NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2251, 22 April 1897, Page 37

NOTES BY DEMON.

— Excellent weather prevailed during the Haster holidays, and those riders who went touring speak in glowing terms of their four days' cuting.

Quits a gloom was cast among the few cyclists who were in town on Monday, whtn news came of the sudden death, by drowning, ofjtheir fellow wheelman (Mr E. W. Watkins), a member of the Dunedin Cycling Club. The information to hand reg&rding the acotdent (given below) is somewhat meagre, and we must await for further particulars. Let me here say that to those who knew him, Mr Watkins was invariably a pleasant companion and a good fellow, and sincere sympathy is felt at the loss of one who, whenever he was met — in the clubroom, on the road, or away from the influences of cycling — was well liked and respected.

A Christohurch telegram states that the Cyclists' Alliance decided to grant £10 towards lending Reynolds (of Auckland) Home to compete in the Jubilee cycling meeting and to endeavour to raise further fuuds for the project.

A sad boating accident, by which two young men lost their live), occurred at Lake Rees, at the head of Lake Wakatipu, on Sunday. The victims were named James Aitken and E. W« Watkins", and the accident occurred through the capsizing of their boat. Young Aitken was a son of the proprietor of the boarding housa at Par&due, near Diamond Lake ; and the other deceased, who was 27 years of age, was a son of Mr J. Watkins, of York place, in this city, and waa an employee in the warehouse of Messrs Hallenstein Bros, and Co. The late Mr Watkina was a few years ago prominent in athletic circles in Dunedin, and played at different times for both the Pirates and Dunedin Football Club 3. He bore a high character. What renders tho fatality peculiarly sad inhiscass is that he had gone to the Lakes for the enjoyment of his holidays. The Wyndham Cycling Club intend to pub down a four-lap track at a cost of close on £50.

The New Zealand Metropolitan Cjcle show is to be held at Christchurch in November during show week.

A road race was held under the auspicss of the Riverton Cycling Club from Riverton to Fairfax on the 10th iust. The result vras as follows : — James Elliot (7min) 1, A. Flowers (7min) 2, E. Acheson (simm) 3, B. Fallow (7imin) i. Four other 3 started. Time, 46^min. When Megeon won the 50-mile Championship of Victoria he rode on Dunlop tyrea. The New Zealand Cyclists' Alliance ab a recent meeting had under consideration a letter from the Auckland A.A. and C.C. re sending Mr E. Reynolds to England for the championship meeting, and saying they had voted £50 towards his expenses. A telegram asked what assistance the alliance could give. The Secretary reported that the executive had wired to Sydiiey aiking if they would assist in sendiDg Reynolds Home as an Australasian representative, but had not received any reply. On the motion of Messrs F. R. .Dunsford and K. F. England ib was resolved—" That this alliance favours the visit of Mr Reynolds to England as the New Zealand representative, Mid with the assistance of the affiliated clubß ruarantees % sum of not less than £10." On the notion of Messrs G. E. Good «nd W. H. Lang•lownit waa decided- " That the secretary be instructed to communicate with the DrmciDal

clubs by wire to ascertain what amount they will contribute towards Reynolds's expenses to EDglaud."'

For some time the theft of b'cycles has been prevalent at Wellington, and the police appeared to be quite incapable of tracing the perpetators. On Thuteday, however, oue Arthur Danctn was arrested on the charge of stealing a bicycle, the property ci Mr Willford, solicitor.

Tho weather en Friday was cold and threatening bub dry for tho Christ church Cycling Club's race meeting at Lancaster Park. About 3000 spectators were present. The principal race, the Easter Handicap, of five miles, was won by J. Chalmers, Oamaru (400 yds), with G. Sutherland, Chrisfcchurch (500* ds) second, aad A. Phipps, Chrisfcchurch (280 yds) third.

Generalising the results given by the Chicago cycle show, the Scientific American e&yb that the wheels are slightly heavier than last year, very few being shown which weigh less than 201b. The frames are practically the same as last year. Many have ingenious flush joints. The treads are narrower and hubs are larger as a rule. The improvement in the bearings is mott noticeable, a large percentage of the. wheels beiDg dust-proof, or nearly so. They are fitted in many oases with ball-retaining devices, the balls themselves are larger, and the cones are constructed so that friction is reduced. The crank-hanger has a greater drop than last year, and the tendency seems to be towards the simplification of both crank and sproket. There seems to be a desire on the part of many makers to return to the old form of crank construction, the round crank apparently giving way to the square crank. The easily-detachable sprokets and movable bearings are much in evidence. Many of the exhibition wheels are provided with gear cases. Adjustable handle-bars still seem to retain their popularity, and a number cf different grips are on exhibition. The wooden handle-bar its also popular. The desirability of large tyres seems to have bain demonstrated by the season just passed, and they are provided for in many of the new wheels by proportionally large fork side clearings.

