NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2203, 21 May 1896, Page 37

NOTES BY DEMON.

There has been a decided improvement in the weather of late, and cycling about town is again possible. Saturday was fine, acd a good day for cycling, but Sunday was— well, perfection. In every respect the cyclist liad c*u*e to rejoice, for there was everything that makes cycling enjoyable to be found while out in the country. The day was ideal, the roads excelleut, and not a breafchof wind stirring, so that there is little wonder that those few vho wenh out for a short spin were charmed with their outing. „ Next Saturday afternoon a number of members ot the Dunedin Cycling Club leave town with the intention of riding to Lawre^ca and back. This idea of a winter tun h a novelty in Dunedin, and if the weather only holds up till after the Monday evening there ahouid be a merry party and an enjoyable run. Yet another cycling cinb hss been formed in Donedin. Last week taw the birth of the University Bicycling Club, having for its first president Dr Parker, now an expert rider. The teaching staff of the college were elected vicepresidents, Messrs J. A. M'Phee and J. White captain and deputy-oaptain respectively, Mr H. Black honorary secretary and treasurer, and Messrs J. Howlieoo, W. D. Stewart, A. E. A. Palmer, and C. Chamberlain members of committee. The usnal monthly committee meeting or the Dunedin Cycling Club, held on the 12tb, was attended by Mesuvj W. Helviile (in the s chair), Boot, Sullivan, Minn, M'Kechnie, Speight, and Crow (hon. sec). Several letters were dealt with, including one from the Dresden Copipany intimating that it was their intention to donate a very handsome trophy for competition amongst, the cyclists of Danedin. Me«srs Speight acd Crow were appointed to tonfer with tha O.C.C. in order to decide upon |We most Bttifcable way of competing' for this %tophy. As the dab was now wiumiog such

large dimensions the iecret»ry was instructed to immediately see about having it registered under the Unclassified Societies' Act in order to give it a legal sta'us. It was resolved to donate trophies to the value of £3 3s to the winner and runner-up in the billiard tournament at present beipg played in the clubroome. A club run on a large iicale expending over two and a-haU d*ys will set out on the 23rd for Lawrence. Messrs Moodie find M'ludoe were elected active riding membsrs.

At LancA«t9r Park on Satarday afternoon Mr Hurry Thompson succeeded in lowering the five-mile record recently put up by Mr J. O. Shot-land, who did the distance in llmia 55sec. Mr Thompoon'g time was llmin 45aec, which is 9sec under the New Zealand record time. He was paced by two tandems, ridden by Messrs Frai.klin and Casbolb and Messrs Ritchie and Alexander. The timekeepers were Messrs C. H. Jonse, F. Denby, and H. Goodwin. Mr Thompson will endeavour to lower the tea-mile record on Thursday afternoon at the same piece.

The Otago Cycling Club held the firtt of their winter socials at St. Paul's Schoolroom on Friday evening last. A smoke concert is to be held at the clubroom on the 27th inst.

Excitement over the Dunedin Cycling Club's billiard tournament is running high, and by the end of this week all tha games will be at an end and the winner declared. As a means to keep up an active interest in the club the billiard tournament has been a decided success, and members of the Otago Club may reasonably look forward to an increased attendance when the contemplated tournament among thfcit own clubmen is in full swing.

I had a chab to-day with R. M'Kenzie, now of Invercar.gilL Mr M'Ketizte informs me that he rodo up from Invercargill, and f < uad the roads good on the whole. The Dunedin CycliDg Club meet the Duuedin Amateur Boating Club at a whist and cribbitge tournament ou Wednesday evening, June 3. -5— Xho ChtiotohuroU Press culls attention

to the practice, which is now becoming common, of oyclisba riding through tho streets of the City of the Plaiuo at top speed without having their lamps lighted. Several narrow escapes by pedestrians have occurred recently. Ouly % the other evening Mr S. Philips, whilst crossing in High street, was ridden down by a cyclist who hid no light and who was travelling very fast. Mr Philips was binieed and cut, and tte rider of the cycle did not come off altogether scatheless. If one or two of these reckless riders were brought up and floed pretty heavily it is more than likely a stop would be put to what might result iv eerioui injury.

