CYCLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 1895, 16 March 1888, Page 26

CYCLING.

WHEEL NOTES.

By. Demon. The bicycle rpftd race arranged by the Dunedin Cycling Club ioo£ pk«e on Saturday. T,he race was from Dunedin to (jtitvam and back, a, distance of about 32 miles. Milne provecl th*f wUmet? after, a very close contest, beating Crow by only Imiti. Thfl following started from the Octagon, Mander" &t tsO'.-fi. R; Sfceadman, scratch; C. Oautrell, sminJ 0. tferr, J. Milne, and W. Crow, lOmin ; O. Moms and A. J. George, 20min; P. Mitchell, 25mio < ; L. Reeves, 30min ; E. Mander, 40min. They arrived at Outram aB follows :— Mauder and Reeves, 3.32 j Mitchell, 3.38 ; Crow, 3.44; George, 3.45; Morris and Milne, 3.40 ', and Kerr 2Dsec later; fcjt.ednian, 9.43. Canfcell did not put in an appeajr^ uce "i t Qus^ e sCg£l thftt there was only IGmin he.tw@e.pithe , first and last to afriva at Outram.. Beevep led all;th£ way, tack' to Green Island, wherehe was passed b,y Mifce^Mitehe^.and Kerr. , Crow took the long road, &\\ ing thesbort track by the cattle yards, wh,£!r vaa very slippery. At Look-out Point Milne took the lead from Crow, and was never caught, arriving iv town at 5.34, haviug completed the distance in the excellent time of 3 hours 14min. Crow was second, one minute behind ; Mitchell third ; Kerr, Mauder, and Reeves being next in order, the others nowhere. The roads wore very good on the plain, but on the hills rough surface and hollows predominated. The rain started shortly after 2 o'clock, and made the going rather heavy, especially on the saudy surface. Mr E. H. Burn was judge at Outram, and Messrs W. and A. G. Melville at Dunedin ; Mr Howlison started the men. The club can be congratulated on the success of this, the first road race, although they were unfortunate as to the weather. A correspondent who wa3 out at Mosgiel sends nic the times of the riders on passing O'Kane 515 1 hotel. On the outward journey they w.ere as follows •— Mander, 10 minutes p"ast 3 j Reeves, 3.12; Mitchell; 5.174; George, 3.24; Crow, 3.25; Morris, 3.26; Mime ? 3.26JJ; Kerr, 3.27f ; Steadman, 3.3 X%. Returning, the times were :__Reeves, 4.12; Mander, 4.15; Mitchell, 420; Crow and Milne, 421; George, 4.23; Steadma'u and Kerr, 4.24£. The riderg who went out to the turning point complain bitterly of tfae charge, made for refreshm'ont at the West Taieri Hotel, Several riders had each a cup of tea, but nothing in the shape of eatables, yet they were for this luxury charged Is each. I am afraid the landlord of the West Taieri Hotel will loose more than he gained by the transaction. Peace to his ashes !

He was a good young man who knew not the taste of any liquid nourishment stronger than tea. He was engaged in the road race on Saturday afternoon, and when wichin 10 miles of home looked every inch a winuer. But he was a little faint and was beginining to grow aweary after his long ride. Someone told him that brandy would " put new life in him," so he tarried by the wayside and imbibed. Then he wheeled along his weary way feeling happy and seeming in the land of the lotus eater, where it is always afternoon. The rain pouied and the macadam was heavy, but he minded it not, and seemed to fly over the moistened metal with winged speed. What he did in reality was different. He was seized with a tender regard for mother earth, and embraced her with a tender embrace that brought silvery stars and all sorts of beautiful things before his vision. A brother wheelman coming along the same way made inquiries regarding his welfare, and to him be spake thus : " Hie— brandy— sthold me 'twould put new lifesh in me — hie — sh—sh— can't make it out. Can you tellerfellow what-terdo under the shir — hie — cumstances ?"

The wise men who rule the roost on the Peninsula have decided to put a 5s tax on all bicyclists who may venture within their tollgates? Don't they wish they may get it? We were beginning to think that we had seen the last of these relics of barbarism within the bounds of this enlightened colony ; but alas for the mutability of human affairs ! A Rip Van j Winkle has shaken himself from his long slumber in the classic caves of the Peninsula, and come forth with the wand of authority in his shrivelled hand to doom the unwary trundler of the nineteenth century. I would suggest to some of our dashing youno 1 wheelmen that they take their machines through in pieces ; or, better still, go over in the steamer Kate to Portobello, ride up to the tollkeeper, ask tenderly after the health of his wife and family, and then depart in peace on their homeward journey. , Who's on for the joke ? Please leave name and address with the " Demon " of the Witness office, who will be most happy to assist in the arrangements. Writing of the 50-mile road race which was to come off in Victoria last week, " Philibuster " says : — " A great deal of interest is centred in this event, although the entries (32) are not so numerous as they would have been had the club not confined the race to members of the Victorian Cyclists' Union. As it is, however, most of the best riders in the metropolis will start, and if the weather prove favourable a first-class contest should be recorded. The limit man, W. Robb, will be sent on his journey at 3 o'clock, J. W. H. Busst, the scratch man, following hajf-an-hour afterwards. This is the third 50-mile road race which has beeu held over this course ; the first, known as the " Premier," was run on September 1, 1883, and out of the 18 competitors the winner turned up in T. P. Jenkins, who covered the distance lmin under 4hr. The second event, which came off in the following month, was styled •' The British Challenge " road race, and it proved a memorable event on account of numerous accidents caused by a fierce Year wind which blew riders and machines down the hills at breakneck speed. On that occasion, J. Fenton, the limit man, with an hour s start, won iv 3hr 29min.

The Melbourne Bicycle Olub is endeavouring to introduce as many novelties as possible into their clnb runs. The other week 14 riders, accompanied by Mr George, of Christchurch, and Mr Parry, of Sandhurst, who occupied seats on the club's four-in-hand, rode down to the Saltwater river, in the vicinity of Ascotvale, and engaged boats and proceeded some miles up the stream. Six of the cyclists fished from one boat, and succeeded in hooking three dozen bream. At sunset the party returned to Spong's Hotel, where a first-class spread awaited them. This and a musical evening caused the time to pass very pleasantly till 10 o'clock, when a start was made for home.

The 100-mile ride road record for a tricycle has been awarded to Mr G. P. Mills, who rode the distance in 7hr 46min 33sec,

A new square rubber pedal has been brought out by Singer and Co. In appearance this pedal is large and heavy, but the rider can get a very firm foot hold and a much better push than was the case with the small and narrow pattern.

" Rough on Itch." — " Rough on Itch " cures skin humours, eruptions, ring worm, tetter, salt rheum, frosted feet, chilblains, itch, ivy poison barbers' itch,