NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2014, 29 September 1892, Page 31

NOTES BY DEMON.

. A committee meeting of the Dunedin Cvcline Club was held on Tuesday evening. A. large amount of formal business was transacted, final arrangements about the club's social and the opening run were made, and five new members wereelecte .^^ Qf the cycli geason take place on Saturday afternoon. A start will be made from the club room, Manse street, at 3 o'clock sharp, and turning .into Princes, street, the Octagon will be reached via llattray street, the Triangle, and Stuart street. From the Octagon a straight run will be made along George street to thp Gardens, where the cyclists will be grouped for a photo. The return journey will be via Cumberland street, Rattray street, Princess street, Anderson's Bay road,' Macandrew nndrew road to St. Clair. -_L The D.A.A. Club's crosscountry run is fixed for Saturday afternoon, 22nd October. The evenHs open to all amateurs, and I would like to see aVood number of entries from members of the DOOM* Ness (the hon. secretary of the DA A O.) will be glad to supply anyone washing ft "Svith a copy of the conditions of the-run.. tLSj close on 14th October. Three bicycle wc?s we i be included in the programme of the

Dunedin Amateur Athletic Club's Sports meeting, to be held at Carisbrook ground on 10th October. The distances have not yet been fixed, but a subcommittee of the D.A.A.C. is appointed to confer with the committee of the D.C.C. as to suitable distances. • — • A road race, distance about 18 or 20 miles, is to be held under the auspices of the North Otago Cycling Club, in about six weeks' time. The first "track" record for 50 miles in Tasmania has been made by J. W. Kissling, captain of the Hobart Cycling Club, who rode the whole distance in 3hr 18min 27sec. The time for the first mile was 3min 153 ec, and the last mile was done in 3min 56 l-ssec. . The Launceston City Cycling Club in their report state that the club has Ll4 in hand, and L 23 owing by the Van Dieraen's Land Bank. ■ Johnston of lowa has ridden one mile on a bicycle in 2min 4sec. Sir Evelyn Wood is of opinion that Parliament would not be making a mistake by sanctioning the raising of at least 20,000 volunteer cyclists. Lord Wolseley is greatly in favour of military cyclists, for in a recent speech ho said :— There are very few countries in the world where you cannot use cycles. During the whole time I was in India, during the mutiny, I do not remember, except when actually in the hills for three or four days' fighting, one day's march or any one fight in which we took part where cycles could not have been used with the greatest possiblo advantage. Referring to the recent feat of Shorland. who covered 413 miles in 24 hours, the Lancet asks where pace in cycling is to end? The writer knows a cyclist, a member of the medical profession, who declares that if he could be protected from the impeding influence of the wind, and could be put on a line of railway properly laid for the purpose, he could, if placed behind an engine tearing away at the rate of 25 miles an hour, keep up with the engine for one hour at least. At one of the meetings of the Society of Cyclists, Dr B. W. Richardson, who presided, declared that he saw in them the first true efforts leading to the practical accomplishment of.aenal flight. The electric cycle lamp has been tested with most successful results in England. Ihe accumulator, weighing lib Bioz in its leather case (4\oz), is securely attached to the machine below the handle bars. The lamp-holder, which scales another ilb, is pitted to the usual bracket, bringing the total weight up to 21b 2oz, or about 6oz heavier than the usual lamp. Without the customary vibration and trouble of attention to wick and oil-holder and the smoke and heat, a brilliant light for seven hours, either continuously or during a series of irregular mtervals, amounting in the aggregate to that period, may be had, and for an hour afterwards it will emit a dim light, so that ample warning is given as to the condition of the accumulator. . After a wet ride (says The Wheelman) give your machine a rub over with a greasy rag before you go to roost. Don't leave it till the morning when the mud will be caked hard, or you 11 rub off the enamel in your endeavour to clean the machine. Besides, by giving' your mount nye minutes' attention at once you always have it clean and ready for use. Swill out the bearings frequently with paraffin or turpentine and then oil them up again. Don't grudge an occasional shilling or two to have the bearings and wheels overhauled by a skilled mechanic. A broken ball, a loose cup or spoke may escape you attention, but it {will bring you to grief sooner or later, and perhaps run you up a big bill for repairs. Don't be afraid of smearing the hubs with vaseline if you indulge in winter riding. Its an easy matter to get your cranks and handlebar replated in the spring, but to replate the hubs means pulling apart the wheels and then re-building them, and the repairer won't do this for love. See that your bearings are kept nicely adjusted ; a bearing too loose is almost as bad as one too tight— both ruin the machine. Some riders are particularly careless about this, and ride their machines till the wheels nearly drop out. Learn to do little jobs yourself. Every rider ought to be able to tighten up his bearings, but a great many don t. I know one man who has been riding an ordinary for close on eight years and he cannot tighten up his back wheel when it wears loose !