NOTES BY DEMOS;

Otago Witness, Issue 2292, 3 February 1898, Page 37

NOTES BY DEMOS;

— — The roads down scmisb are not in the' best of condition owrng to bnmg loo»e from con tinned dry weather and traffic. This, however, did not deter riders from going out in numbers at the end ©f the week. The road as far as Saddle Hill seemed never at any point to be free from cyclists during Sunday, and I noticed that punctures seemed to be more numerous th&n usual. Entries for the D C.C. race meeting close on Saturday, sth insl 1 ., at the club's rooms, Manse strett. There is a prospect of an invitation scrr.tch race (paced) being put on the D.G'.O.'s programme for tha benefit of visiting competitors. Forty-s-'x entries have been received by the Dunedin Cycling Club for their b s g wheel race on Saturday week. The entries include Reynolds, tho Irish champion, and Reynolds, the Auckland rider, both of fehem no-w racing in first-elaes oompany ia Australia ; Barker, Sutherland, Clark«on, Porter, and Holmes, of Christchnrch ; Ferris, of Oamaru, and George, of Roxburgh — all of them fast rider 3. Maxwell (D.C.C ), norr in Christchurcb, bas also entered, and I may say that he is expected by good jadgts to be cot far out at the finiEh of some of t&e races ef the day. It is anticipated that the public will have an spportuuity of seeing nine multicycles at work on the track in the multicycle race on the 12'.h iast. — viz., 1 quad, 3 triplets, and 5 tandems. B. Howlison acd S. R. Stedman, along with the other amateur class riders, are jmtting in regular training exercise at tha Caledonian grounds. A. lUlston is doing come fine work behind a tandem jnsfc now. Hamill, M'Mullan, J. Bell, T. Maw, Crawford, C. Homo, and Peaks »re also doing good work. Among the amateur class Stewart, Anderson, aud Moore <*re to be noticed training regularly. — — Zam informed that my note of gome

weeks ago in reference to the tin Jap cards being dropped one on top of another to the discom?orb of the spectators and the racing men has received attention ab the hands of the D.C.C., who are attending to every detail of their meeting with a view to the convenience of the spectators and the racing men. A few riders who were oub afe Henley at the beginning of the week will have cause to remember the intrusion of a calf on the road. These cyclists, who are ptoaaiuent clubmen, were on their way home, and the front man, mounted on a single, fell foul of a cp.H browsing on the road, and in the mix up his companions", , mounted on a tandem, wece also brought to grief, fortunately without any bones being broken. One rider will be some days before he can eradicate the gravel marks from his face, bu« the others escaped with ouly bruises. I James Duncan, the famous football hslf bac-k, has taken to cycling, and intends |to I*oo at the end of fchis season or the ! beginaisg of next. He is practising moib assiduously on an eld machine, and his perspir- | ing efforts are the admiration of a knot of i admirers who desire nothing better thaD to see \ their hero making fast pace on the racing path. He will be sure of plenty of ei-couragement. J. Stone, of Oamaru, has lowered the Oftmaru-Timaru record. He did the distance in 3hr 3min, which is now the record time. -W. Brown, of Oamatu, attempted last week to lower tha Dunedin-Oamaru record, but owing to adverse weather at Waitati had to give up. A Wetherstones correspondent complains of the way in which bicyclists ride ou the footpath bfetween "Watheipsbones and Lawrence and advocates the use of a 1 mder bell ou their machines, as ho admits the road is not fib for riding on. i The Victorian Postal department in the near future intend mounting the suburban pillar I clearera of Melbourne on cycles for clearing pur- ! pos«s. Each cyclist will Iks tha means of saving \ two horses and a driver, feed, wear and tear, &c. ■ Ib is estimated £2000 per annum will be about I the saving. j T. C. Fisher, a Dunedin champion j cyelisfe of the early days, has gone to Japan to opsn up agencies for the firm with which he is engaged. An untrue frame can generally be detected by the unsteady running of the machine. It can also be scientifically ascertained by the use of the straight edge. The best way is to notice the track of the wheel 0 , when, unless they run in the same line, it; is obvious the frame is uuttua. When you fied tbat your tyre bas " gone down," don'fc' at once jnmp to tha conclusion that it is pucctnred, bufe see that there is no I escape of air through tfea valve. | Ordinary eyGle shoes I'ned with cork : se-les are excellent for winter riding. I If; is very noticeable the number oE theatricals that; are ,&b presenb in New Zealand, and one sees them everywhere oa the wheel. The large immbsr ab presenb touring with " The Sign of the Cross" are expert wheelmen and women, and quite a number carry their Dunlop-tyrud mounts with them, so that they can indulge in delightful spins in the different places they visit. Truly and deservedly the bicycle has become so popular as to make the \ enjoyment of the t'mes. Tfce use of the cycle has not come into such prominence in New Zealand as in some of the colonies in Australia— as South Australia, for instance. There policeman, postmen, Government messengers, and bank messengers use the bicycle, and ia the large warehouses Dnnlop-tyred machines are used with very sucees&ful results. The firms that have experimented have found that the cost of cab hire and fibres is a thing of fcke past to a very great extent-., and mpfmergers, when they are given a machine, carry out their duties in about half the time that it used to occupy before the bicycle was introduced. 'A good substitute f»r C3tk>n waste, which is always useful for cleaning and polishing a bicycle, ia clean tissue paper. Benzjliue is good for cleaniDg cork i handles. I • Cycling is said to have become quits a crazs in Hongkong. 'The Chinese youth, attired in a sort of compromise between loose I clothing and knickers, shod with the familiar three -storey thick chocs, his pigtail floating in the air, presents a quaint spectacle aa he rides hero, there, and everywhere ou his not altogether up-to-date cycle. If you find it awkward to clean a bicycle j with gloves on your hands rub a little vaseline thoroughly into the hands, especially about the tips and bape of the fieger nails. If this hint is followed before cleaniug the dirtiest machine you will experience no difficulty whatever in cleaning the hands afrer by ordinary means. The Dunlop Record for January 1898 is now ready for distribution, This interesting

