CYCLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2309, 2 June 1898, Page 37

CYCLING.

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT.

Harp Times.— Mr W. Melville, bicycle manufacturer, of George street, infoiras me that he has some of the ordinary type of bicycle on band, and that he is willing to sell a first-class machine of the type mentioned for £2.

NOTES BY DEMON,

— — The members of the Mimiro Cycling Club, mentioned in my last week' 6 notes, gave another of their pleasing cycle parades at the Agricultural Hall on Monday evening. The rarious movements were gone through with creditable neatness, and the 'ladies mast feel gratified at the appreciation shown by the public. The two other ladies taking p art whose names I was unable to ascertain before going to press last week are Misses Bodgers and Kingsford. The tenth gentleman assisting is Mr Forester.

~ - During the week, Mr Wickens, of Christchurch, has been performing some difficult cycle trick-riding at the Agricultural H»U, and. his efforts have been freely commented upon by our cyclists, who seem now to bb able to demonstrate how this and that trick was done. Messrs J. Dey and G. Moore, of Dunedin, have been successful at the compecibionc in connection with tho Exhibition, the former winning the" pin-riding competition and the Uttei the figure-writing competition.

The fitting up of the new club room of thfc Mimiro CycliDg Club is completed, and the member* are pleased with their ohange of quarters. One of the advantages of the room is that ib proves to be an excellent place for the ttoraga uf the bioycle if need be. It is a treat

I place in safety and that while you are away ..you seed not worry about it. The balaEce sheet of the sports meeting of the Dunedin Cycling Club, held on the C*ledoniau grour»o*s o;> Februarjt-12 last, shows an expenditure cf ££14 7s Id, made up as follows :—: — Bent to Caledonian Society £51 9 4 Prize-money and trophies 116 11 0 Advertising 16 16 6 Printing and programmes ... , ... 13 18 4 G-atemen and wages 6 5 0 Postage and sundries „, 1 15 7 JExpeuees of pacing aiachices and paceI makers , 3 11 4 I Baud 4 0 0 £214 7 1 | The receipts show that the total revenue of | £289 12s 9d,was handed in in connection- with L tbe meeting. The specified receipts are : Entiy money £38 13 6 Wale of tickets 53 15 0 Gate-money 126 17 9 Dooations 36 10 6 Advertisements (programmes) 12 2 6 Sale of programmes ... 2113 (J £259 12 9 Taking into accouufe the expenditure of £2147s Id, it will be B«en that the cinb profib3 over the meeting tc the extent o? £75 5a Bd, Tho annual read raca protested by the Oiago Cycling Club was got off on Tuesday week. The journey was from Mosgiel Junction to Outram via Allantou and back to Mofgiel, and ifc was won by W. Johnston (6£niin), 51. Higgias (7min) finishing secsnd.

Did you ever Eotice the retrospective and contemplative smile on tha face of the oldt'rner as he observes the mild sfin.^alion caused by the appearance in a city sisaab of a " diaeutombfed ordinary ?

A reading of the above quotation from Melbourne Punch set me thinking, and the paragraph seems to strike home, for when I see an ordinary, no matter how old and battered about, the thought seems to come to me that I too had ridden a machine perhaps no belter than that. Many of us who now cycle can go as far back as 16 y«&rs ago, when rides were few and you had to wait your turn to get the use of the old boneshaker belonging to the Dunedin. Club for practising on. But how we relished a ride on this wheel, and what was our joy on attaining a sufficient proficiency to enable us to mouut our own. spick-and-span new machine. How we used to wheel round and round the Oval night after night, and take oar "epinaut to Outram or Henley; on the Saturday, scorning to walk up Saddle Hill, but every time riding. I fear that I might ba tempted to go and write more than may prove interesting, but let me put down a thought that has just crossed my mind/ Is there any one of the riders of the old ordinary days who would care to go back to those days and give me a chatty note or two of incidents of the riders of those days. lam sure that such items would prove of interest, and now leave the matter in the hope that some person may, on seeing this note, give me and my readers a glimpse of. the early life of cycling in Dunedin.

Ken Lewis, who was at one time in Dunedin, and who is now one of tbe leading racing men ,in Australia 1 , is a sufferer from asthma, and his complaint seriously interferes at times with his racing. He is at present matched against Port a for three distances — one, five, and tea miles— and ifc is anticipated that he will pull off two of the three events.

Probably the youngest trick rider in the Australasian colonies at the present time is Master Richard Stedman. This small boy, who is only five aud a-half years of, age, appeared at the Agricultural Hall on Monday evening, and performed a number of tricks that would do credit to a rider of mature age. He seems to be thoroughly at home on the bicycle, and to those who know the fondness of his father (Mr S. R. Stedman) for the wheel, the inclination of thfi youth must seem to be natural.

