NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 37

NOTES BY DEMON.

After the excitement of the _ Easter holiday there oame a calm, and oycling matters were in a very quiet state. The only really interesting topic just now is the Forbobello toll, and club men are taking this matter up seriously, with a view of getting the excessive toll done away with. I am led to understand that if a petition, signed by the settlers who are nob united as to the advantage of a toll, the majority of our cyclists, aud some business men in the city, were presented the Acting-Premier •would be likely to look upon such petition favourably, and exercise the power Tested in him which allows of his doing away with the toll. 1 have received from Messrs G. W. Bacon and Co., Strand, London, their beautifully got up Cycling Roai Map of the South Island of New Zealand. This is evidently one of a series, and j the enterprise is one which no doubt will bs appreciated by touring cyclists. The roads aud railways are clearly "" marked— the roads per- j haps, too clearly, for what are only tracks , might be mistaken for roads, such, for in- ! stance, as that down ■ the Hollyford Valley ' to Martin's Bay and another through the Haast Pass from Hawea and Wanaka. It is here , that local knowledge must be brought to bear. In other respects the map seems an excellent one. Besides the main map, which folds into cover of the travelboqk order, there is-tfiven on the same sheet a map of the world, a sketch map of New Zealand, another of the Chatham Islands, and maiis showing the localities, around Dunedin and Christchutch. As showing the liking for detail, it ma? be stated that the soundings of Lyttelton and Ofcago harbours are plotted out, and the sandbanks in our harbour shown just at if the touring cyclist was likely to venture on them for a spin. I have been asked to cay a word in regard to people walking on the St. Clair track in the evenisg*. The cyclist when riding along does nob derive much advantage from his lamp as far seeing an object a -distance off is concerned, and when people are sauntsriDg along there is a danger of their being run into no matter what precautions may have been taken by the cyclist. The discomfort and annoyance experienced by - the hit person is not equal to that experienced by the rider, so that the cyclist is always on the look out to avoid these encounters ; bub he is always blamed, right or wrong, and by a timely note he hopes to avoid such a meeting and its accompanying anroyauce9. — — A committee meeting of the D.C.C. was held in their rooms, High street, on Thursday evening, Mr E. Boot (captain) in the chair. The secretary was instructed to procure the j cost of an expert to report on the probable cost of altering the Carisbrook track. The secretary reported ttat the Dresden Piano Company i 3 in favour of allowing. the third competition for the shield to stand over till next season. It was decided bo procure, a night watchman for the rooms. "It was proposed and carried that no advertisements be allowed on the walla of the rooms. A sub-committee was appointed to revise tbe club's rules. The fourth bicycle race for Mr* C. Murison's trophy took place at Alexandra on Friday last. There were five starters, but the race soon resolved into a contest between J. gytaes and E. Watson. The latter made the pace, and in the last; lap Symes went up with a spurt and won csmfortably. Watson, with 25 points to his credit, has been declared the winner of the trophy. ' Rather x good 6tory is told at bho expense of an Adelaide bicycle agent, who runs the South Australian agetcy for two leading makes of bicycles. The English manager for one of these machines has been visiting the colonies pushin* trade, aud ho recently called

at the Adelaide agent's shop. Being unknown he walked in as a casual buyer, and taking up the rival firm's wheel, he said, "Is this a good machine?" "It's absolutely the beat in the market," said tho agent. " And what's this ?" said the English manager, oatcbing hold of one of his own machines. "Well that's a secondgrade wheel, a good machine of its kind, bub I cannot recommend ib so highly as I can the wheels first thown to you." The Englishman did not buy, bub left the shop, and now tho agency is run by a man in the next street, and later on the agent- heard why. Mr George Burston, president of the M.8.C., has resigned his office as vice-president of the League of Wheelmen. He did not fancy bho proceedings in the council after tho disqualification of Martin. His letter resigning his office eayß :—": —" My reason for resigning is I that I do not consider the league arc upholding the purity of the sport, and whilst the constitution remains as at