We (Timaru Herald) learn that another notable improvement in bicycles has been invented by Mr Wm. Scotb, a Christohurch engineer, for which great advantages are claimed. It is a simple link action with vertical motion for the pedals that entirely overcomes tha difficulty of the dead centre, the effective work being continuous during the whole stroke instead of intermittent, as in the present rotary pedals. The additional power thus gained adds to the possible speed of the machine, and gives much greater ease in mounting hills or riding against the wind. At present only one machine has been fitted with the new gear as an experiment, but everyone who has tried it, including many well-known cyclists, has been astonished at the ease with which it can be worked, and the general opinion is that the new vertical motion will supersede the rotary in the bio; c!e of the future. The invention has been patented all over the world, and Mr E. Brooke-Smitb, who has taken a considerable interest in the company formed to turn it to account, will leave for England by an early steamer to place ft on the market. AB navels cycling paper, commenting on the poor success of foreigners on tha Seine track in Paris, says : — " A visit to a race meet suffices to convince any thoughtful person that skill in tricks, far more than headwoik, is necessary to win. Every ruse is employed to get tho chance to make the last turn on the outside, for the rider that gets that position reaches the tape first. I have Been only one rider able to resist at the Seiue track any attack made upon hia right. He is Jaap Eden, aud ib was Wheeler who on his return to Amer'ca declared Eden to be the fastest man in the world. Neither Morin nor Jacquelin can win at the poles. The trickt made use of during the matches of MorinJobnsoD, Jscquelin-Jaap Eden, and JacquelinParlby clearly showed the importance of that exterior position at the last turn. The Parisian riders have an extraordinary skill in making use of these tricks. In training they practise not only the long spurt, but also the short 3print and the sudden stop. The Brussels riders do splendidly in the sustained spurt, bub have not learned the sprint. Have they mastered the secret so useful at Paris of passing in two strokes the pisdal from a speed of 20 kilometres to that of 60 kilometres an hour ?"

There are few more interesting places in bicycle works than the pneumatic room of the rubber mill. Here, on clean, loug tables the sheets of rubber are cut into strips for the tyres. First the sheets are drawn over the table from the rolls at the end, and the mea, brushes in hand, smooth out all the air swelliDgs and dust the surface with flour or soapstone to prevent any stickiness. Then the head, cutter twirls his rapid compasses along the width at either end, making the points ot division where the sheet will be divided into strips 3in or 4in wide, according to the size of the tyres. At these points the helpers hold a chalk line, one at either end, and the head cutter snaps it at the middle, miking seven, eight, or sine Darallel lines running the length

cf the sheet. Now each man grasps his rubber knife, specially ground so as to give a long cutting edge, and, dipping its blade in the can of water at his side, starts down one of the white lines, walkiug backward, hia body bent, his eyes intent, and cutting as he goes. He hag nothing to 6upporb his arm, nothing to guide him bat the skill born of long praotice. Should his knife err from the line to right or left by bo little as fcho sixteeenth of an inch the strip would bo spoiled, and the rubber for one bicycle tube at least would go into the scrap heap. Bub his knife does not err, his hand does not waver, and from one end of the line to the other a cleau cut shows that it never leives the narrow chalk mark.

The following amusing incident actually took 'place at the representation of the pantomime of •'80-peep" at a Dublin theatre some months ago. Scene : a schoolroom ; master, crose-examiniDg his pupils, a»kß wheva i 3 tin; capital of Ireland situated. Bright respond trom one of tha scholars : "In the Dunlop Tyre Company, sir." Needless to remark, the joke went down well.

