NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2201, 7 May 1896, Page 37

NOTES BY DEMON.

The roads for the p&tt few days have been ia an uninviting state for cycling, and there is a consequent dearth of local cewp. The numbers of the Miuriro Cycling Club held a social at St. Paul's SohooJrcom on Friday tvening, and the function passed off very pleasantly. The ladies worked earnestly to make thin their firat social evening a Buccees, and their eft'octs were amply rewarded. Daring the evening songs were given by Mibs Anderson »nd Messrs A. Dey and A. Gr. Mtlville. Mifis L. M'Diarmid, of Woodside, is malting a bicycle tour of the southern p&rt of Otago. Already she has ridden over a good deal of the country, and is at the present time in the vicinity of Invercargill. On Friday afternoon, at Lancaster Park, Mr J. O. Shorland, of the Pioneer Bicycle Clab, succeeded in lowering the five-mile, ten-mile, and twenty-five-mtle bicycle records of Ne* Zealand. The weather was perfect. Shorlaud accomplished five miles in llmin 553 ec, which is 10§*ee better that the previous record held by J. W Jone*. Going onj he finished 10 miles iv 24min lsec, beating the previous record held by S. M'Donald' (Dunedin) by 2min 18§«ec. Without dismounting he completed the 25 miles in lhr 40*ee, which is over stnin better than the previous New Zealand record held by himself, and 2min 20dec facter than ,the Australasian record held by.J. W Parson*, of Melbourne. The same afternoon C H Jones and F. Q. Simpson rodo a^quartsr of a'mile ou a tandem from'a flying stait in 27« ec, which establishes a . New Zealand record; • Mr G. W. Burston, Australia's touring 1 cyclist, is leaving Melbourne shortly for another cycle tour. He is due, in London on May 26, and has received word that he bas been elected by the London cyclists to be president of the Harrogate camp, which thousands of oyclista aW«nd »Dnually on Augutb 1. Mr Barston Sides flume 1 * <E**?l»n* *s#-SB&fckn"L JEmaca

and Spain, and returns to Melbourne in November in time to see the next Austral Wheel Race. J. Michael, •• the Wtl^h wonder," rode a 1201n gear machine when he did seTcn miles in 12min 49sec, every mile being under European record, and the full distance a world's record Michael is about 17 years of «ge, and weighs a little over Bsfc. Count Magre, the little man who married Tom Thumb's widow, and who is 30in high, has just ordered a bicycle for his own use (says the Era). It is to cost 60g«, though it will be the smallest bike on record. The dimensions include a 14 in wheel and % 12 in frame, and the weight is not to exceed , 101b. His wife, who still retains the name of Mrs Tom Thumb, pays for it, and shows indications of being herself tempted to indulge in the universal craze for wheeling. She still drives about in the tiny 'carriage drawn by Shetland ponies given her by Queen Victoria. The little lady is now 55 years old, and her Italian husband 13 47. They live in Indiana (U.S.A.). In a review of a little work entitled "Pleasure Cycling," issued by tho Coventry Machinists' Company, the Bicyclitjg News quotes the following ac an expression of the peculiar chirm and' abandon of cycling, and it ieoniß too good to be lost, so I place it before my readers, confident of a just appreciation and 1 a ready sympathy of the, writer's happy effort : — "When mm and machine are one, and the art of balancing on the bicycle hag so far developed from the acrobatic r.tage as to become completely automatic, »nd as little thought of as the act of poising the body on foot whon ' walking, the sensation is Indescribable. It , would, one mnsb imagine, be ju»t » trifle more ; delightful to fly with wings, free from all con- . siderations of road and space, bat to roll rapidly along on easily-revolving wheels is the 1 nearest . attainment to birdlike motion yet < awhile dnvisad. The enjoyment of mere move1 ment for its own sake, the appreciation in one's 1 self of all that is meant by the poetry of motion, 1 (hat cornea tium^tib. urety exp*ri-