present, I refuse to allow my [ name to remain among the vice-presidents, and will ask for its removal ab next council meeting." I From the following, taken from the Melbourne Sportsman, there seems to be a decidedly antagonistic spirit among some of the racing men in Victoria: — •' Walne's final run in ihe Five-mile fairly imothered(Joe Megson, and was all the more meritorious when ib is remembered that the Queenslander laboured under the disadvantage of two badly-painted optics. The unskilled artist was A. C. Middleton, and the temporary studio was the Sb. Eilda dressing room on Friday night. From all accounts the " go " setma to have been a fair and gquare one, and though 'Walne was out-mastered from the jump he came up plucktly each time Middleton sent him down." Mr Percy Hunter, until recently the secretary ot the League ot New South Wales Wheelmen, has taken up a position on the staff of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, and his first reporting job wa« to go to Auckland to interview the notorious Butler. The Sydney Mail compiles the Australasian track record*, from \ mile to 25 miles, existing on April 12 as follow: —

11.5.A.8. —Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane. The second three-days' race held in Paris was the occasion of a magnificent win for little Champion (writes "Cycling"), who bids fair to follow in the footsteps of "Little Wonder," Michael. Out of the three events h8 won two and finished second in the other one, being beaten by Bouhours. In the la&t race every world's record from 51 kilometres «p-wa-d3 was broken, tha 100 kilometres (624; miles) being ridden in 2hr 9min 37sec. Although these times will nob be passed, having been made on a covered brack, bhey are interesting especially as an indication of the record-breaking we are to expecb again this year. —— "An Old Sightseer," writing to the

j London Daily Telegraph, remarks on the ! , changed social aspect of the famous Serpentine ! chive compared with what it was in the year | when the Queen was crowned. He says :—: — . "This is an age of 'bikes' and freedom, ' and the ' bikes ' swarmed in countless ' thousands between Apsley House and the Magazine. No attempt at smartness — merely freedom. This is a workmanlike and utilitarian age. Splendid women they were, far finer young women than ever existed when Queen Victoria came to the throne — women well built, straight as arrows, healthy and ' vigorous to a fault. It may be athletic 3, it may be freedom, it may bo this, that, or the other, but the Victorian age has given us a race of Amazons. The other sex seems to my ! observant eye to have dwindled a bit, but the ' women seem to grow as you look at them. And | away they went, spinning on their biker, riding, , most of them, splendidly, with straight backs — . far better, »s a rule, than the men, and he ; must candidly own that there was not a trace of , vulgarity, or suggesfciveness, or fastness in this ■ wheeling squadron of fair woman. He had I seen the women bikers abroad, with their i knickerbockers, and exposed leg, and divided ' skirts, nnd rational dresses, and they have ] made him sorrow for dear womenkind. But on I Tuesday, to greet the Queen, came no divided ' skirts or knickerbockers — nothing vulgar, nothing outre, only the ample^folds of the waving | petticoat, the homespun, simple, sensible dreas that gives charm to a graceful rider. These thing* have started into life during fche l&fcer year* of the Victorian reign, and so have other things which cannot have failed to strike the • observant eye of her Majesty." The national assembly of the League of American Wheelmen held its annual sitting in February, when representatives from the States attended. Onn or the burning questions was whether the league should sancbion b-cycle-j riding on Sunday*. Many petitions, chiefly '■ from California, were psesented, praying for ! sanction to be given, but <he assembly wisely (determined otherwise. The petitioners cepresented that many track-owners couid not exist except by Sunday meetings. Now that the privilege has been refused, these track-owners are up in arms against the league, and threaten to secede In some of the western Sfcate3 of . America Sunday is the day reserved for sports of all kinds. E?en the theatres open on Sunday nights. You shonld learn the art of pedalling »s well as any other feature of bicycle riding. Watch any half-dozen cyclists as they pass, and ; you will see that five of them do not know how to ; pedal properly. You should push the pedal ' over more than half the circle, taking care to lift the foot immediately after it has done ifca , effec'ivo work, so as- not to burden the rising pedal. This necessitates the