— — A meeting was held &t Miltou last Wednesday evening to consider lh& adaptability ot re-forming the Bruce Cycling Club, Mr J. B. M'Clymont was voted to tat chaic. The Chaff* m&o stated thair the object of the meeting w*s to form another cycling club, as tnf> old one had died * natural death, aad if thoy did to tbe committee of the forme; club intended to hand over the funds in hand to the new body. Dr Sutherland said that he had much pleasure in stating that it was" a certainty a cyoliDg track was going to be laid down, and there would be no uecensiity to worry about suitable MWMtffc.. Tjttejr. fHßfjiiUr tQ!MW»a,Bi |fo J t A.,

i Duthie, almos' guaranteed that ht would put a j track npou •• ground that would bt one of the i naos^conrevient ioMiltor. There was no ques- , tion in bi< mind but that a splendid site would < be chtsan, attd in the near future they would ; hsve. o first-class sports ground and cycling ' traclr. thereby supplying a much-needed want. ."'.. thought too DUioh could not be said hi • ppreciation of Mr Duthie'a exceedingly 1 ifenerous offer, aiid Miltoo ought to feel j proud of possessing suoh a citizen. — Mr J. . M'Leod tnovsd — "That a c.rciing cinb be i formed, to be called the Bruce Cycling Club." I Seconded by Mr H Bt 'William aa<J carried. — I The election ci office- bearers was then proceeded with, and recuHefJ ax follows ;— Pr^ident, Ms J. 4. Duthie; vice-presidents— Dr (Sutherland, Me.*Piv Pftrie, J. Eastes, A. B. H&ggitt, and I , Griffith Roberts ; hen. secretary, Mr J M'Leod; bon. treasurer, Mr J. B. M'Ciymonfc; commit! cc™ Messrs T. J. Grant, W. Hall, J. Lane, H. G. M'CJymonfc, G. M'DonaH, H. M'Wiliiaro, A. P&rlane, B. V. Reilly, W. VVattere, and the other office-bearers c.v ojicio. — The members' subscription, on the fiction of Me Chalmers, seconded by Dr Sutheiland, was fixed at | 5s. — It was resolved to a,isHate to the League of New Zealand Wheelmen. — Mr Petria moved — " That a very hearty vote of thanks be' accorded to Mr J. A. Duthie for the way in •which he has come forward and for the prospect he hag offered -of a cycling trsok being Jaid down in Miltou." Seconded by Dr Sutherland and c&rr'ed by acclamation. The 50-mile read race promoted by th» Diinlop Tyre Company and held afc Chriatchurch on Saturday last was won by A. Ralston, of Dunedin. - , To ride from Melbourne to Sydney on a bicycle— s76;): miles — in 75hr smin is certainly an astonishing performance, and as K. A. Pearson'* wheels slowed down in front of the Sydney post office at an early hour on a recent Sunday • morniDg the small knot of friends who had ; turned out to tee him complete his great ride could not refrain from giving him a hearty cheer. Pearton was in splendid condition for ' road riding. Only the, week before he bad ridden from Sydney to Melbourne with Cleeve, a fellow member of the old- established Suburban Bicycle Club, Sydney, and after a few j daya' sojourn in. Melbourne the pair Bet out on the return journey with the object of securing that most coveted of road rtcorda, the Mcl- j bourne to Sydney. The machine which Cleeve > was ridiug broke down when little more than J 100 miles bad been ooverert on account; of i colliding with a stump, and Pearson pushed on J alone for seme miles, when cam? kers me 6 j him, and thence to Sydney, from it in* to j time, he vas paced along by various riders. Ha I only had one bsur'f sleop in the 75 houcshe wagon the road. It was when 12 miles from Germanfcon, alone and nearly frozen, he lighted a fire and slept away the hour before daylight. Mr Pearson is an athlete, 30 years of age, and has been trundling wheels for 14 years, having been ] pretty good at tiding the old ordinary bicycle, j as be at one time held tbo 50 mi'e.s road record jia N.S.W. Ou the safety he cuce rode 301 rrilea in 24- hours on the Goulburn, Brsidwood, and Sydney route. Pearson measure^ 6ft and scales 12st, is captain of the Sydney Rowing Club, and has sever.il times stroked intercolonial crews, so that he was well inured to hard work. Pearson and Clfieve set off from the Melbourne Post Office at'half-past 1 o'clock on the morning of the sth, Mr G. W. Burston giving them the word to go, and in 7£ hourg they had ridden 98 miles, whe they arrived at Euroa. Cleeve gave" up near Benalla, after his accident. At Springhurst the record-breaker was delayed nearly oix hours ; neyertbclesc, ho succeeded in covering 200 miles in the first 24 hours he was out. The previous record was lowered by SOhra 59min. — &uatralasian. — • — One of the novelties ab a rsceufc cycle meeting in London was a fuur-naile match between two Dunlop quads, one manned by Britishers and the other by African nabives^ba natives to receive 300 yards start. The Mplbburr.e Bicycle Club has » credit balance of £3907 18s 4d. On tbeSydney Criokefcground oa Wednesday Beancbsmp, the Tasamnian cyclist, broke all Australian records from 20 to 100 miles. He covered 50 milea in Ih 4600 in S6jeo, and the 100 miles in 3h 40min 58sec. Ball-bearings are essential features of every bicycl9 now made. In a new chainlesa bicycle there are an extraordinary number of balls, fov tha bevelled wheels work against wheels, every tooth of which revolves in ballbearings. Steel balls are made .with great care. They are first cut oS the cold bars of metal, which are from 4-ffc to 6ffe in length. Then they are placed in a rotating cutter, which renders them spherical. After this they are placed in grooves between two iron plates, which, while revolving very rapidly, grind the balls and remove tha rough edges left by the cutting process. Placed in a furnace ar d made red ho*, they are then dropped into a, tank of water 4ft deep, and afterwards polished between woodencovered iron plates. An automatic machine tests the size, and if one-half a thousandth of an inch larger or smaller than required the ball is rejected. Gritls afterwards spread the balls out on white cjoth and inspect them with 1 magnifying glasses to see if any defects exist in the metal. The final teat requires the balls to stand hydraulic pressure of from half to four tons. When placed in first-class bearings steel balls will run tor hundreds of miles without the ' slightest perceptible wear. After two months of uncertainty the immediate future of Jimmy Michael is settled. He has signed a contract' with the American Cycle Raciug Association to ridfi six i middle-distance races, from 15 to 33 miles, during July and August. The Bum guaranteed, it is reported, is 15 OOOdol for his appearance. This is probably twic& the amount any man ever ; received in this country on a similar contract, and shows conclusively that, denpice all reports regarding Jimmy's having chosen the life of a jockey in preference to that of a bicycle l icier, | he is still the idol of the American public. Jimmy is looking »«U, although somewhat heavy — possibly 251b heavieft- than during the : racing seaison o? 1897. He is riding Dwysr'a j horses at Gravesend every day, fend the ( universal verdict is that Michael as a jockey ; in a year or two is a possibility, His qualiiica- J I tiocs for st jockey, in the opinion of £n;m,?, are t ' many and varied. He can ride at msest 100' ib, < has unusual strength, and a remarkably ooc'i ! head. The writer had a very pleasant talk with i Jimmy recently, but he was, as usual, very j reticent. He said, however, that be would ride j the horses for a while, and then fit himself for i cycle-racing, which will begin in July, and ! return to the turf in the fall. His whole eon* yersation indicated that in the future, when he ia no longer the Jimmy Michael of to-day, he [ will fit fcimitelf fo» a career on tbe tnrf.— Spirit i (A tht 'Rimes. ■»■— ~ ,$ oycb'ng geniai bas evolved a gamo vthictb i;Hi be played ot wheels. It ia called the "Hoyal" gavoe, ascj requires $ court or field, divided into »]}.#», pfwc team* of ofne rider* each take park, and tjie field is divide^ into a right and- left field, with ihd eourseb obalked out plainly. An aljeyway, con&inioted of ropes or cables, extends from iihh y^pe* to t&e lower field on th& division line p&tfttou vhd eight «nd left field. (ia.bleg a^o fdypij^e ftpnght fides,