booklet is gob uo in good style, and contains good photos of Platt-B«tts, Megson, and Carpenter, besides accounts of "Virgin's and Mather aud Coleman's transcontinental rides. A copy will be forwarded to anyone gratia upon receipt of their name and address. Don't pump the front tyre Gf your bicycle too hard, espeoial'y when riding on bad roads. Tbe average life of a modern high-grade safety, wibh caret ul use, should be from four to six years. A good way to clean a burned lamp reflector is by applying some salt to a rag, which acts as a splendid burnisher. A Mayoace iuveator has brought out a stlf-i»fl*tipg pntumatic tyre. Tho tyre does not meet round the periphery of the wheel, and the two ends are j«ined by an indiarubber ball | or syringe air pump, wibh valves, which keep the tyre full of air as the wheel runs. Bells, when fastened on the handlebars, nob only scratch, but sometimes cause them to become rusty. To pravenfe this twist a narrow strip of chamois leather neatly round, and fasten the bell on it. / Handlebars and other nickel-plated parts of a bicycle which have become dulled or rusted frurn exposure to the rain may be restored to their former brightness fey well rubbing wibh a paste made of ordinary whiting and water, and afterwards polishing with i* soft rag. Remember that all nuts are tightened by turning from left to right — that is, in the same direcHon as the hands of a clock move. The Wellington Cash Cycliog Club held a meeting on the 26bh el!>. ab the AthleMo Park. The weather w»* fioe, bub tha attendance was nob more than 1000. Very large fields competed. Results : Wheel R»ce, two miles — G. Sutherland, 4a?ds, 1; Bennett. 200>ds. 2; Blake, 4%ds, 3. Time, 4min 4-lsec. Mile Race — Humphries, s(fy<!s, 1 ; A. R. Barker, scr, 2 ; Curtis, 75yds, 3. "Time, 2min 21see. Five-mile Race — B< nnott 1, Lyon 2. Barker and £uLherla»d on a fcandem won the multicycle tace, two nulss, from scratch in 4mm 24 3-ssec. A Sydney cable states that from a flying start on Saturday J. Plafeb-Botfcs, bhe English cyclist, covered a mile- ia lanii 48sec, beatiug his-previoua Australian record- by lg-scc. At tha Australian Nabives J sports at Melbourne the Wheel Race resulted, as follows :—: — Jackeon, 120jd3, 1; Eliot, 90yds, 2; Beauchamp, 120 yds, 3. Won by a few inches. Time, 4min 41§sec. Waloe won the Gold Stakes, beating Gceen and Kellow.