dropping of the heel at the top of the stroke, which helps the cranks over the dead centre, pushing down the bottom of the arc and bringing the toot back, > with a clawing motion, over the dead centre at ; the bottom. If a rider who has been content with a piston-like up-and-down pedal motion try this, slowly at Grit, he will be surprised, after a little practice, to find tbflA tii« machine does not require so much pushing as it used to. Especially in hill climbing will ho discover its . advantaged, and the ankle motion involved will I be particularly beneficial. j What Constitutes Furiouß Riding ? — At the present time this question is being put by ' cyclists to the police, or vice versa, and is { answered in various ways. A few days a^o an • ex-captain of the Melbourne Bicycle Club wan riding on a tandem along the St. Kilda road at , about 12 mileß an hour, when he suddenly ' became aware of the presence of a. galloping ' ' horse snorting over his back wheel. " Stop !. • atop ! " shouted the horseman, and seeing one of j her Majesty's servants in the saddle, the wheel- ■ msn obeyed the command. " I want your ' ' names and addresses for furious riding," &s > Before auy fines are inflicted in such cases aB j these, the law should be properly moulded to j ' ; meet the times. The old adage that circum- j 1 stances alter cases is most applicable to cycling. { | For whereas eight miles an hour might be a j reasonable speed for the city, when once Prince's j bridge or Victoria street were crossed, from 12 \ to 14 miles an hour might safely be indulged in. j At such a rate of speed on tha St Kilda road, a , wheelman ia not likely to do himself or the public I any harm stall, and if laws were pasted curtailing ; speed of cyclists on such roads beneath this I rate, the public will not gain, but wheelmen must lose. In the city itselF, for means of I judgment, the speed of trams might also be the speed of cyclists, but once away from congested traffic no such limit should be enforced. In New j York and other large American cities, the duty j of regulating cycle traffic is not left in the hands J \ of ordinary police ; special policemen riding I bicycles are told off to do the work, and too it should be in a city like Mel&ourne. There are plenty of men in the force to-day who ride bicycles, and who can judge pace as only | cyclists can. An ordinary policeman seeing a [ man's pedals revolving speedily, might think . 1 he wa3 going fast, whereas the machine might J bs geared low and going comparatively slow. | Most people agree that the reckless scorcher ■ must be subdued, but, at ths same time, the • enjoyment of sensible riders should not be inter- ' 1 fered with. Another kind of rider who requires ! dealing with is the one who overtakes and passes at high speed the cyclist who is prooeed- : ing at a moderate rate. Serious accidents have ; happened through the eoming-up rider failing to allow for the possibility of the one in front changing his course, as he has the right to do, when the road ahead is clear. Some incon- 1 ; siderate cyclists are in the habit of making a j 1 dash past, when there are rarely 6in to spare. — . 1 Australasian. I "The bicycle has come to the relief of i ; the cripple," said a prominent physician the other day. "A patient of mine, with a leg which is not only useless, but is really an 1 obafcae'e to his movements, and who can walk I '. with the aid of ft crutch and cane, surprised me \

a few days ago by hobbling down to the kerbstone, where r bicycle stood, and, throwing his crutch aside, perched himself in the saddle, without difficulty or assistance, and darted off,. The work of propelling the wheel was of courses done entirely with the good leg, and the other one simply rested on the pedal. As yet his rides have l>3en exclusively confined to the streets of hi? own neighbourhood. When he wants to. alight he simply rolls up to the spot where he left his crutch, aud dismounts as easily as he mounted." A bicycle ageub, who is suj o> intendent of a bicycle school and repair shop, corroborated the doctor's words. " The other day." he said, " a man who had one leg which was several inches shorter than the other came to me and eaid he had learned to ride with oue leg, but he wanted the whael altered so that the short leg could do its share of the work. I was also called upon not long ago to leugtheu one side of the handlebar for a man who had a shrunken arm. This of course was a very simple job, but it goes to show the wide range of the bicycle application." A new idea in the States is the hinged pedal, which admits of the pedal being folded against the crank to save space when travelling by train. The "Wonderful" is the name of a new