CYCLING & MOTOR NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13834, 22 February 1907, Page 8

CYCLING & MOTOR NOTES

Br Demon. FIXTURE. Dunedin Cycling Club's Sports, Caledonian Ground, March 9. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. Tandf.m.—You. should have very little difficulty in finding your way over the roads in Otago and Southland. In nearly every small town now there is a, bicycle shop, and you could always obtain reliable information as to state o! roads, grades, etc., from the owners of these. The main south road from Dunedin to Invercargill is in very good order just now, with tl,e exception of that part in the vicinity of .'?ukerau. The following is the programme of cyclo events to lie dccided at tho Dunedin bicycle and motor sports meeting to bo held at the Caledonian Ground on March 9:—Halfmile Handicap, £3. £2, £1; One Mile, £(, £2, £1; Otago Wheel Race (two miles), £10, £3, £2; One Mile and a-half Handicap, £5. £2, £1. Entries close on March 2. —Mr Fred Cooke, of the local Arm of Messrs Cooke, Howlison, and Co., having been appointed judge of the bicycle exhibit at the New Zealand Exhibition, left this (Wednesday) morning for Christchurch. ' —Tho local motor rider D. Hutton is to make an attempt' on tho mile motor cycle record (put up by D. J. Byrne, of Christchurch) at the Dunedin Cycling Club's sport 6 next month. As Hutton is a skilful and daring rider, ho should go very near reducing tho record. —— Messrs Cooke, Howlison, and Co. inform me that the two Peugeots landed by them last, week have already found owners, Mr W. Sutherland, of Palmerston, becoming possessed of tho 7 h.p. machine, and Mr Read, of Invercargill, of the 5 h.p. At the motor car gymkhana to be ■ held in connection with tho Dunedin i Cycling Club's sports on March 9 two in- , teresting items will be decided. There will i bo a steering competition, drivers having to steer their cars round different obstacles, I and ako a potato race, Teceptacle6 being 1 placed at intervals round the track, into ' each of which the drivers will have to -Irop J a potato as they speed round' the course. 1 These two item/; should prove most in- : foresting and amusing, and have already raised a spirit of emulation in the different 1 local car owners' breasts. In addition, a motor car and motor cycle procession will leavo the Octagon for the grounds on the 1 afternoon of the 6ports. At a meeting of • the Olago Motor Association on Monday ; night Messrs J. F. M. Fraser and W. 11. Gordon were appointed judges of tho two events. — At the Caledonian sports meeting at 3 Napier on Wednesday, Sutherland, of ' Christchurch, won the One-mile Handicap from scratch in 2min llscc, but was beaten J in the One-mile Championship by D. Wyatt, the time being 2min 15 2-ssec. I Rustic: "What's the matter?" 3 Motorist: "Matter! I can't get this car 5 to go." Rustic: "Then, it's tho lucky man " you are, for just yesterday a motorist got e nearly smashed to bits here because he t couldn't get his car to stop." Mr Wigley 6tates that up to the ~ present the Mount Cook motor cars have

