NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 41

NOTES BY DEMON.

Road riding was little indulged in oa Saturday, most.of oar cyclists going to see the fcicyole racing at tha Caledonian ground. On the' day following the roads were plentifully sprinkled with riders, tandems and triplets, being in evidence during the day. Those who, despite the co!d wind and tVe rain, ventured out to the Caledonian ground on Saturday afternoon, when the St. Patrick's Day sports were' run off, were compensated for their hardihood 'by seeing some excellent cycle racing. There were 56 campetiters in all taking part in the bicycle evsntsjand the racing on the ■wbolß was good, especial credit being due to the back men, who, against the strong odds of cold winds, rain, and big handicaps, rods with a determination to reduce the distance between themselves and the limib men. The results of the racing will be found under the report of the gathering, and I will at this time content myself with giving a few impressions gathered from watchiog the racing. Sutherland, the Christchurch rider, showed himself to be the best man at the meeting. He made up his dts.tance between the riders'in the events he rode .in in a most determined and plucky manner, and his .riding in the second heat of the Hibernian Wheel Race was popularly received. There seemed to be a vast amount of satisfaction when T. Maw passed the post first in the final of the Hibernian Wheel Race. This rider rode & good race, taking every advantage of his handicap,- and by dint of sticking to his work and letting the other riders mi ad theirs made himself pretty safe at the last lap. He tas for some time been running seconds and thirds, and in common with othere who take an active interest in cycling matters in Dunedin I was pleased to see Maw at last place a n.al —and a good one —to his credit. In this race I may say that Sutherland catae up after a game fight to fourth position. Ho made a strong attempt to get closer up, bee the hundicans wsreiust* ihade too much for him.

The Three Mile Scratch Race bcoughb out a fluid of 10 riders. >7ho, led along by Tierney for a, few lap', made the pice warm. There was nothing eventful till the lasb lap, when Kalston s'lofc out ab the bowling green corner and spurtodfor lead, but Barke? and Sutherland, who were lying in good oosibions, were not to be caught, and rounding the corner enter- , iug upon the stcaighb the3e three riders, with Wall in attendance, sailed along at a i merry bat, with the two Caristchurch men in , the lead. From here on there was a splendid ■ struggle, and at one moment ib seemed th&t Wall, coming Gn tbe outside, niusi win ; bat the pace was too mucb, and when thß tape was crossed Barker led, with Sutherland and Ral- ! Eton following ob closa behind. The fiuish was , one of tbe finest ever fought oub on the ground, j and the wiu was deservedly popular. I In the third haat of the Wheel Rice Wall j and Reynolds lent each other assistance to roach the field, bat the fight was a very up-hill one, and seeing that the distance to make up : was too great they took things easy. The symI pathies of the spectotoris were with tbe back- \ mark men during the day, for it was no joke to set out in a cold, cutling, and strong wind to f make up headway against a field well indulged . in the matter of handicaps. Ferris won tba I heat, riding a well- judged race. C. Home did [ seme good pacing in the event. A. Maxwell, from whom I had expected better things," is suffering from a severe cold, which was irritated during the progress of the racing against tho keen, cold wind blowing. During the progress of the first heat of the Hibernian Wheel Race it seemed as if the limib men, who were in a bunch at the railway side of the track, were standing still, the wind was so strong. While these riders were making little headway, the back mark men were moving much quicker, and at the second last lap Ralston was up with the leaders, and won easily. One lap took close on 4-ssec3 to run. | Tha One-mile Amateur Race proved to be an interesting event K. Melville, the limib man, led the field all the way and won, but Griersoa j and Crow were making up their gaps very fast, j and during the last lap there was a doubt as to whether Melville would be able to maintain his pice and win. H. F. Gibson, who competed in this racp, had evidently nob struck form, and retired during the progress of the event. Don Welker was not competing at the meetlDg. He arrived at Dunedin only on Saturday morning, and was not fib to ride during the afternoon. Ia the Threa-mile Scratch Race Peake got a very bad start, and was scon out of the running. He retired just as Maxwell came down owing to colliding with another rider. It has of ben been said that racing cyclists are meu of ntrve and resource, and it seemed to me that bub for the quickness of judgment' and cjolness displayed by StaDton when in the m'ddle of a bunch of riders in the second heat of the Wheel Rice an accident must have* resulted. Ido not know whether Stanton's wheel was'touched, or he touched another, but for the fraction of a second there was a wobbling, and Stunton's quick recovery into steadiness seemed to be^very cleverly done, *nd we were relieved when the chances of a spill were over. The Austral Cj>cle A gency have arranged for the use of the Dunlop pacing machines for Don Walker, the Australian champion, who will next week make attempts at lowering the New Zealand records and putting up a new set of records. Several pacing machines will be used during the attempts, and the Dunlop teams are confident of bringing their man along ab record pace. I notice that W. G. Riddell, well known : as » handicapper of cycling events and a competitor at several cycling meetings, has been : admitted by his Honor Mr Justice Williams a3 t a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Mr Riddell has my good wishes for success in the profession which he has entered. Racing man are agreed that the Caledonian track i 3 the fastest of any in the colony, and a practical illustration of its fastness should be given when record attempts will be made. The trials will be made in the evening. Blade, of Carterton, is without exception one of the prettiest of pedallers ever seen in New Zealand on a cycle, and he has a turn of speed that will stand him in good stead. On Saturday, the 12th inßt., on his Danlop-tyred raounb, he annexed the Half-mile Handicap in splendid style, although not in the best of ; health, and it seems likely that he will not be far from the mark of honour at an early date. The Mile Championship of Canterbury, ' run at Lancaster Park on Saturday, the 12th iust., produced one of the finest finishes ever neer, isi New Zealand. &B the field of seven stvep! mund the home turn ib could be seen that if was anybody's race — Sutherland, Barker, Wsll, b, ing in tha front, slmosb level, with T. CU»5k&oB, H. Reynolds, and Maxwell sand* '

