. KOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 37

. KOTES BY DEMON.

—— Over 30 members of the Danedin Cycling Club turned out on Saturday afternoon to the- club's final run of the season. Before leaving town the oyclists were photographed by Messrs W. Melville and E. Boot; then most of the riders went as far as the top of Saddle Hill, an early return being necsssary in order to be home in time to attend She smoke concert arranged to mark the close of club runs for the 1895-6 season.

The Dunedin Cycling Club held a social concert in the Orchestral Society's Hall on Saturday evening in order to inaugurate the closing of a most successful season. Dr Roberts, the president of the club, occupied the chair, supported by Messrs Qrierson, Qreenslade, and Blelvilla (vice-presidents), and there was a large Attendance of members, the hall being comfort- , »bly filled. The President, in a few well-chosen remarks, referred to the splendid position the dab bad always held and still continued to hold, and mentioned that it was now in a stronger position than ever both is regards membership and finances. The balance sheet of the annual sports meeting, which had that day been prepared, showed a credit balance of £63 ; whilst the billiard table, which had been placed in the zoom at a cost of £75, was already cleared off. During the evening refreshments were constantly handed round, and the Venetian Btring Band, under. Mr Baker, played several Selections. Mr - Barrett gave two teleotious oa the violin, aud Mr Austing two flute solos. Messrs Wallace and Eyre gave recitations, and the following members rendered songs : — Messrs A. G. Melville, H. Clatworbhy, G. M'Mfflan, T. *M.' Stewart, S. Minn, G. Watson, and B. Falek. ° Mr Hutton made an efficient accompanist. The concert broke up at 11 p.m. after passing a hearty vote of thanks to Dr Roberts for presiding and to the gentlemen who lent their services to make the concert the success it teas. N

The Otago Cycling Club hold a datce on Friday evening, 15th prox., and a fortnight later a smoke concert will be held at th? club's rooms in the Octagon. — — Some 38 entries have been received for the billiard toursaameat promoted by the Dunedin Cycling Club. Attempts ab record breaking have beea very frequent of late. (J. Moore nad L. B«r- ; clay, of the O.C C, have made repeated I attempts at lowering the Heuley record, bub itwas not till SaturJ&y afternoon that success crowted the efforts of one of tbese riders. Thursday. saw both of them«» route for Henley, but Moore, owing to want of pace-makers I and meeting with obstructions on the road, had ■ j to content himself wibh doiag the dis-auce in j ' lhr 9Jraiu ; while Barclay, who started behind I Moore, took lhr llnain. On .Friday evening ! Barclay made another attempt, but owing to rain coming on about Mosgiel had to abandon all idea of accomplishing the record. At five minutes past 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon 1 G. Moore left the Post Offics, and L Barclay j left one minute after. This time Barclay's efforts were crowoed with success, and catching Moore at Owhiro he landed ab Henley a wheel's length in front of Moore, ssec under 'M'Kenz'e's record of Lhr3min 20iec. B*rclay, on lowering this record, has again proved himself to be a road rider of excellent order, and his reason to be not a little proud of lowering a record th»t vai when it was created — and, in fact, up till, recently — considered to be unbreakable ; while Moore, by his repeated efforts and near finishes to the record time, has shown I good riding aud a pc rsevermce that is deserving of succtss. Mr L. Barclay, of the Otago CycliogClub, succeeded on the 22nd in lowering the record from Oamaru to Dunedin. Leaving o*maru at 7.11 a.m , without pacemakers, he experienced adverse winds, and arrived in town, comparatively fresh, at 12hr 52rain 40seo p.m , doing the distance — 78 miles — in the fast time of sbr 41min 40seo. The previous best time was that oi Mr Dalgleiabtauh amateur)— viaM. Ebx

44min — the fastest amateur time (held by Mr Begg) being 6hr lmin. Mr Barclay rode a Speedwell machine, neighing 221b. *

Barclay's time was not allowed to stand long. On Saturday morning A. Dalgleish, of Oasanru, mx.de an onslaughfon the record, and succeeded in lowering it by 20 minutes. He left at 7.10, and notwithbtanding a spill and injury to his shoulder at Palmeraton and the bad condition of the roads, reached Dunedin at 12.31, thus doing fbe distance in shr 21min — & sterling performance. L. Barclay in all His record attempts rides a Speedwell machine.