backward or forward by the riders in passing *t J any point between the lower and upper fieid. j The play-wheel is a single bicycle rjm, having a 4£in pneumatic tyre. Tbe object of the game is to drive this play-wheel from the centre fields through attack of oppoognts, to f. goal Ahead. the riders usiug sticks rspeaialiy made ior frhe game. The ends of tbe «)'ey ways ate *Ji? fgoals for the respective teirns. Players ride { o. s>iPg:? file and always circle to tbe left. Tbci« Ibe <,*■■-• trains are constantly meeting mr>d sass'nv; eaeb other in opposite directions on tb.,-' upper side* jof the alleyway, " Roy*i "is (■ guve requirI ing swift, ridin? ■Hid much skill, Bad a novice i .<vould scarcely < wlurc to fonu one of < team. I Rider* el P.-jU-^p '-ys^ m& probabh not j awarp of tbe f«-: t *?*..'/ w t\mj f;<je are repaired fret .'A *rAs*g** n^ot- ttptdicatfon at any of the company's •iew^.h -'<'. nyrw oan be i seat carciflge paid tv say i.f ilie (>omp*ay"s j depots, with the qaiae aud atidress ol 'the J seeder. Puuotures c,re snob » rarity that the | company can well afford lo adopt this line of conduc f . ! The value of a well-ad.v<Ttiscd annual | fiylure increa*es nearly every year. This is I evident when tbe balance sheets of the world's championship race meeting are studied. In 0 1893, the meeting w*s ruu first in America, but resulted in a loss of £400. In 1894, Belgium controlled the meeting, and reaped £31 ; in 1895 | G.-rmany profited to the extent of £600. In : 1896 Copenhagen cleared £358 ; and last year Glasgow made a clear profit of £1076. Word has been received that Platt- : Betta .has succeeded in lowering the world's flying mile record to lmin 35sec at tbe Crystal Palace track. This rider was recently in Aus- ! tralia, and while there succeeded in lowering all Australian records from the quarter to ten miles, cutting the flying mile record from lmin 48sec to lnain 38jf->ee, a difference of De*rly 10-sec. Betts's name has figured largely ou tho world's record sheet during the last two or three years, and up to the date of hia leaving England for Australia he held all world's records up to fire miles. While on his way to Australia, they were all lowered by J. W,- Stocks, amongst the records being the flying mile, in lmin 35§sec, which Betts has now succeeded in recapturing, bettering Stock's tiiaa by fsec. The new time was established on Dunlop tyre#, behind the famous Dunlop pacing teams. The one mile flying record is the most coveted of all records, and thousands of pounds have been spent in America in the endeavour to gain it, but without success, their best ride being M'DuffiVfl laiin 35*3e3, equalling Stocio's time. $&£$ A Denver clergyman has discovered a substitute for rubber and named it "oxilio." The first effects were directed to makicg a new flooring materiel from linsaed oil, and the result was the production of the substance which forms tho basis of linoleum. Successive experiments yielded a substance more and more elastic, and at length it was found that the combination with it of sulphur produced the same effect as the mixture of rubber and sulphur. It costs about five or six cents a Ib. • Athletic cyclist (to friend) : " Yestorday I invited Jones, the oycle expert, to express his candid opinion of my machine, and he had the impudence to tell me that it was gas piping. Well, I threw him downstairs and knocked the stuffing out of him. Now, old man, give ms your honest opinion ! '' COMPRESSED AIR. Mr Jackson de Neal, of Toledo, has invented and patented many wonderful things, but his . latest is a bicycle to run by the employment of compressed air. Several parties have-taken hold of tbe invention, for which Mr de Neal has received letters patent. The invention, broadly speaking, consists of a reciprocating air puoip, and connects with the treadle power. Also with a reciprocating valve gear attached directly to the driving axle of the bioycle. A feature of especial importance is the valve gear by which the piston heads of each cylinder travel co-incidentalljr to and from each other.