: wiched between them. Twenty-five yards from • the coveted mark Clarkson made his effort, j and, coming with a magnificent rush, won the i first Mile Ch unpionship of his life on nis I Dunlop-tyred mount. A aheet would have ! covered the firot four men. In conversation with one of our best known roadmen, whe has seen 52 years go by, I gathered that his impression is that the early morning is the most enjoyablo time for a spin. j For the last three weeks he has made a weekly I spin out to Henley for breakfast, reluming to town for dinner. He rises at a little before 6, partakes of an egg beaten up and mixed with Eherry and milk, and then takes to the road. I The air ia disciibed as something different and ! fresher to that of a few hours later, and the * effect of the sun behind shedding its beams on i the hills that surround the T»ieri Plain is o? > such a nature as to compensate for early riding end to induce a continuance of the habit. An idea may be gathered of the merit of Walae's recent win in the Adelaide Wheel Race when the time of the laac lap is taken into consideration. Twenty- eight seconds was the tiraz for the lap, which works out &b lmin 47sec tor the mile, and ab the rate of 33£ miles per hour, aud this! at tho end ot a hard-run two miles. The cyclifeti of Alexandra South paraded to meet the Governor on the occasion of h/is formal vibit to the^fcown. The following events have been included in the spotts meeting on May 24 under the auspices of the Alexandra Football aad Cycling Carnival Commiiitee :— Half Mile, Five Mile, One Mile, Lidies' Decoratad Bicycle, and Consolation. Jn the Ladies' Decorated Bicycle event competitors will have to ride once round the track in a given time, and points will be given for the best decoration and for the most graceful rider. The cfflsial report of the result of the ballot taken by the Timaru Tourists' Club on Wednesday evening, 16bb, states that there was a majority of three in favour of leaving the alliance for the league, ia a total vote of 77, bub there was a dispute tv to the validity of four votes, and this dispute has yet to be decided. Notice of motion was also given to rescind the decisions arrived at by the ballot, and on these grounds no official notice that the club has determined to join the League will be sent to that , body, pending the settlement of the dispute, and 1 a decision on the notice of motion. ! A cj cle track is being put down at the i Lee#ton recreation ground. Tfce track is to be a quarter of a mile in circumference, 26 feet broad, and will be banked up 7fo at the corners. It will be asphalted throughout. The American correspondent of the Melbourne Sportsman writes: — "Jimmy Michael, the wonderful little Welshman, who has started the world with his great bicycle riding, broke braining on January 1 ab the Madison Square Garden, New York, after winning another wreath of laurels, his victim this time being Edou&rd - Taylore, of France. Michael was in rare form, and as usual received splendid pacemaking. Ta>lore, though not up to the Welshman's skill in changing pact 1 , rode gamely to the end. He was beaten by 13 laps, or one j mile and thrue-tenths. The time by each mile ! was as follows -.—. —