"Philjbuster," in theAu3lral.<stao, 6*ys : j "Ken. Lewis is earniDg a reputation as the { strongest and speediest handicap rider we have ! — in fact, when Fanons goes to EDgland, Ken Lewis, Don Walker, and Pither will be the top trio, and for »11-rt>und work there is no more difference between the three than there .is be-^' tween three peas.", Writing iv the New Zealand Mail a i-hort accouut of her ride through Otago, Miss Alice Mitchell, after describing the country travelled, through and the experiences of herself and her sister, says :— " When we left; Gore my sister' weighed Bst 3ib, my ireighb being 7et 3lb ; when we ralmned my Bteter weighed^ Btt 61b and I weighed 7st £lb. Thus my sister gained 31b and I lost 2£lb. Our machines were the ones we rode la»t year ; they are fitted with outhion tyres, and weigh 451b and 461b respectively. My sister's luggage weighed 31b and mine 131b. We were aw*y four weeks all but two da} », and it cost £3 4» 5d for Ihe two of us. I do nob think this is at all out of the way."

La»b Thursday afternoon, at Lancaster Park, J. O. Shorland established New Zealand records for SO and 100 mil's. For the former distance the time was 2hr 14min 40sec, whilst the latter was ridden in the excellent time of 4h 39min 51««o, which beats the Australasian record made by Turner, of Melbonrne, on the Queen's Birthday last by over 55min. Shorland finisled fresh, riding the 100 th mile in 2min 39.)ec. He was paced by a tandem.

Wally Kerr has informed " Wheeler " in the By dney Referee that hehasnotyeb received the open orders for the events he won at the Pioaet r and R*,ngior» sports when in New Zealand, competing in the championships last January. The secretary of the Cyclists' Alliance has been written to, but no eatf faction has been obtained. Surely there is some misunderstanding here ?

The Baroes Cycle Company of New York are building a double-quintuplet, a machine fo be manned by 10 riders. It ba? been nicknamed "The Barnes Space AuDihilator." One of Ihe features of this extraordinary machine will lie the chain, to consist of four ordinary chains side by side, put together with long rivets, making it practically a link belt. The " double-quiut " will, it is r^lcuUhid, attain a speed of one mile in iOseo.

Twenty members of the Invercargill Cycling Club have guaranteed £1 each towards the expense* of new flub rooms. It is proposed to pay off the expenses by a series of concerts to be given ia the new rooms.

An attempt is being made in France to Bubititute for the ohiin a belt of thin fl-xible metal ribbon. The ribbon is punched at intervals to admit the teeth of the sprocket, which are placed f»rbber apart than usun.l, no »s to make uso of, as much as possible, the natural frictiou»l bold of the belt to the wheel. The advantages claimed over the chain are lightness, freedom from the friction necessarily attendant on the jointed chain, freedom from dirt, a perfect grip on the sprockets, and a reduction of the number of sprocket tooth, with a coGßtquent reduction of friction. — — One of the latest enthusiasts among the devotees of th« bicycle is the Crown Princess Stefunie of Austria. She has begun to take lessons, and proposes to ride on a bicycle through a part of England next spring. The ,Oown Princess is the widow of Prince Rudolph. The Marquis of Queensberry and Mr C. B. Lawea, a famous sculptor, had a 10-mile race on an English road recently, the Marquis waning by nearly 2enin in 35min 4lseo. Both gentlemen were notable athletes in their young days. Mr Lawes stroked the Cambridge boat in '65, and Lord Queensberry has chiefly distinguished himself with gloves and across country.

Mr Sturmey (writes C. H. Lirrette, in the Athletic News) speaks in very high terms of the self-settling air chamber, and says that while he hes eujoyed an immunity from punctures, he has not found that the uje slowed the ranch me to any perceptible extent. I did, or thought I did, when I tried a pair of tubes inside a pair of very light tyrea, but for all that, were I about to take an extended tour, I should use one in my driving wheel at any rate. The self-sealers are now fitted with the Lucas valve, which, in my opinion, is the best in the market.

— — In Paris oyoiing is becoming a bigger craze than ever, which proves that this form of amusement is something more than a fad. French winters are usually so severe as to make bicycling unpleasant in fair weather, and, of course, impossible in wet. To overcome this difficulty an euterprising Parisian firm has constructed a spiral track within an immense building, designated the Palais-Sporb. Picture to yourself a great tb.es.tre without scat* o* stalls, and the various galleries connecting one with auother by » uniform and gr»dua.l a*cenfc, which gives the bicyclist an agreeable promenade of 1100 yds, and you have the arrangement oE this novel track. The place is illuminated with elecbrioity, and in the centre is a reserved track where instructions in the wheeling art are given to the uninitiated. To guard against collisions the spiral track is separated into two portions of equal width, by an endless strip of wood. No riders are allowed on the track till they have conpteto control over the machines. Of after*