i conveyed 195 persons to the Hermitage. • The coaches' highest record in previous years was 182 for tho season. Tourists are still booking frocly, and it is suggested that further extensions to tho Hormitago will bo very necessary in the near future. The Otautau cycle race promoted by | Mr B. Murie took placo on tho beach last Wednesday evening. The beach and cliffs were lined with a goodly number of interested spectators. The first race, quartermile, for which there were eight entries, was won by M. Dowling (scratch man) by a few feet from P. Batchelor (20yds), with T. Dowling (scratch) a close third. The principal race, one mile and a-half, was run immediately after, and was won rather easily by M. Dowling. Socond and third places wore filled respectively by C. Irak (110 yds) and George Boxall (140 yds). The gold medal presented by Mr Murie was secured by M. Dowling;. Two more races for gold medals toko place at an early daio. ' — One of the Huniber Company's motor factories was destroyed by fire at Coventry in December. The damage is roughtly estimated at about £20,000, but though this is insured great inconvenience will bo caused hy a stoppage of motor-car building at the present busy time. It is a Temarkable coincidence that the company suffered seriously from fire during the cycle boom. Three hundred hands have been thrown out of employment by tho fire. Among tho property lost was 150 motor bodies ready to bo placed on tho chassis and delivered to customers. ——Although track raoing seems to be holding its own—judging from the numerous entries for all meetings, town and country— road racing is decidedly gaining in favour (says tho Australasian). Last year's record of 302 nominations for the Warrnambool event wa« a true indication of the condition of this phase of the sport, and it has l,«n developing satisfactorily since. More interest has been evinced in this direction by thn men in the trade; they have found that road cvonts do more in keeping the machine before tho public, and convincing them of its practicability, not . merely as a speed instrument, but as a simple and easy method of travel. : —Louis Darragon, of Paris, who on December 30 beat Thaddous Robl and young Parent in a 60-kjlomotre (37 miles 500 yds) paced match at tho Velodrome ;d'Hiver, has during the past season met and beaten every crack of note in turn, also having accounted for the 100-kilometre championship of France and the world's championship at 'Geneva. In appearance ho does not resemble a stayer, standing about sft 9in and scaling well on list. Nowadays, however, - email riders do not count behind pace, as protection against tho' wind has ho'-n . reduced by means of artificial aids. Parent, who a week previously had beaten Tommy Hall and 8001, was expected to make a big show, but only finished-a bad third, indisposition being the excuse. ■ contribution of ears for the Kaiser's prize consists of three Daimlers and one Napier. Seven countries will bo represented, with a total entry of 92 cars. Tho race takes place on June 14. —Mr R. M. Macdonald stated at the meeting; of the Canterbury Automobile Association that during the destructive fire at Messrs Ryan and Company's premises in Auckland, on the eve of the starting of the North Island reliability test, in which several motor cars wore burned, no fewer than eight cases of benzine stored in tho building came through the ordeal unscathed. One of tho tins had been previously opened, and in other instances the wcodon casing was burned away, and the solder of the tins molted; but, contrary to all expectations, the inflammable liquid, although subjected to such intense heat, failed to ignite, and was subsequently discovered to bo intact. A well-known Auckland motorist in Mr George Henning Tccently visited London on a business tour. Mr Henning visited the Olympia, and Stanley motor shows during his stay in London. His observations at the Olympia show convinced him that English care are just as good as, if not better than, those of foreign make. He has been disappointed, however, in not. being able to find a car specially suited to the New Zealand' roads. Those he has seen have been either too low or not wide enough between the wheels. He is, therefore, getting three cars built to his own specifications. Another great motor contest is proposed between Paris and Madrid this year —about the end of May—but which will differ in almosLu>very particular from an ill-fated race ™Hp Hie 6amc course some years ago. TJje French club proposes to hold a touring-car conlest anil a heavy vehicle trial, and from the support offered it promises to be a successful competition. France has of lute been paying greater attention to louring and commercial vehicles, realising that speed in motors is not tho first essential, and that the market for such cars must necessarily be limited. -—Francis Birtles, who was endeavouring to ride from Perth via tho goldficlds, through to Alice Springs, in the centre of Australia, has, through insurmountable difficulties,, been compelled to return to Laverton, After leaving Lavcrfon Birtles struck due east into the Victorian desert, and endeavoured to get through to the nearest ' known water, 56 miles distant. He failed in the attempt, the county being found impassable, and after being away four days, during which period he cycled or walked 107 miles, Birtles was compelled to return. Whether the ovcrlandcr has definitely given up his attempt is not stated, but Birtles | was taking on a very dangerous task in endeavouring to traverse tho Great Victorian desert in midsummer. _ —-It is now somo considerable time sinco any alteration has been made on the Australasian cycle records that it comes •as- a pleasant surprise to hear of two fine performances established by G. H. Horder, the. well-known New South Wales racing crack. The two records attacked were the Flying Half-mile and Mile fJnpaced; the former Horder reduced. to 55 l-ssec, which is the world's Tccord for an out-of-door track; and the mile in tho splendid time of 2min 2 3-ssec, which is only 3-sth of a second outsido of the English Tccord. Both these new figures were established on the new cycle track at tho Sydney sports ground. The proposal of Le Matin, the wellknown Paris newspaper, to organise a big motor car race from Paris to Pckin is a hold and gigantic scheme. The stupendous amount of iabour that would be -necessary to arrango and carry out such an undertaking, over all classes and types of roads, tracks, mountains, and deserts would be sufficient to frighten the pluckiest and most enterprising of promoters. To cover the 75D0 odd miles of country that lay between the two cities oi Paris and Pckin is a journey that has never be.en accomplished or attempted by motorists, and probably by no form of road conveyance. Should such a gigantic contest ever eventuate two routes would be available, such as they are, but the work and lahour that would bo necessary before cither route could bo followed by competitors in a race is such that even the powerful French paper will think well before definitely deciding on such an event. The most likely route that would be taken is from Paris to Vienna, thon across to Moscow, thence along tho trans-Siberian railway route to Irkutsk, across Lake Baikal, and thence through Manchuria to Pckin. This route would, of course, only be possible at certain times of the year, when the roads and passes are free from snow, but at its best tho difficulties to be overcome would be enormous and heart-brcakipg. The alternative route is across Europe to Turkey, thenco via Persia or Turkestan to India, and frcm there through Burmah and across into China. Either route would be approximately between 7500 and 8000 miles. No doubt if such an event is held a representative entry will be received from most of the world's motoring centres, for almost universal interest would attach to such a race. Further particulars of the proposed great race will be awaited with interest.