The invention is capable of various modifications and attachment to, and for the propulsion of various vehicles of all kinds and designs. In the use of the power mechanism forming the essential part of the invention there is constructed a valve chest upon the frame of the bicycle, in which operates a valve gearing of novel construction, comprising cranks secured upon the »xle of the rear or driving wheel of the bievcis,

The cmiks are secured upon the axle, and are formed with crank arms, upon which are secured pitmans pivotsslly connected with piston heads located in the cylinders, and are adapted to move cc-incident&lly with the cylinders, as well as form the heads for the other cylinder. That is to say, power being applied upon the s'.-jner sides of the piaton heads within the cylinder will separate the game to tbe extreme throw allowed by the pisiono and crank arms, and in tbe exhaust the heads are assembled to the minimum throw of the crank arms plus the articulation ef the pitman with the piaton heads.

Id short, the invention comprehends utilising the tubular frame as a storage tank for compressed air, or thece may be formed a reservoir within the fir ma for storage purposes. The patent also includes iho ■possibilities and right to utilise the air within the frame for' the purpose of sounding an alarm by means of a whistle. It Is apparent that any ordinary treadle power may be employed if desired to actuate the pumps, io lien of the treadle or cranks of the pedal.

A number of privata trials wern made before the Jetteis patent were applied for, these tests being made in tbe presence of expert bicycle m«chanics. It is claimed for the iaventioD, while it does not run as silently as the ordinary bicycle, that it can ba propelled by a good rider at the rate of a mile in from lmin 50aec to lmin 55»ec. If such is the case, and the invention proves thoroughly practical, it may become a valuable adjunct in ths racing world.