The Westminster Gazette not»a the change of late in the make-up of women's thoes, and says:— "Year after year, doctors have been"pro»ching against tho high heels and the comprtseed toes of the French shoe. They have preached, but they have not heen libteued 10, and all sorts of little limps and shuffles have got to have a kind of vogue, and girls have treated their toe 3as disrespectfully as if they were their waists. And now comes the bicyela and sets things right. The myth of the very small foot is being exploded ; indeed, it wa3 almost inevitable it should. When you sea almost level with your eya a thing jou are accustomed to look "at far beneath it, you get n true idea of its size. A girl's foot on a pedal, now a common wayside" object, shows that good-looking girls have generally fairly proportioned feet. There has come a reaction against tho Chinese deformity, and a sympathy with Nature. You cannot pedal with, a foot like the castor of a pianoforte." There is an interesting bit of story attached to the house of John o'Groats — that goal of ambition to the end-to-end pedaller. The original John o'Groat?, with his two brothers, Malcolm "and Gavin, arrived at Caithness in the reign of James IV of Scotland, and purchased the lands of Warse and Dungisbay. In the process of time their families increased, and there c&me to ba eight families of the same name. They lived together amicably, and mob onca a yesr in the original house ; but on one occasion a question of precedence arose — who was to go cut first, and who was to take the head of the table. John o'Groat promised them the next time they gathered together he would contrive to satisfy them all. Accordingly he built an eight-sided room, with a door and window in each side, and placed a round oak table in the centre. This building went ever after with the name of John o'Groat's House. The site of this houEe is the Bsrubium of Ptolemy, in the vicinity of Dungisbay Head.

Among other points to be noted (says a writer in the American Cyclist) is the fscfc that barrel — true barrel — hubs have got to come sooner or later ; the barrel (or rather to be exact, the disc adjustment) style of bearings is, without doubt, the mo«t convenient and is the simplest, it having dust-proof and oil-retaining capaci'y by very virtue of its construction without any need for dust caps and similar abominations. Moreover, it keeps truer ; it can be made truer in the first place ; and the fixing in the fork cud does not affect in any way the truth of the bearing surfaces. Disc-adjust-ment bearings have got to come — if not next season, then the season after. They will be bound to assert their merits sooner or later by reason of the inevitable natural law of the survival of the fittest. Many of the leading English makers are already fitting these discadjusting hubs. ~At a recent meeting of the Botanic Society the subject of rubber was brought up, and a speaker stated that at the present time, whea the demand for iudiarnbber was bo great for bicycle tyres and the wheels of other vehicles that it semisd likely to ou'strip the supply, it was interesting to know that the plants producing it were not con Sued to one or two parts of the world, bub were found growing in the tropical parts of America and Africa, as well as in India, Madagascar, Barneo, &c, and desirable species were being constantly introduced to their colonies by all the governments who possessed tropical dependencies. Tnere wa3 shown at the meeSing.au extensive collection of rubberproducing plants, including those from Ceara, Central America, Para, Assam, and Africa.

Dr Abbott, of Massachusetts, asserts that since toe beginning of the bicycle erase consumption ha a notably decreased, his explanation being that consumption is more contagious indoors than out, and that-ths outdoor exercise gained by bicycling lessens the danger of consumption. Dr Oscar Jewning, of Paric, also recommends bicycliDg in some cases of consumption. I*; is stated that Lee Richardson, the famous Yankee trick rider, receives £30 a week for trick riding in certain theatres in New York. Richardson's engagement runs for tyro years, during which time he will visit Europe and perform in the leading towns. One of the most remark»b'.e effects of bicycling exercise is that it makes the fat man lean and the lean man fab. The reason of this phenomenon is nob very d'fficulu to solve. The being who. as Hamlet hath it. affects " the too solid flesh." and he who, likd Cassinf, has " lean and hungry look,'' are bjr.h victims U> indigestion, biliousness, poorness of blood (anramia), or melancholia, "all ot which," says the eminent physiologist Murchison, " are caused by inaction of the iiver ; but the stimulus of regular exercise sets the functions oE this organ right, and causes the disappearance of what was only a symptom." Cycling purifies and strengthens the blc#d of the lean man and makes him fat. even "as it removes

the superfluous tissues and the " waste products " in the blood of the fat man and makes, him lean !