I was present, and estimated the crowd at being fully 18,000. Michael is now afc Paktka, Florida, spending the winter." The standing-atart records up to date are as follows :—": — " In the quarter-milts America holds world's with 26f *ec, Tyler being the rider ; date, August 1896. The late A. W. Harris holds European record with 27^sec, made ia September 1893. Walker is bos? Australian with 29sec, made at St. K'lda last year and rej peated in Sydoey. In the half-mile America not j only holds world*, but also the European, Bird, ! in October 1895, putting up 51sec, and J. g. t Johnson, a well-known American, making 54|-)ec at Catford, England, in June 1896. , Walker's 53^3ec ab Sydney baats Europeau by ljsec, but is 2£sec behind world's. Slocks holds world's and European for three-quarters, his lmin 18§sec, done in September 1897, being- the best to date. Walker is only 3-ssec to the bad with his lmin 19sec. In the mile Slocks is again on top in world's and European with ltain 44sec, and Walker is at his heels with lmin j 4-ssec." i The question of gear often mystifies tbe j novice, and many funny stories are told in [ connection with the subject ; as, for example, i that of the cyclist who purchased a machine geared to 60in, and nexb day indignantly ' ; sought to get his money beck because the vendor had assured him that it wat geared to 60, and he had counted and found there were ' only 48 links in the chain ! The gear of a I cycle is determined by three faebs :— (1) Diameter of driving wheel (expressed in ' inches) ; (2) number of teeth on front gear wheel ; (3) number of teeth on back gear wheel. Having ascertained these facts, the prm 1 can be calculated thus : — Driving wheel, , '' 20ia ; front ge«- wheel, 18 teeth ; back ge&r

wheel, 9 teeth. Multiply the number of mehes of the driving wheel by the number of teeth on the front gear wheel — 30 by 18 = 540. Divide the result by the number of teeth on the back gear wheel, 540-^-9 = 60. The machine is geared to 60 n. Twenty-eight inch driving wheels are mostly fibbed now, so I append a table of gears. Having counted the teeth on both gear wheels, ' Had the number on the front one in the vertical column to the left of the table and the number 1 on the rear one in the hor'zontal line at the I top — the figures at the point where the two line 3 | meet will be the gear of the machine.

