BOW CORTIS FIRST ROBE TWENTY MILES IN THE HOUR.

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

BOW CORTIS FIRST ROBE TWENTY MILES IN THE HOUR.

By B. L. Jbfjfekson, in the Hub.

Amongst cyclists, even in this day when record breaking has come to be looked upoi as something n'thor tame and uninteresting, tho nanie of Cortis always stands out prominently. People speak of Corlis who never saw him, but the fact that he was the first maa to ride twenty miles on a bioycle in one hour will always make his name known ; even when artificial pacing, improvements in tracks, and such like things have rendered the cyclist capable of performing even double that distance in the same time will there be in a corner of everj oyclist's heart a memory cf that feat wrick once set all the world agog. Oortis was distinguished bj- hij modest demeanour, his groat ttetomiination, and bis cheerful disposition. He was a student tor medical honours, and his best year was in 1878, that year in which he first conceived the idea of riding the then considered impossible distance of twenty miles in an hour. To-day, of course, twenty miles an hour are accomplished by even third or fourth-rate riders, in fact on tae road considerably more than that cm be a£u@« and lbs i§at tsewss ajgiQat

ludicrous tvhen we compare it with, say. Cor* clang's recent ride for 24 hours, in each hoiir nf \ v hieb !if. rode o^er iw«snty-fiye miles. But we niusfc consider the class of machine ridcloa in 1878 and 18S0 — die spider- wheel higl* bicycle, & machine with upright forks, small, trailing wheel, and. straight handle bar, upon vlueh the rider had to sit gingerly, for tho slightest mistake in balance would mean a ! cropper. Like Lacy Hillier, one of his compeers, JEL. _ v Oortis was a demon for hard work. ■ Nothing seemed to delight him more than io ride when the weather was vile and the track at its worst; in fact, it is said that he relied not so much upon his mere turn of speed as his tremendous strength, for although +he ; bicycles of those days were excessively heavy f when compared with present day mounts, i'O was able to slog through the worst rubble of ', a track at a pace which made his fellow com- ' petitors green with envy. One of the things which served to make Cortis famous was bis race against the great professional champion, John Keen. Keen was in those, days the j acknowledged ohamnion of professional racing. He had already met and defeated his greatest professional competitor, Fred Codp«i* (now of the firm" of Marriott and Cooper), on several occasions, and in his partioular department was equally as "celebrated as Cortis. •In *the late seventies it was said by the then leaders of cycling sport what a great thing it would be if only Keen and Cortis could meet. Difficulties, however, stood in the way. Tlie Bicycle Union was then as cumbersome and unwieldy in its machinery as it is said to be at the present time, anu for quite a long time the leaders of cycling legislation would .not dream of allowing Cortis to ride against tho professional champion. However, by .the pressure vvhich. was brought to^bear, this permission was at length given, and the race .was billed to take place at Stamford Bridge. Tlia amateur division were confident that their champion would defeat the more practised professional, ..in fact it was said that Keen, brilliant rider though he was, could not stand the tremendous all-out pace which they knew their Cortis would put on. The hopes, however, of tbe amateur division were doomed to_ disappointment, for Cortis was defeated, not howeyer without a brilliant race, Keen's superior sprinting power ..at- the finish just serving to land him a winner by a short distance. It was aofc autil 1880 that Cortis fairly made up his mind to go for the record ride of twenty miles in an hour. He made sever\l j attempts — one upon the Surbiton track — • j which were all unsuccessful; but at lenijth - , the Crystal Palace track was obtained for Mie , ride, and he secured the assistance of some of the best riders of the day to act as pacs- ; makers. The Crystal Palace track in that i day was, of course, nothing like the present one. Its site is_ now occupied by a football ! field, but then it was a rather narrow cind'-r j path, without banking, which ran round one of tbe lakes, and was about three laps to the mile. Cortis had bean