French [chain, the teeth of which are carried by the chain and the roller links on the wheel The chain is made of ft steel ribbon pierced with holes, ia which are sot steel cones or teeth held by nuts. This reverses the old order of toothed sprockets and roller chains. A writer in The Times estimates that '750,000 cycles, valued at between £11,000,000 and £12,000,000, were made in England during the past year. The Century RoadtMub of America ha 3 issued its, list of existing road-riding records, frcm which it appears that jihe 1894- acore of A. A. Hansen of 21,053 miles still stand?, as also that of M. M. Kelm of 18,558 miles, who come? second (says the Field). Thia year a new cenaation is sprung upon a confidiug public, inasmuch iss the rider to whom i-i assigned tho third placa is a lady— Mrs A. M. Uineharii— • who ih credited with amassing a total score of 17,173 miles. C. M. Shadbolfc comes fourth with an old score oi: 15,1 64- miles, aud R. B. O'Connor fittta, with 14,178 miies. Thoeo dis> tancos aro all the more ext.raordhiary inasmuch .ns the best scores m*de by the meinbais of other American clubs, who perhaps tetk \a& stimulus applied to fche Century ridfirs, coincide very closely with tlioie made in tbis country, ranging from three figures to 8000 or so. We have no infoiniiOion as to the circumstances in which the above extraordinary performances were accompliahed, bub it is very evident it was not iv tho course ot ordinary road riding. Nor j is anything aaid as to what checks were placed j upon the rides, 't'ho facilities for touring are j not wfcab they are in many European countries, 1 where good roads abound in every direction, and yet we cannot accept the suggestion that these zealous riders selected some small circuits of good roads, and made the round of these in wearisome iteration, for we btilieve the raonotouy of such a • course would, in one months break Shis' | heart of any man — or woman. It is evident j that what was a pleasant and interesting i recreation for the average robust road-riding wheelman has now become Ihe sport of the professional record-maker. Tha latter, by hie apochryphal performances behind pwetaaking 1 windshields, bus iue.de s. fares of raciug &nd I racing tecords, and roiii-nJinj? records zxn cv- ' tirely at the mercy of tho3e who cia draw tbo longest bows, We cannot say that it is impo.-j-sible for a man to ride an average distance of , 58 milei * day, ill or well, winter and summer, ' for an entire year, but we can say that it puts a breaking alirain on oar powers of belief, j There we teave it. W« ar« not done yet with I the AuHirican wheelman, however, and tho man ' who "licks creation" hns yet to be introduced . to our readers". Thia is E. N. Roth, of tbe Clarendou Wheelmea of Chicago, Illinois. Tais gentleman claims to have completed on December 31 last, in a driving rainstorm (possibly a journalistic embellishment intended to give an air of reality to the report), a total of 34.480 miles in 340 days! The ingenuity of this terrible traveller is unbounded, for, in compiling his score, h9 is described a« haviug "followed the fine weather throughout the country," to accomplish which ho traversed a dozen States. This, no doubt, accounts for his remarkable success, and will convince all unbelievers, and show those who have designs on his record how ib was done. Four thousand years ago wheels were known and used. There is no doubt of this, nor is there good reason to doubt that wheels of various forms were mada at a very much more remote period. The New York Historical Society owns a wheel which is supposed to have been used on a chariot, and was taken from a mummy pit in Egypt by Dr Abbott. The hub is about 18in long and 6in in diameter at the centre. The total outer diameter is about 40in. The spoke tenons are nearly square, both at the hub and rim. At the outer end of each spokais a sorb of arrow-shaped projection, probably designed as an ornament. The entire struoture is of wood, except the thongs of ran hide with which it is baund together. A small mpplementary rim is mortised between the spokes near the hub. The rim proper is made in six pieces, lapped upon each other at the spokes. The tyre, also of wood, is made of six bent pieces, have the ends doweled together at points directly over the spoke tsnds. These tyre pieces were perforated by mortises at intervals and bound to the tim by means of the raw hide straps. These latter were probably soaked, and while in that soft condition drawn tightly into place. The shrinking incident to their drying would tend to complete the process of bringing the joints firmly together. Captaiu A. T. Mahan, fche famous naval historian, iv a recent lecture on " Nelson " nurs t— «• Kelson, of frail and delicate physique,

