CYCLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2202, 14 May 1896, Page 36

CYCLING.

NOTES BY DEMON. ! Saturday afternoon -w»s fine — an excellent afternoon for riding. There was * sharpnets about the atsaosphere that made riding enjoyable, and thtsa who went beyond Saddle Hill tpenkiu glowing t«rmi of their outing. During the afternoon soms^menbers of the Otago Cycling Club rode out as far as Mosgiel. Next day a few riders, tempted by the mildness of the air and the warm glow of the sun, ventured out to different placet on the south road, and report the outing excellent and the roads in good condition. Maoy and maay a time have I been out on a sharp frosty afternoon aad returned borne b«f#re dark ail the bettor for the run, and a recollf ction of the merry little parties of the good old "ordinary" day* brings me to thinking that notwithstanding the enormous increase of riders of the present day the winter riders of By earliest cycling days were stronger than those of to-dfey. There is a peculiar charm about riding along a good b&rd road, and then the good fellowship brought out round the glowIng fire after tfee day's ride is doae is a thing to look forward to, and this item of my cycling trips during the winter i*, I can-arsure my readers, not the least pleasant of my recollections, the most of them in no small degree pleasing. I feel sure that winter riding once indulged in tinder due precautions as ts clothing and attention to details regarding the bioycle and fittings will be followed up by not a few riders, to their enjoyment and physical comfort. Mr R. Crow, secretary of the Dunedin Cycling Club, ii arranging for a club run to Lawrence, a start to be made en Saturday afternoon, 23rd init., returning to town on Monday, 25th inst. — — A. A:< Zimmerman, the world* champion, has become cycling editor of the New STork World. — — There ii a large boom fn cycles in Great Britain just now, »nd Sir W. Melville, •f Gtorge afcreet, inform* me tfa»t Wi l*t«sfc Ad-

vices from the manufacturers of the Rov«r cycles s*y that there is the greatest difficulty in meeting the demands of riders, and that the output this season will bo a long way ahead of last season's output, which was itself a big advance of that of the previous yoar. — — The Vincent Cycling Club and tho Alexandra Footb*ll Club hold an athletic carnival at Alexandra on Monday, 25th mat. Mr J. D. Buchanaa has forwarded mo a copy of the programme, which include* four bicycle races. Good entries have been received for the events. There are 61 entries, and this large number is an indication of how cycling has taken a hold in the goldfields district. This meeting, rather l&te in the season, it arranged for the purpose of acquiring a fund to be worked upon at a b<g meeting to be held early next leatoß, when inducements are to ba held out to Dunedin and down country riders to attend. A recent issue of Bsorings gives illustrations of a new combination bicyole alarm and roller brake, which has just been brought out by the Jvhnson Novelty Company, of Indianapolis. The brake is hinged to the bicyole frame over the reur wheel, so that when the roller is first brought into contact with the tyre the natural tendency is for the roller to follow the direction of tho wheel, thus being partially automatic in its action, and the pressure increasing as the roll«r 1b drawn forward. The pressure may be increaied to any desired extent, and the effect on the tyre is not in the least harmful, all the friction teking place in the roller bearings of the spool. The spool is of rubber with metal flanges, which have Pirated edges that act upon a steel spring flab when it is desired to use the brake as a combined alarm. One of the largest bicycle sundry manufacturers in England has cloned a contract for its production. — - An enterprising oyolemaker in Paris proposes to establish * oycle express company, there. Parcels intrusted to this company will be delivered immediately,' per oycle, instead of lying for hours in the office, »■ often happen* in < he ordinary expreis 'eervioe.

— — An Bnglish contemporary give? the followißg as the world's records tor an hour's riding : —

Ati Amedcan tounat recently sent his bicycle from London to Puris by parcel post, and received it in perfect order. The bicycle was pertly disneouotsd and weighed just 20ib. TThe cost vra^ lees than half a crown. GBMS FHOM "WHEEL TALK. Bloomero that have not been delivered according lo promise m»y ba termed brteofae* of promiae. A single fact in an advertisement is worth more than a colnenn of generalities. A good wheel, and the proper ufio thereof, is the root of health and happiisess. Verily a nan May do whatsoever he ehooseth with his own ; yet even his own bicyole may bring him to grief and spread him in the gutter of a muddy rotd. A bicycle conetiuctor may be regarded as a designing inau. Better an aucient bicycle, though wide the tread and narrow the tyre thereof, than a warped diaghtsgra and a footman in livery. "Jhe tramp and the mile a mutate bicyole resemble each other in so much that neither will work. Verily, jt is good and pleasant to cycle together iv unity. Th« club xun. lingers long in the memory of the whsfclman whose tyre and upturned tsck cr.rne together without warning. A tool bsg is a f.m-^ll affsir, but it couuts big when aa accident c Ji'ja to the wheelman. Soon the flret to be in penes, first in war, and first in the hearts of ou? ooiintryni'n-the bicycle. Invocfciug in a poor wheel is like furnishing the m.^ney for an uocorfcain buancsa venture; you soon have the experience, bub your money is gone. A wheel will teach more of Nature's philosophy in one season than a dozon college professors.

fo. Country. > Kider I I Distance. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 England Franco Belgium America Germany Italy Austria AfricA Pentnork Switzerland ... Russia Spain Holland Australia I Stocks Bonhours Michael Titus Michael Fischer Haderer Greuthead ... ILingen Portier Pureseff Lacasa Witteveen ... Caipenter Mlg. yds. 29 45 23 1508 27 480 28 16W 2i 1547 26 752 26 5J4 2.j 36 25 1039 25 98S 24 1510 24 1396 24 827