A NOVEL CYCLING TRACK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2056, 20 July 1893, Page 34

A NOVEL CYCLING TRACK.

The Field of the 13 th May makes the following reference to a matter which will be interesting to cyclists : — " The experiment in the use of wood has been made this Bpring at the Hern Hill grounds, and so far as can be judged, from the amount of racing that has taken place upon it, the results are satisfactory. . The plan adopted here is one of some originality, and bears no resemblance whatever to wood paving or wood block flooring. The laths or battens of which the surface is composed are of pitch pine, and l£in broad. , They are fixed transversely, each one reaching from one side of the path to the other, so that no joints are introduced. These battens rest upon, and are strongly attached to, galvanised iron supports, which run the way of the course, and are placed 18in apart. «The expansion and contraction of the wood from the effects of the rain and sun have been provided for by leaving spaces between the battens, cork washers about a quarter of an inch thick being threaded on the wires that are run through the battens to add to their security. This wooden surfacing is constructed in sections, so that parts of it may be removed, if necessary, for cleaning or repairs. Bound the two semicircular bends in the path it was not found . necessary to taper the battens. They were made to radiate from a centre by the expedient of bringing the inside end close together, and increasing the intervening spaces towards the outside edge of the path. Over tJiespaceß between the underlying iron supports the wood yields appreciably to the tread, but the restitution being great, next to nothing will be lost to the rider. So far there has been no opportunity of ascertaining whether any defects will be developed in the track when it becomes-thoroughly saturated with rain ; it does not appear to have been aSected by the recent hot and sunny weather. The chief apprehension is that the tyres may lose their grip of it when it is wet, but even so, this should, we think, be easily remedied. The banking of the track remains precisely the same as before the boarded surface was fixed, as this has been practically laid upon the old track. Up to the present time tbis new wocd course has had a fair amount of ufgs>and the times made in the various competitions warrant the assumption that it will prove perceptibly faster than any of the old paths. The meeting of the Catford Club last Saturday enabled a very good test to be made of its qualities. In the dry state in which it then was, there was no sign of any slipping of the wheel?, and some of the times made on a windy day. more especially the 25min 8 l-sseo, for 10 miles, prove it to

be very fast. Upon another point the meeting in question enlightened us, viz., as to the injuries likely to be sustained by riders who fall on the wood. In the last mile "'of the 10 -' mile race the winner succeeded in gaining a lap on the rest of the field, and, following his pace- maker round one of the bends, was in the act of passing the others when he touched the hind wheel of his leader's machine and fell. The pace he was going at caused him to slide along the track for some distance at full length, but he did not appear hurt, and, quickly mounting another machine, he rode on and won by baH a lap in the abovementioned time. A further accentuation of the speed the track seems calculated to develop is afforded by the ride, on Monday evening, of R. A. Vogt, of the Glasgow Northern 0.0. This took the form of 10 miles against time, and Vogt succeeded, in spite of a fresh wind, in reducing the best recorded times from two to 10 miles inclusive. Mr J. Dring was the timekeeper, and the times were : One mile, 2min 21 3-sseo ; two, 4min 47 2-ssec; three, 7min 13 2-ssec; four, 9min 43 l-ssec ; five, 12min 11 3 ssec ; six, 14min 41 4-ssec ; seveD, 17min 12 l-ssec ; eight, 19min 40 4-ssec ; nine, 22mih 5 2'ssec; ten, 24min 34sec."