rarely knavr what good health was, and suffered! bitterly from the northern cold. Bub th<t excitement of an approaching battlo h&d-upon his* heroic temperament the exhilarating effecft which a brisk rim upon a bicj cle op a bracing day has upon a m&n chilled and dazed with his office work." A syndicate, including two members of Parliament, has purchased rights in a million acres of Mexican forest to meet the extraordinary demand on rubber amongst tbe tyre firms. A Dog's Views on the Bicyclo. —ln tho course of some interesting particulars on a dog's views on tho bicjele, the Cycle and Motor World goes on to say :—" The dog's love for a bicycle depends,very much on the bicycle, and the rider, and the time of the day, and the quality of the food the dog has eaten, and counter attractions." The paper interviews a dog, and it says :—" I'm a black-aud-tan terrier, and I flatter myself that when I'm in form I can do my 15-mile run with a bicjole very comfortably—if the rider does nob go too fast. Some cyclists don't treat their dogs fairly at all. I heard of a case only the other day. A playmate of mine, a bouncing yoUng spaniel, followed his owner's bicyclo for a nice slow spin of 10 miles. At the end of the journey tee man got off and entered a publichouse.' Well, he stayed there for an hour and a-half playing skittles. Then he suddenly looked at his watch and- said: 'By Jove! I promised to be homo by 1, and it's half-past 12 now.' After that he got on his machine and rode homo for all he was worth. Alas ! for the poor dog. I met a bulldog the other day, a very old friend, bub he simply cub me de«d. The poor old chap was waddling after a bicycle with a lady on it. Unless a dog c*n follow o. bioyle and find time to amuse himself on bhe road ab the same time he cannot enjoy himself. If he is at all fat he should not go out ab all, for then life becomes'a burden to him." Tha danger of carrying a ohild while cycling was shown recently in Brussels. The tyre of the wheel caught in a tram line, and the child was thrown to the ground and severely injured, while tho father escaped with simply a scar. There is a ready market for cheap, solid-tyred bicycles in Japan. It is the great desire of tho happy Jap to ride a bicycle like his more western brethren, but he feels that the pneumatic tyre is not for him. In the first place, his income is often too hard-earned and slender to admit of the primitive outlay, and, secondly, the roads are teeming with "puncture mixture." Therefore does fche average mortal in the realms of the Mikado favour the solid tyre. . Th« Anniversary Wheel Race at Mo'bourno resulted thus: —Body (ex-New Ze&Under), 80yds, 1; Stevenson, 100 yds, 2; Birker, HOyds, 3. A grand finish. Time, 4min 41§sec. A Melbourne cable statea that the Druids' Wheel Knee resulted as follows :—Body, 20yds, 1; Middlp.ton, 50yds, 2 ; R. Lewis, 40yds, 3. Won comfortably iv 4-raui 59seo. Ten-mile Scratch JUce—Waina 1, Poria 2, Martin 3, Time, 2^min 20^a«e.

S Description.! Time. Holder. Description.! Time. Where Establis'd. I ' 5 i i 3 lj Klying start o!^4-5 D.J.Walker Standings'.™ < (pacad) ...10.29 D.J.Walker Flying atart 1 0.52 D. J. Walker Standiugstrt i (paced) ...■ 0.58 D. J. Walker Flying stait I (ongra--s) 0.591-5 J.W. Parsons Competition 1.0 R. H. Wnlne Flying start (paced) .... 125 4-5 W. L. Kerr „ „ | 1.48 3-5 J. Megson Standingstrt! (paced) ... 1.66 2-5 D J Walker Triplet (uu-! fW. Elliott, paced) ...I 1.57 4 G.Med'h'ni I <fc S. Legh CirnpetitioD 2.2 W. Martin flying start (paced)- ... 4,3 2 5 W.Martin Standiogstrt (paced) ... 4.81-5 L. Lesna Flying start (on gras3) 4.33 2-5 L. Lesna Standintrstrt (paced) ... 6.10 L. Lesna Flying* start (pac^d) ... 6.10 W. Martin Triplet, fly's MV. Martin start ... 6.10 -{ J. Adam & If. H. Beak) i !Feb.'97, M. A.pr.'97, M. Feb.' 97, M. Apr. '97, M. Oct. '96, M. Feb. "97, A. Oct. '96. S. Mar. '97, S. Apr.97, M. Nov. 86, S. 1 2 Feb. 1 97, A. Sept.'Se, B. Feb. ' 97, A. Feb. ' 97, M?. Feb. '97, A. Sept.'96, B. 'July 96, B. I 5 Flying start (pace*) ... 8.16 3-5 W.Martin Standing strt (paced) ... 8.20 L. Lesna Flying start (on grass) 9.48 4-5 J.W.Parsons Standingstrt ' j (paced) ... 9.59 3.10 L. Lesna j Competition (paced) ... 10.23 W. Martin Standingstrt (paced) ... 12.26 3-5 h. Lesna „ „ 14 31 1-5 L. Lesna „ „ 16.37 L. Lesna „ „ 18.43 2 5 L Lesna " " 20.7 L. Lesna Competition (paced) ...20.38 L. Lesna Standing strt (paced) ...31.47 4-5 L. Lesna „ 42.52 3-5 L. Lesna „ „ 54.8 L. Lesna Sept. '98 B. Feb. '97, A. lDec'9s, M. I Mar. '97, S. Dec' 96, M. Feb. '97, A. Feb. ' 97, A. Feb. '97, A. Feb. "97, A. Feb. ' 97, A. 7 8 9 LO LO Mar. '97, S. !0 !5 Feb. ' 97, A. Feb. ' 97, A. Feb. ' 97, A.