tool'bag. , A singular accident happened to a rider i on one/of the main roada near London recently, t ' His knee knocked against the handlebar, which was low and narrow', and caused him to . swerve and fall. This is one ot the accidents ■ j which are likely to occur when men adopt the '■ extraordinary modern craze of getting ex--1 tremely forward over their work, unless they also have a specially-constructed handlebar I also carried forward.^ More singular still was j the fate of his companion, who fell over him, broke hia handlebar, and gashed himself in the I abdomen so severely that his entrails were exposed, but be was unaware of this apparently painless wound nntil after he had wanted nome, a distance oi tcree miles. 'X'nis case has excited considerable interest r.Jaong the surgeons of the hospital where he wag sewn up, as it is most remarkable that he could move nt all with such damage done to him. I Scandinavia. In Norway, Sweden, and Den- j mark the household that has not one devotee to the pastime of cycling is rare. The city of Copenhagen swarms with cyclists during all hours of the day. Aa observer is surprised to see the general usm which the bicycle has found among the mechanics in that northern country. It is made to serve as a valuable tool in furtherance ot various trades, audmasons, bricklayers, carpenters, and such can be seen speeding along the streets in their working clothes and with tools ' slUilg scross their backs. Eveu chimney sweeps, a decider! European institution, fly along the thoroughfares like ao many spectre-i of tbe night. If for nothing else, the bicycle is blessed-in Scandinavia because it saves time, and, as a consequence, money. To make such an iuveiltion cs the bicycle of real utility is sound jx.litical <>cohomy,. if not more. To polish lamp leußes first clean the surface with » pad of cotton wool, then cover the pad with cotton vtlvet charged with due ronge. This will not ouly remove the scratches, bu.t will also, ioupart brilliancy to the glass. Glass fronts for lanterns should bo not only clear, bat brilliant as well, and this domes partly of polishing. . Cyclists Will often have trouble in starting the screwing-up of a fide screw thread, because such threads are very easily stripped by being started wrong. The beat way i« to turn the screw iv the opposite direction until a click ia heard, when the screw can be easily screwed home; This effectually ■ prevents stripping.