enqe of a fast tun, appeal most to the strongest riders. They do not only re-jcice to run a race, but revel in the mastery over wind and weather, and exult in the victory over hills and heavy roads, and even glo*t over their, experiences in rain and snow. When fitniled at for having exceptional notion! of etjoyment, they can be sufficiently satisfied that they are pleased ; and that in the sum of the whole nifctter." The Irioh Cyclist givps some valuable advice to those who can afford the luruty of a couple of machines. Have one a substantial and k< It-protected light roadster, and the other a speed instrument — a fair weather machine, f.s a mutter of fact. Our, all on, nhoul<i scale for a 10*t rider about 321b or 331b, and be gored under 60 ; while the other should be without mud-guards or other impediments barzing a gear case, and could be geared 66 or so. Blow your tyres harder than usual wh*n there is any mud about ; it makes a wonderful difference to the stability of tbe machine. H. B. M'Crea, the gritty little Californian, is (reports Bearing') , sharing with Wells the' glory of having broken a world's record Whilenot in the bast of health, which mak< s his ride all the more remarkable, he succeeded in lowering the tbreequaiter-nnle standing start record to lmin 22§sec, and next moriiog cut. the record of lmin 50^-iec fur the standing start mile to lmin 49§ueo. He waa paced by two qmds. According to a writer in Pearson's Mtga- | zinc, tho bicycle is found by artists unsusceptible of satisfactory artistic treatment, and pointers have hitherto avoided the flying wheel. A bicycle by itself is not ungiaceful, but the moment you perch men aud women atop, with their knees going up and down in a graceless nifchtriical movement, the bioyole become i a desperate tfeing for a painter to have to introduce in his composition. A correspondent of the pa me magazine says that in the little church at Stoke Fogis there is a stained glaxs window, said to date about & century back, in which is 1 represented a man riding a bicycle, while a crowd of spectators look on with awesome iuleresfc On Friday last (says the Cyclist of March 11) Mr A. C Ntsbitt, captain of the Oxford University B'Cjcle Club, who, like many another good man, has baen moved by the Simp-on times, thought be would see wh*t he could do uurier similar conditions with a. plain chain, so he tried a iaesirared mile out-ide Oxford with a slope of lin 298 Therefore it will be ssen that in the mile he only dropped 18f b. He rode a 211b machine, with a block chain and Dunlop path-racißg tyres. There was a northwesterly gale blowing right on his back, and he found his 84in gt-ar really too low for the parpose, as he t>ays it was almost; like riding a 50in ordinary in the old days. He w»s clocked by Mese>ra A. E Jolliffe, of Corpus Christi, and C. Cannon, of Trinity. Both these gentlemen have had considerable experienc* of racing and' L- < ;..... J J _._»;j. J -1 " I. _

According to a writer in Pearson's Magazine, tho bicycle is found by artists unsusceptible of satisfactory artistic treatment, and pointers have hitherto avoided the flying wheel. A bicycle by itself is not ungiaceful, but the moment you perch men aud women atop, with their knees going up and down in a graceless nifchtriical movement, the bioyole become i a desperate tfeing for a painter to have to introduce in his composition. A correspondent of the pa me magazine says that in the little church at Stoke Fogis there is a stained glaxs window, said to date about & century back, in which is represented a man riding a bicycle, while a crowd of spectators look on with awesome iuleresfc

On Friday last (says the Cyclist of March 11) Mr A. C Ntsbitt, captain of the Oxford University B'Cjcle Club, who, like many another good man, has baen moved by the Simp-on times, thought be would see wh*t he could do uurier similar conditions with a. plain chain, so he tried a iaesirared mile out-ide Oxford with a slope of lin 298 Therefore it will be ssen that in the mile he only dropped 18f b. He rode a 211b machine, with a block chain and Dunlop path-racißg tyres. There was a northwesterly gale blowing right on his back, and he found his 84in gt-ar really too low for the parpose, as he t>ays it was almost; like riding a 50in ordinary in the old days. He w»s clocked by Mese>ra A. E Jolliffe, of Corpus Christi, and C. Cannon, of Trinity. Both these gentlemen have had considerable experienc* of racing and' timekeeping, and used split-second chon- graphs msde by Rowell and Co., of Oxford. Th«*e two watches were stwted together, and there were two a3*istaut timekeepers at each end of the mile, which was covered in lmin 253 ssfc. The ride was unde.itnktn entirely as au experiment by Mr Nesbitt, who wished to demonstrate for his own satisfaction that what was done on the Simpson chain could be bettered on a plain one, and we are able to say that the makers of his machine (J K. Starley and Co., Limited) knew absolutely nothing about the matter till after it had been accomplished. Afterwards Mr A. E. Joll ffe, who ia by no iuchiiS of the u»me calibre as a rider as Mr Nesbitt, rode the same machine for the same mile in lmin 44 4-s»ec. This is another proof of what we have said all along — that as fast or faster times can bo made with plain chains as with complex ones. As it' is, Mr Nesbitt's time on a single is 4 3-saec better than the best tandem time yet claimed for the Einipfonifcn flying mile

Among the latest American novelties is a chronoflor.o«ooter, or combined chronometer and cyclometer, worked like a etop-Witch. The rider, without leaving his saddle, can otart a special distance hand simultaneously with a time hand and stop them again, thus enabling him to obtain for himself a record with ohronometrical accuracy of his time for a mile or for any desired fraction thereof. This instrument is felf-wiuding. Another novelty, especially suited to a warm climate, is a bicycle sunshade. This may be connected to the frame of the machine and adjusted at any inclination desired, and there are mounted at the upper end of the staff ribs and braces of peculiar construction, whereby the forward ribs may be shortened and the rear ribs lengthened, to afford a shade with rearward extension that will offer but little resistance to the wind. The cloth is effectively prevented from tearing by the operation of the bows and brace 3.