Some weeks ago W. Ktrr told the cycling editor of the Sydney Referee* that " he had not received his trophies won at the Pioneer Bicycle Club sports." I copied the remark in my notes, and then expressed an opinion that there whs evidently a mistake somewhere. Last week Mr Hayward, the hon. seo. to the Pioneer Club, had an explanation in the Now Zealand Referee, and in justioa to tho club I reproduce it : — " On behalf of my club, allow me to state that our cheque for Mr Ken's winnings was placed in the bands of the secretary of theN.Z. AUiance, for transmission to the secretary of the N.S.W. Union, on January 21, and was duly sent to Australia early in February ; therefore if Mr Kerr baa nob yet received bis order the fault lies with the New South Wales Uoicn."

• I have before me a copy of the Sunday World, a Nt-w York paptr, to which A. A. Zimmerman is attached as cycling editor. A whole page, headed " The Sunday World's Bicycle Paga— Champion A. A. Zimmerman, editor," io devoted to cycling, and, judging from the number of queries answered, Zimmerman must bave his time pretty well occupied in attending to the wants of his correspondent 1 !.

The Newcastle Daily Chronicle, after reviewing the Cyclist Year Book, winds up with the following: — "The advertisements contain specifications of more tbii>g4 thr.n are dreamt of in most people's ' viloci-phy."'

Pareons received before leaving Mel* bourne a cheque for £273 10-«, representing the net profit of the benefit meeting recently tendered him, and a cheque for £130, being the first instalment of the shilling testimonial. Megsou and Lewis, who leave from Sydney, receive about £150 each as the result of a benefit race meeting.

The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour appanred in the Hou3e ot Commons on March 25 with his arm in a sling caused through colliding with a carriage suddenly slewed round in the road.

A new bicycle brake, whioh also acts as an alarm, has been turned out by an American maker. It is known as the*bicycle locust, as it makes a noise similar to that produced by these herbage devastators. The break acts on the back wheel. Another invention for alarmipg < the tardy pedestrian is an ingenious contrivance It consitts of a cylinder attached to the foot of the brake, under which is a email disc, which when pressed on the tyre of a moving T?heel pumps air into the whistle tube, and causes a continuous whistle so long as the bicycle is kept moving. °The idea might be safely commended to municipal councillors, as so long as the brake handle is pressed a Sne noise is maintained by which prople may understand something is approaching. When the bicycle is goiojj at a fair pace the whistle humw pleasantly, but when the " scorcher " settles down to vsork and prespes the cylinder the instrument emits a continuous screech that attracts attention two blocks avtay, and causes the half -deaf old dame. with the b&sket of eggs to ponder and listen b afore she steps out on to the roadway with her belongings. — Exchange. TLe English Cjcle Tourists' Club is a remarkable institution. The aj.plicauta for membership last month totalled no fewer than 1726, as against 301 for March 1895. Members are granted certain hotel concessions when touring, but this is only one of the many advantages they g*in. The club's reserve fund has reached £3600, and last year's revenue was £3326. From America comes the informationthat on 3rd March atCoronado Beach, California, W. W. Hamilton, paced by a quad »nd a quint, cut the world's record for one mile, flying start, to lmin 39£-iec. The Chinese Cycling Championship of Victoii* was contested in connection with the Easter Fair sport". It was won by Ah Ge&p, with Ah Leoi g second and Lira Yon third. — Exchange. The latest freak of society riders in London is n decided preference for machines of rainbow coloura. Recently a canary-coloured machine, with mauve wheels, went up aud down Hyde Park with another with a ecailet frame and pale blue wheels The effect of theae particoloured machine! was far from pleasing except to the ownei'B.

A bill to prevent throwing of glass, tacks, or thorns on the roadway, which would hinder the frf c use of a cycle thereoD, has been introduced by a New York Assemblyman. "The Wheel," aratber enlightened authority, prophesies that ib will pass without opposition.

It is said that a cycle jewelled in every hole, so to speak, has just been completed at a oo3t of £100, and that another is on order for a lady which will run to £140.

A correspondent writing from Port Etizibeth to Bicycling News Bays :— " Spa&king about war, now is the lime for joa to have your Maximised tandtm tricycles out here. Tbings nre far from settled here, men are being enrolled by the hundred^ and God help the Boers when the colonial boys get at them. We do not want any Imperial troops out here, we ctn settle this little matter ourselves if the Imperial Government will only give us leave. There are 5000 colonial boya ready here and anxious for a brush. Our melto, independent firing with unerring aim. Yon ought to see a

