CYCLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 224, 28 May 1896, Page 37

CYCLING.

NOTES BY DEMOS. , — — • Nine members of the Dunedin Cycling Club left town on Saturday afternoon en route for Lawrence. Henley was tho stopping place for the night, and Lawrence was reached tho next day. On Mondty the return journey was made under very favourable circunistarcee, wind and weather combining to send the riders home in good spirits and well pleased with their winter run. Mr W. S. Percy, a member of the .Pollard's Op<ra Company, now in Dunedin, is an enthusiastic c> clist, and a wheel accompanies him in all his jouroeyings. Last Thursday the members of the "Wainaate Bicycle Club held a road race, the result being as follows : — C. Manchester (3£tnin) 1, H. Ferguson (smiu) 2, and C. F. Collins (l£min) 3. Before leaving Melbourne Harris, the English rider, who has been competing lately ia the large "races, w«8 piesented winh an illuminated address and a gold watch by some of his friends. It is likely that Harris will return to Victoria next season and brir*g with him other English riders. He ig well pleased with the treatment he hos reoeived, and declares the Victorians to be real «portsmen. The Czar of Russia aud tha Grand Duke George bare sent an > order to a London cj cle firm for two up-to-date bicycles. The Czu* has been an ardent cyclist for utme year?. S __ — It in reported that the Am er and teveral of thw ladies of hie baiem arc learning to cycle. . Afc tho recent New York show was a lady's cycle, jewel studdtd, silver embossed, gold and si W plated. It was a Rambler, built and exhibited by Gormully and Jeffrey. The T»lue of the.bicyclo was lOOOdol. , In Washington a lady cyclist was seen .the other day accompanied by a negro attendant, also mounted on a wheel. — - At Bnndewky, Ohio, where .tho forgo

bay is covered with ice, cyclist* oboe one whee of their bicycles with a steel band, rig up a sail and skim over the ico in a lively manner. A cyeliat covered five milos in 14 minutes before tbe wind, without touching the pedals with his feet. Cyclists from Toledo visit Sandersky to enjoy this novel and exhilarating sport. Joha JS. Johnson, tbe celebrated American rider, is a Swede by birtb, having bpeu born on May 11, 1873, et Karlitsd. He left his native country when he was fire years of age. The races which took place at the Velodrome dv Nouveau Phatere, of Athens, on March 15, were visited by the entire Royal Family, "ftevrral ambassador?, toimsterg, cousulh, and other pivmineut parsonages, in add -turn to .mimtr. m spectator*. Keeping, an Englishman, won the 10 000 metres and 33 kilometres 333 metres" events; and B*.ttel, another Englishman, was first in the 333 metres 33 and second in tho 20C0 mttres races. The King of Greece personally presented the prize*. It was at these sports that Flack, the Victorian pedestrian, was successful in winning two races. The wheels of a cycle, if properly adjasted, should spin freely and stop gradually with a rocking movement, yst ha.ye no side play. To test a wheel after adjusting, spin emartly, letting it run itself out, when the weight of the valve should stop the last almost complete revolut : on, and cause the wheel to swing backward and forward until it stops with the valve at tho bottom. Should it stop in any • other p sili'm then there is a tight place in the bf&rh-g which should b3 lo:>eened slightly to a!!.i-« il.e lialls to ra««, otherwise one may jam and bre*k. The case in which Waller, Myhre, and Co , of Chiis'churcb, sued F. F. Fabian for the return or value of a bicycle lent to the defendant for the purpose of breaking the record between Napier and Wel'ington was concluded jon Monday. Fabian, in his evidence, stated that Mr Cerchi, agent for Waller, Myhre, snd Co. in Wellington, promised to present him with a bicycle it he succeeded ia breaking the record. Cerohi elated that he only lent the

machine ; and Waller, Myhre, and Co. stated, ' through Dr Findlay, who appeared oa their I behalf, that their agent had received no authority to give away their property. After hearing evidence Mr Greenfield ordered Fabian to return the machine aud pty costs amounting to £3 Ba. Mr Jolliooe appeared for Fabian.— Nuw Zealand Mail. J. W. Parions was a most careful rider with his machines. The bio} cle he raced upon during the greater part of tho se»s n vrai also his road machine, and this he took to West Australia with him and sold it for £45. The most costly bicjelo ever manufactured is now, cays Modern Society, on the way to England from the United States, and is to be used by the wife of a man with a well-known title. It is a regular diamond drop frame wheel. Th» front forks and head are richly overlaid with silver openwork, the ornamentation suggesting the rococo aud Louis XV styles. The handles are of carved and stained ivory, decorated with silver and j»do kuobs nt the ends. The wheel is equipped with a front broke, 6olid silver cyclometer, silver watch, silver bell, and tan leather tool bag, which ia elso decorated with silver, in harmony with the ornamentation upen ttio saddle. Perhaps the nu-st beautiful accessory of the wheel is the solid silver lamp attached to the handle-bar. It is made after the most approved pattern, with a high-power refl'ctor and ruby and emerald coloured cut crystal side lights. There is a full nickel nuvi-ttuud, ornamented with silver and strung with the flues t silk ; silver chain-guard, and a silver shield for the sprocket wlwel. The dangers in connection with riding machines built to carry many riders are by no means inconsiderable. In California, on February 17, six men were mounted on a sextaplet and paoiug the record-breaker Wells. The weathe? was admirable, and the riders soon settled down to work. The long machine had reached a speed of lmin 41sec for a mile, and Wells was striving hard to catch and stay behind the pacers. Suddenly an explosion was heard, "and the six riders were shot into the air like stones from a catapult. Wells, oisly 3yds behind, also beo»me mixed up in the disaster. Tbe stroke man on the saxtuple received a broken ankle, and all thd others were more or les» damsg-'d. St. Paul and Minneapolis are but 12 miles apart, and the two cities contain some 25,000 wheelmen. They are uniting their efforts to have a cycle path between the twin cities. The promoters propose to tax every wheelman 200dol to cover the cost of construction, and it is said that the wheelmen are quite willing to tax themselves for this purpose. „ j When Hamilton, in SanFrancirco, made his vrond-rful record of one mile in lmin 35 3-siec it is said he was travelling at more than a mile a minnto when he crossed tbe t&pe. the Bdi'on and Swan United Electric Light Company, of London, has introduced an electric lamp for cyclists. It ia a neat-looking affair, ar.d may be attached to the handle-bar of the machine or the coat of the rider. The necessary current for the lamp is provided by a couple of small accumulators, which keep the lamp in operation eight hours. The accumulators may be attached to any part of the , machine or carried in the pocket, and tbe lamp is lighted or extiuguishtd by a simple switch. The grt at Gladiator-Huraber team race is beginning to create a feeling of curiosity in France a* to who will be the Humbcr trio. The Gladiator team is to ba Michael, Hurefc, and Protin, and it seems hard to pick a team to beat them. , j