noons and evenings a band discouises music, and refreshments are provided. The PalaisSporb is the popular resort for fashionable and* aristocratic cyclists of) boch sexes. C. H. Larrette writes as follows in the Athletic News of the Simpson lever chain :— " Ab length I have had an opportunity of trying a machine fitted with a Simpson. chain under' normal conditions. The mscbine, one of the handsomest specimor.B of a BetAton Humber I have ever mounted, is geared to 66£, and with mad guards, brake, lamp, a big bell (I like big bells), scales just 321b. It oancob therefore be termed a feather-weight, like some firms send •ufc to get notices from friendly numbers of the fourth estate. The weather conditions since I have had the machine have not been altogether favourable for cycling. Mud and sludge have prevailed almost everywhere, and have pat all chance of speed work out of the question. I have ridden the thing twice to Riplej and back, and on one or tiro shorter journeyt, and all I can say is that I have never bten on a maohine on which I can travel uphill against the wind or through the mud with greater ease. Some credit mnflt, of course, b« given to the machine to which it is fitted, and if no advantage is gained from the use of tbe lever ohain then that Bees ton must be at leash from one to two miles* an hour faster,' and in a corresponding degree easier to drive, than any miehioe I have ever been on before, and I don't think I am in the habit of riding crocks. It is the uphill work which has pl««sed me so much. A gre&t motor cycle race will take place in France next June. The course will be from Paris to Marseilles and b&ck, a distance of 1652 kilometres (1C26 miles). Travelling by night will not be allowed. The motor cycles will be divided into two classes, those carrying two to four persons in the first olass, and these for six or more in the seoond.

The world's three-quarter mile record, paced, with standing start, is held by Herbert M'Crea, of Los Angates, the time being lmin 22£s<!0. Chatlee Wells has cot out the distance with a fifing start in ltniu 18.iec. B.'cycling has rissn to auch favour at Vaesar College (the Girton of Amerioa) ' this year that the halls of the entire lower floor of the main building are flanked with bicycle racks. -Most of the professors, as well as the students, ride.

The bicycle built For three has been quite the r*ge in Paris for some time, judging irom thejiuimber seen in the Bois. One of the reasons for this, so it is said, is that when merely the man and wife go out together on a tandem they weary of one another, bat on a wheel that carries three a friend o»n go also, and that, acoordicg to the Gallic way of thinking, makes it pleas&uter all round.

Mr R. L. Jefferson,_ the English bicyclist, who has already made too great cycling* tours on the Continent — in 1894 to Constantinople, and last year to Moscow a»d bac 1 : — is about to engage on even a more novel and probably adventurous expedition. On March 21 Mr Jeffcruou will leave London with the intention of cycling all the way (tha Channel, of course, exoepted) to Central Siberia, hi* propoied destination being Irkutsk, tbe capital of Asiatic Rucsia, so far an unexplored field for the oyclist. Tbe route is Harwich, Rotterdam (by steamer), Amtterd»m, and North HolUnd to Bremen and Hamburg, Dantzig, Konig<tburg, R'g», and St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nijni-Novgorod, Kfcsau, and Perm. Here he will cr»ss the Ural Mountains and enter Siberia, making for Ekaterinburg, Tinmen, Omsk, Tomsk, and Kmsnoiarsk to Irkutsk, where his tour will fliiiih. The distance all told is a little over 6COO miles, and M* Jefferson, hopes to complete his ride inside four oe five months, avoiding theintent* heat; which characterises the Siberi*n summer. ' . A Napier telegram' stateu that B. Wakeman, of Wellington, brcki; FabWsoycling record from Wellington to Napier. He left the former city nt 10 p.m., reaching there at 7 2 p m. on Saturday, tilting 2 lhr 2min to accomplish the journey, against 22hr 40min done by Fabian. A SONG OF TBE SCORCHING CYCLIST. Ho tumbled from his wftary wheel, And act it by tbe door ; Then stood as though he joyed to feel His feet on earth once more. And as ha mopped his rumpled head His face was wreathed in smiles. "A vary pretty run," he said ; " I did a hundred miles 1" "A hundred miles I " I cried. " Ah, think 1 What beauties you have seen ! The reedy streitna where cattle drink, ■ The meadow.) rich and green. Where did you wend your rapid wayThrough lofty woodland aisles?" He shook his head. " I cannot say ; I did a hundred miles I " "What hamlets saw your swift tyres spin ? Ah, how I envy you 1 To Io8« the city's dust and din, Beneath the heaven's blue ; To get a breath of country air ; To lean o'er rustic stiles ! " He only said : "The road* are fair J I did a hundred miles 1 " — Answeia.