trained for the ride by one of the then best professional trainers ; and when on that eventful day he came jut for his record spin, everybody pronounced him to be in the pink of condition. Jie was quite gay and chirpy when he mounted his wheel, and at. the signal given by Pern Coloman, started off at a good swinging pace, which lie maintained in spite of the rather blustering wind which was- blowing. The first mile was reeled off well under the three I minutes, and it was seen that Cortis Vas I laughing and joking cheerily. In the second ■ mile he increased his pace rather, but fell* off a little in the third, andiso he. continued, • his pace alternating somewhat, but mottling dowi after ten miles had been eornpleled iulo a long steady slog. Although the ground was not crowded, a large number of enthusiasts had eoivs down, to &cc the '" doctor," as he was called, on h'<s record ride, and their hearty words of r.r) j couragement and cheers did rauci towa-'d? j helping the game rider on his journey. Pac.;r after pacer came on to give him a lead, but, of course, pacing in those days was nothing like it is to-day, and Cortis was not able io take advantage of it in a similar way to whrt a record breaker would to-day Frequently he ran quite past those who were iielpiag «-m, or rod© beside them chatting or making -if)ma joke. In the fifteenth mile it was scon iuj.'. Cortis would, provided he continued his pr« sent rate of progression, easily accompli^ liia object. About this time, however, he v/aa beginning to feel rather tired. He hung ova ■ his handlebar doggedly and worked away with a will. It was feared that he would have a very bad time before the hour was up ; but although it was clear that his exertions were having their effect, his pace did nob diminish materially, and aided by sym pathetic and eager pacemakers, and ohee^sa by all his frieujjs, he kept on, pulled lcvol with the existing record just before the hoar was up", and great indeed was the I ' excitement when the pistol was fired and it was found that he had accomplished well over the al lotted distance of twenty miles withiin the hour. By this time a large number of spectators had assembled/ and their cheers were welcome indeed to tbe plucky rider, who now, pro-vl in tho distinction^ of being the first man. i o [ ride twenty miles* an hour on a luicycle, felt 1 he had fittingly crowned his long and glorious racing career. ' Two years later Cortis left, these shores .for Australia, where he set up in practice as a doctor. He raced several times in the Antipodes, and such was his love for cycling that, although he was then sickening for *he disease which ultimately proved fatal, lie was rarely out of the saddle. On Boxing Day, 1883, he raced at a big cycling carnival whoa suffering from ulceration of the bowels, ana of which, of course, as a medical man, i c .must have been- aware. Popular in England he was even more popular ".n Australia. He made friends wherever he went, and when he died, after a long and painful illness, the sympathy of all was with his bereaved relatives. To show the respect in which he was held, the cyclists of Melbourne erected <* monument to his memory, and, as we hava said, even to-day there are plenty to bear testimony to his excellent qualities as a syclist and a gentleman.

A movement is afoot to secure the services of a policeman for the Peninsula. The Witness x correspondent points out that the population is 2643, the rateable value £392,503, and the only policeman in the district is quartered at Anderson's Bay, the extreme city end.

The Natives &»• Papawai, near GreytowD, in Wairarapa, bsd made great preparations to en« terta\n r ;he Governor on tbe 25bb, but, unfortunately, s. heavy thnade,3larin broke over the placv ~t-d deluged it with v*iv. A special train fronr Wellington icoi his Excellency and ttaa Cour.'^Hii Aclniirt.l Pe«.isc!. aac' i» Dumber of naval <ffise*,i;, th* Prsnv.er., the Hon. T. Thompson, f.,»d a parfty of mvivC'Z guests. Just before reacbi&g the Summit a rather startling jolt was felt, and tbe train immediately pulled up. It was found & boulder had rolled down the hillside and struck the rail with such force as to bend it several inches out of line. Had not the driver stopped ah once the van at tharear would have been thrown off, but by the exercise of caution the rest of tbe train waa safelx gut cter.