lob o£ colonials iv a field shoofciog antelopes, then jou can see wTi»t chance the Boers will ! have. I was out with a party one day last year and headed the list with tome 25 back, all of which were shot at a raDge of from 500 yds up to 1000 yds. I also did the extraordinary feat of shooting fiVe bucks in succession when they were mailing past at Cull speed at 400 yds. You often hear people spo»k about the way the Transvaal Boer cau shoot, but they always forget that the colonial is better. The re&aon is thin : — In the Transvad thete is no game and the Boers have not the practice, whereas in the colony it is different. We have lots of game and have practice almost every day." • The question is being discussed in the English cycli&g press aa to whether cjcliug has a bad effect upon the touch of a pianisb, violinist, or other musician. Mr A. T. Mole, R A M., an ardent oyclist and aciotaplishtd violinist, Bays the pastime has no prejudicial effect upon bia touch, and several eminent pianists have expressed similar opinions. One I professor feared that if the exercise were indulged in to excess ib would harmfully affect a pianist's hands. A rcheine is on foot to oonneat Chicago and Peoria by a cinder ptth for cyclists. The distance is 165 miles. It is proposed to rfti^c come of the funds required (£10,000) by gate money at the finish of a, big road race. There are 200,000 wheelmm in the State the road will pass through, and tho benefit to them from such a rath will be great. • A Home paper devotf d to the interests of cycling La* the following :—": — " One fine morning la»t week over 3SO lady cyolist-) were seen to enter Hyde Park in the course of twenty minutes." The Sultan of Morocco uees bicycles as instruments of torture for any of the ladies of his harem who happen to offend him. They are compelled to mount bicycles, which they cannot ride, and consequently tall off eonftautly, to the endless amusement of the Sultan aud bis more favoured wives, and gent-rally rttire severely bruised. The Touring Club of Frauce recently offered a medal for the best definition of a bicycle. The medal was won by Baudry -de Sunnier, w.hose definition is, as follows :— •" The bicycle is an instrument of locomotion operated by man, and intended to accelerate his speed." Some wonderful statistics ara published in connection with the cycle trade in Covetiti y. There' are 95 factories, which give employment to 15,000 operatives, of which 5000 are gkls. £1,000,000 is paid awayjuinually in wage*. The gross output of Coventry is between 250,000 and 300,000 machines every year, the forger factories turning out from 400 to 500 per week. I £2,000,000 of raw material is imported per | annum, and the population has increased 20,000 j in the last 20 years. | An English amateur cyolist may compete with professionals in cricket, fojtbal!, goalball baseball, handball, tonnia, lawn tennis, racquets, buxiug, golf, and shooting, but not in oycling. Every cycle ball is gauged to the 2000 th part of an inch. A well-known medico, in answer to the query Who should ride ? say* : " The active, for rest ; the tedoutary for exercise ; the well, to keep so ; the invalid, to regain health." They were lying on the deck of a small yacht off Brighton, watching the foam as it drifted aatern. " funny things, yachts and cycle?," remarked one, lazily puffing hia cigarette. "How so?" inquired his companion. •' Why, a yaoht holds the wiud when she goes on a tack, whereas 'a cycle loses it ! " returned the other, aud the silence became 'so dense you I could have heard a whale cough. | A conference of the metroplitan and | suburban councils, convened at the iiie.ta.noe of | St. Kildn, was held at Melbourne on April 23 to consider the propriety of adopting uniform regulations for,the control of bicycle traffic The cyclists' unions were repres* nted tt ot ent by Professor Kernot, Mr Fiuk, M.L.A., McPiiMni, and Mr (Jarntt. Among other proposal^ the following were agreed to :—: — Hiding on footpaths strictly forbidden. Every bicyclist shall carry a light between half au hour afser sunset an-3 sunribe. Each eye'ist bhall carry a bell, whistle, or horn, and the bell shall be sounded on parsing a horse or vehicle. The speed of cyclists when passing street corners to be reduced. ~<» The municipalities jnish to impose a speed of eight miles an hour when fanning through boroughs and .of four m'les when crossing streets, but at the request of cyclist representatives the figures were left out, it beiug pointed out that it was impossible to by down a hard, and fast rule. The following proposed by-law • provoked a great deal of discussion :— " No person using a bicycle, or having charge thereof, shall leave the name at any oae time_ in or on any street so a3 to become an obstruction, and every pert>ou Bhall remove hia bicycl* immediately upon being requested by a constable or ■ other authotiesed official-— but was eventually withdrawn. Cyclists must dismount svhen approachiug a restive hoise. j The rule of the road must be followed. "Keep to the right on passing a horse or vehicle" also caused considerable discuasion. The cyclists urged that whtelmen should be allowed to pass to the left if necessary, but the by-law waa retained. " Not more than two people shall ride abreaßt." This also provoked much argument, and was finally struck out.