In apply iu g for a licence to race as au amateur to the National Cyclists' Union, which controls amateur racing throughout Groat Britain, the Following questions must bs satisfactorily answered before the application receives consideration : — Your name, and age last birthday ? Have you been licensed before ? If so, by which centre P What is the number of your license ? Your present employment ? Name of employer!, with address ? Hours of employment ? How many open races (approximately) did you compete in last season ? With what result? The name of the three race meetings at which ypu competed furthest from your residence ? Have you ever been called before a committee of any centre or the general committee of the N.C.U. for breach of rules ? If so, which centre or committee P For what offence or alleged offences ? With what result ? Your handicap allowance in the last three handicap races you competed ia ? Name of machine or machines you raced upon last year ? Name of tyres raced upon last year ? Name of machine you intend racing upon this year? Name of tyres yon intend racing upon this year ? What period of the day do you devote to training ? D»#oaamploj * trainer* oc are

you assisted by anyone of that calling? If so, give name and address. Doea he accompany you to the various meetings or races at which you compete ? Have you ever done any pacemaking on the road ? If co (1) for whom ? (2) for what event or events P (3) between what places P Have you ever been paid for pacemaking p If so, by whom P

An important meeting of fcV-e London Centre of the National CycFsts' Union was held early in March, and lasted five hours. The business was the election of the executive for the season, and there was keen rivalry between the supporters of the two adverse parbte&on the question of the amateur definition in cycle racing— namely, the Bide^led by Dr Turner in favour 61 what is deto'ribed as "true amateurism," and that of Mr Low and Mr Blair, who wish for practically *n inditfsrimmata mixture of amateurs and prof^siionnls in cycle races and meetings. The Low and Blair party, who were described as the *' progressive*, wete defeated. The Cyclist speaks of the victory in this way :—": — " London may be said to have saved the National Cyolisbs' Union from annihilation as the governing body of amateur cycling. The party of pu>e amateurism and honest professionalism (swept the bo*rd at the centre meeting held at the London Tavern last Thursday evening, and cycle raciug is safe for another season from the dangerous policy of mis. Whatever line the provincial centres may take on Saturday week, it is now next to impossible that Mr Low's proposals can become l»w." Wheeling, on the other hand, remarks :— " We do not think that the London Centre has any rearon to congratulate itseslf either on tho c ndact of its meeting of last Thursday or ou the outcome of it. Confusion, disorder, and heated personal feeling were its chief char&cteristici. Unworthy charges and counter-charges were freely hurled about the room, and all ideas of dignity and decenoy were thrown to the winds, even the chairman being freely jibed at almost every time he made an observation. Wo believe in men having strong feelings, and expressing them strongly if coed be, but we do not think that it will do the sport and pastime of cycling any good if the deliberations of the metropolitan centre of the National Cjclists' Union are conducted in a fashion worthy of Donny brook Fair in its palrnioit d»ys."

It is extraordinary (a London paper remarks) how the once famous Rotten Row has dropped out of popularity as a horse-riding resort. The few horsemen and horsewomen who patronise it now pursue their way unnoticed, and it is at present used mostly a» an exercise ground for horses.

Rubber is more easily cut when wet, so 'cyclists' who carry brakes should only use them on wet days when it is absolutely necessary. Many cyclists suffer from cold feet and hands in the winter. A piece of ohamois leather, cut to fib inside the shoe, is a good thing and is very comfortable. For cold hands two pairs of gloves are need«d. The inside pair of kid and the outside pair of wool. It has been asserted and authenticated by figures that 1000 pneumatic-tyred bicycles do not injure the surface of a road oue-half as much as a single carrier's waggon or farmer's dray. The pneumatic-tyred vehicle has already appeared in Sydney. A international road race, from St. Petersburg to Moscow, a distance of about 430 miles, is to take place next July.

' A venturesome French cyclist lately distinguished himself by entering a cage of lions at » circus, and whilst the trainer kept them engaged the wheelman rode round the animals, none of which nude any attempt to attack htm.

— — Some idea of the extent of the " biking" craze in France may be gained when it is stated that there are no fewer than 5000 cycling clubs in the country. Of this number 90 per cent. s,te Classed as professional organiiations.