The first step in the loDg process of making a bicycle tyre is to clean the crude rubber which comes from South America in great chunks that look like hams, and are known as " biscuit." These are first cut into small pieces, steamed for two or three hours in hot-water vats, aud then shovelled into washer?, -which are corrugated iron rollers of immense power. A load of rubber ia caught between their two turning surfaces, while streams of cold water play down upon it from above, washing out all sand and impurities. Five minutes in th«se washers is sufficient to transform half a dozen shovelfuls of rubber in rough fragments into continuous sheets, 10ft or 12ft long and 2f b to 3ffc wide, that look as much like alligator skins as anything else. These sheets are now carried to the drying room, where they are hung on adjustable racks and left in a temperature ot 90deg, sometimes for weeks or months, for tho longer rubber is left in the drying room the better it is for the subsequent processes. A boat which attracted considerable attention a few months ago was Najork's Footmotor Boat, the operators of which are enabled to enjoy an exercise approximating, in no small dogree, to "cycling on the high seas." This boat is propelled by a ecrew driven by foot power, and is operated by three people, sitting one behind the other, the one nearest the stern also steering. There is a wheel behind the last operator which transmits motion to the shaft, and through tne latter to the propeller. By various arrangements of the three clanks, dead centres can be avoided. For every 60 mover ments of the pedals the screw revolves 500 times. In this way even unskilled operators can travel at the rate of about five miles.au hour. A greab advantage of this boat is that it can also bs propelled by oars or sails, and the simple apparatus can be applied to any boat that ia sufficiently bro».d.

About one in 20 of the 160,000 bicycles in France belong to women.

The total number of oycles manufactured ia the Midlands, England, this year will probably reach a million and a-half. Many firms have contracts that will keep them busy for the whole of the year.

It is not at allan uncommon occurrence for cyclists to lose themselves when exploring or passing through a strange bit of country. A compass is a very useful cyclist's companion, especially when after wandering miles without meetiog a single saul you come to some cross roads which are innocent cf a legible signpost. A knowledge then at which point of the compass your destination lies will be handy. Should you not have a compass with you take out your watch and point the hour hand towards the sun, and the "south" will be exactly midway between the hand and the figuio XII on the dial. You can then work out the other "points" yourself, and in all probability fix up the correct road at once.

The Overman Wheel Company, America, now gives all riders of its wheel a gußrantee which insures the rider for £1000 agair.st any damage that may be done him or her from defects in material or construction.

Mr C. E. Duryea, the American inventor, a man largely interested in motor vehicles, still considers that the bicycle frame of the future will be on the triangle principle. He believes in short wheel bases, and considers that the weight of the rider should be carried as near the ground as possible, to lessen the strain on tho frame.

WELL WORTH REMEMBERING.

1. Any man who does not take time for exercise will probably have to take time to be ill.

2. Body and mind are both gifts, and for the proper use of them our Maker will hold us responsible.

3. Exercise gradually increases the physical powers, and gives more strength to resi6t sickness.

\ ExerciSe will do for the body what intellectual training will do for the mmd — educate and strengthen it.

5. Plato called a man lams because he exercised the mind while his body was allowed to suffer.

6. A sound body lies at the foundation of all that goes to make life a success. Exercise will help to give ifc. 7. Exercise will help a young man to lead a chaste life.

8. Varied, light, and brisk exercise, next to sltep, will re3b the tired brain better than anything else. 9 Metal will rust if not used, and the body will become diseased if not exercised.

10. A man "too husy " to take care of his health is like a workman too busy to sharpen his tools.

11. Cycling is tho bf sb exercise for both sexes and all ages, combining pleasure and utility as doss no other pastime in the world. — The Hub. '

CYCLE MEETINGS.

Mklhourne, April 19.

At the cycling meeting on Saturday the Miie International Scratch Race resulted : — Walne. 1 ; Megeou, 2 ; Martin, 3. Time, 2tnin 55 3-ssec.

IsYERCAHGii-r., April 19.

The weather for the holiday was perfect. The Cash Cycling Club held it* sports to-day,

iont 700 being present. Results : —

Milk Amvti:ur.— A Lyons, Usa-j, 1: W. Poole, lOsec. 2, D. JVlTheriou, scr, 3. Time, 2min 31 4-53ec. , Open Mjle.~T. Double, lOsec, 1 ; T. Ckrkson, scr, 2 , D. M.'Kenzie, ssec, 3. Time, 2min 29* sic. iNVERCAIIGILL WHEEL, tw lflile*.— T. Cl&rtlOU, scr, 1 D. N'Kenzie, lOsec, 2 ; T. Double, 20aec, S. Time. 4min 54 3-s*ec. Half-mile Amateur.— "YV.' Poole, Bssu, 1; A. Lyons, sdec. 2 : D. M'Pherson, scr. 3. Tim*- Ivaxn 8 i.fiseo.