j Ever ri"»ce chains- were e'dopted as a ■ means of transmitting power on bicycles the I care of them has been a subject of worry. The chain is one of the most important parts on a wheel, and the ccoasions for sorrow over one in bad condition are many ; bub tb.B ways and means of keeping it in good order are not an widely known as the general need warrants. The market being full of lubricants, ib is natural that tbe majority of "aiders should learn that such a thing is necessary. Therefore a solid, or ssmi-liquid, lubricant is distributed over the surface ot the chain blocks. This makes the chain run noiselessly on. the sprockets, and tbe rider thinks the chain is lubricated. There are about 100 bearings in the .ordinary chain, each revolving only a certain distance around its axis, making if; a bearing that wears very fast. Unless these bearings a>-e k2pt clean and well oiled they cannot do their work ia a satisfactory manner, »nd tbe chain will be shortlived. Rubbing chain lubricant on the surface of the blocks prevents a litfcle wear, due to the sprocket teeth ; but it does not do the bearinga of the chain a particle of good. The chain must be lubricated in the bearings, not around them. Many of the saddles now in use of unknown makes are made oub of iron-hard leather. A way to soften them is to detach, turn upside down, and sprinkle tbe under surEacs with a fair amonut of unboiled linseed oil. If this be objected to upon the score of possible clothes ! Foiling, or if the rider be away from home upon the road, here is an alternative fure. Buy a cemmon taliow candle, place it ia the sun until quite soffc, then smear the under part of the leather, and stand the saddle in the sun or before a fire nntil it soaks in. Tho leather j will be rendered soft and pliable, and not the slightest stain will result. - When proper pedalling; 1 of wh:c T a ack'e action is the greatest part* ' s absent, the wheel is propelled by a series of jerks. It is not; putting ib too strongly to say that the average cyclist dcea not pedal well. Watch his chain. Ib alternately tightens and slackens, whereas ib should ba steadily drawing on the rear sprocket all the time. Propelling tho machine thus, by a series of jerks at the chain, is bad for the rider and bad for the machine in general j and the chain in particular. Whether the j chain be correctly adjusted and reasonably taub * or slacker than ib should- be, when in use the even tension of its upper half should be the same. The alternating downward thrust of the psdals and absolute stoppage of power is as needless as it is bad. It is a good deal easier, after you once get the trick, to pedal rightly than wrongly. The rotary motion of the fest i should be kept up throughout the entire circuii; Jof the pedal. A correct use of ankle motion } will perceptibly preserve the propelling force n, j considerable time (comparatively speaking) after the pedal passes its lowest point in its backward swing and until after the other foot has begun work en the downward stroke. In thi3 way the tension on the chain may b3 kept very nearly even, with no perceptible slacken- j ing of the upper side. i Cyclists should never wear pointed toe or tight- fitting shoes when riding their machines. In the use of the former tha toes I are shoved down to the point of the shoe with ' j each downward stroke of the pedal, and this i scon results in corns. In honour of St. Patrick, and in addition to the multitude of victories scored earlier in the *veek, the Sterling cycles carried the boys in green to the front in the moßt important events on Saturday last, including W&llis, who won the Ha'.f-mils handsomely; Barker and Sutherlaud, first and second in the Three-mile Scratch Race ; while in the Multicycle Race the two Sterling tandems, ridden by Blade and Stinton and Bell and Turner, finished first and second in a field of seven machines, conceding big starts. Total performances : six firsts, three seconds, five thirds. The well-known firm Messrs Morrow, B&Bsett, and Co., are sole agents for the Sterling ike* 1

some; hints. The or.ddlo of a lady's rt.atfjiir.i tbouM .fast t* sufficiently high to eu&blu 'act to ttep o£ oii to the ground with ease. Shouid the rubbers become worn quite inaootb so that the foofc slips off the rubber pedals 4 good plan- is to- cut aperies, of furrows with a sharp penknife, and a grip for the sole of the shoe will thus be made. For ladiss riding in muddy weather, it id an excellent plan to have the hem of the skirt f&ced inside with thin macintosh to a depth of a few inches. This simple expedient will prevent damage to the dress lining. -- - - Frequently agocd deal of air escapes when a hand pump ia used, and when this is the case a new washer should be placed in position. ThiC j can be easily done by making one from a piece ; of leather cub from an old shoe, which will serve the purpose admirably. Ib may be a little troublesome, but if yon want to reap the fall benefits of cycling you should invariably have a -good, vigorous! rub down alter each ride, and put on an entire change of clothes immediately. A cold sponge bath will be of benefit to many, although a tepid bath or a brisk dry rub will do equally as well. Mere than ever in the winter lime is it necessary to follow the advice to pump your tyres , hard. Nob only are the possibilities of slip ' lessened, but there is always a good deal of j loose " metal " on the roads, nnd the chances of the inner tube being nipped by a stone, and probably punctured in consequence are greatly increased with partially deflated tyres. A reliable screw wrench is a necessity to .anyone who desires to keep his machine in .good order. It they are not true they slip conI tinualJy when used lor tightening or loosening purposes. This not only means barked knuckles and lacerated augers, bub the sharp corners of the nuts themselves are rapidly worn away. This not only detracts from the appearance of a machine, but becomes a positive danger in consequence of the impossibility of ecrewing them up sufficiently. A txrew wrench should remain at one size without a symptom of shifting ; then, and then only, can a good grip fee secured.

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