CYCLING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Volume 16, Issue 2351, 16 March 1899, Page 37

CYCLING NOTES.

By DEMON.

There is liltlo stirring in cycling circles, and the only matlor of interest is the fact that the Otago Cycling Club intend holding a race meeting on some Saturday afternoon early after Easter. The- Clyde Sports Club hold a meeting on the Clyde Domain on. Easter Monday, ApriL 3,' -when (he following bicycle races will be jun off: — One Mile Open Handicap, Wheel "Race (two miles) , Three Mile Open Handicap. Entries for these events must be lodged with the Eecretary, Mr A. E. Gye, Hot later than 8 p.m. on Saturday, 25th inst. ' - Mr D. Christie has been elected lion. secretary to the Taieri Cycling Club, and - Mr W. Robertson appointed, a member of v committee. . A handicap road race was run at Palmerston on Saturday evening. The distance was about five miles, and the race was won by Cruiekshanks (15sec), with Brooks (2urin) second and Body (2min) third. -The matter of tho Scharp case where the Melbourne Bicycle Club interfered with the handicaps of the " Austral Wheel Race after they had . become public was finally brought up before the League of Victorian (Wheelmen on 27th ult./when it was resolved •" That in- view of the expression of regret conveyed by the M.B.C. to the executive for its breach of the League rule, the executivo does not deem it necessary to record any penalty against tho club, but adjudges lliat it jpays the sum of £10 10s, being the costs Bl tho inquiry." j--*— Three members ofjhe League of Yw-

torian Wheelmen, Dr Morion, Messrs Sailer and Dillou have been." appointed to inquire into a matter concerning the offer of £50 " and a share of the bag " made to S. E. Gordon if he would lose the Cup race, for which he was a favourite. Gordon reported the matter-.to the officials of the meeting, and the appointment of a committee of inquiry is the outcome. Two members of the Speedwell Cycling Club made observations of ' the actions of certain riders and some bookmakers in attendance at the meeting, and these two watchers are lo report the result of their observations to the League of Victorian Wheelmen, who will most likely investigate the matter and try antLput a stop to the now too evident collusion there exists between bookmakers and some riders. A good way to clean a burned lamp reflector is to apply salt to a rag and rub it briskly. This will act as an excellent burnisher. The girls who cycle must have apparently forgotten how lo walk. Most of them shuffle along in a rapid but not at all graceful fashion, leaning over, as a rule, to the" kerb side, as if they were leading their stolid iron steed by the handlebar. " Cycling," says Harold Fredric in his posthumously published novel, " has done more for women in three years than all the progressive intellectual movements, of civilisation did in 300. This is putting it rather strongly; for, after all, the bicycle was only one of the many means to a useful end. But it is to be regretted that it tends to destroy the art of walking. — Mrs Humphry. A very pretty line of experiments can be carried out by floating bicycle balls in mercury, and bringing a strong magnet near them. They arrange themselves symmetrically under the influence of the stresses, and assume very curious positions, varying with their number and the intensity of magnetism. It is a variation of an old experiment known as Meyer's needles, in which needles were floated in water by bits of cork, and were subjected to the influence of a magnet. An Auckland telegram states that E. Reynolds, with pacers, rode a mile on the grass track in 2min 10 3-ssec, which is claimed to be a world's record for grass. -> — At the Sydney electric light cycling

carnival, Elliot won the Sydney' Cup in 4min 21sec. M'Donald and Forbes tied for" the Orient Plate with 7 points each, and this will be run off on Monday. The annual S.A. championship meeting concluded on Saturday, -February X, and the wcatherbeing favourable, there was a large attendance to witness the fine programme of events, the majority of which produced stubborn contests. The blue ribbon of Australian cycling— the One-mile Australasian Championship — was, of course, the principal attraction, and" produced some very fine finishes. Four heats were run, and. the following riders qualified for the final:— R. Walne, D. Walker. S. Gordon, A. Crisp, 1;. ]-sarKer, F. S. Beauchamp, Cr. Carpenter, and Ij. Corbett, and, as was generally expected, the race resolved itself into a struggle for supremacy between W.ajne and Walker, last year's winner just getting .home -with an inch to spare from Don Walker. >Wnlne held an advantage of two lengths^ leftd from Walker catering the straight ; Iml the Canadian lad came up with a 'tremendous sprinl, and if the race had been a yard further must have won, as he was travelling a long way faster than Walne at the finish. Walne and Walker received a great ovation for their game finish. Walne won this event last year, and the fact of his again winning the much-coveted honour proves what a grand rider we have in the Queensland champiou. The final of the Adelaide Wheel Race resulted in another fine finish between W G. Symonds and H. Aunger, the former winning by a few inches. A team race was carried off by a team comprising Beauchamp, Crisp, and, Tame. Walne finished first, but 'his* team could only secure second place 'On points. The Flying Handicap Half-mile gave G. Carpenter (of victoria) a chance of distinguishing , himself, he winning an eSbiting race in .the good time .of 59see. It is • expected that the league will make a loss of £50 over the meeting, owing to the poor>»attendance on the' first ' day, wheu the racing was conducted wibh. the' thermometer at 111 in the shade. ( An unprotected chain will sometimes be found to get very stiff when riding in rain qr mud, and in such a case the defect can be mitigated by wiping the inside of the links and the teeth of the gear-wheels free from the dirt, and well greasing them with some thick lubricant such as vaseline, or even a tallow candle will do. Should this fail to prevent the chain becoming fo tight as to interfere with free running, it will be well to loosen the adjusting Fcreus i-o as to produce the requisite slackness.

To tee if the crank axle bearings are too tight.- remove the chain, and spin the axle roitnd : if too tight it will stop suddenly. Supposing it to revolve freely and stop gradually, the next thing is to ascertain if it is too loose. To do this, place a finger of one hand so that it touches both -the cone and the bracket, or in the case of a barrel bracket the disc and the axle, at the same time ; that is, put the finger where the revolving and non-revolving parts meet. With the other hand take hold of the end of one of the cranks and shake it sideways to and from the machine ; any looseness will be immediately felt by the finger" of the 'first hand.

Tribute is paid to the übiquity of the cyclist for (sayfe the Daily Chronicle) in the design for the Hotel Great Central, which is shortly to be opened at the Marylebone terminus of the railway of that name. It takes the form of a cycling track upon the roof, a portion of which is to be used for this purpose, to meet, the- convenience of visitors when, the' roads are in bad 'condition. This provision will doubtless help to make the new hotel a paradise for cyclists. As regards cycling in London generally, it may be mentioned, that machines can now .be ' ridden into the yard in front of the ' British Museum, though , it is probable that ''against this sign .of advance will shortly have ,to be set the total prohibition of riding -in the btreetß within the boundaries of the city.

t - The veteran English rider, Mr A. J. Wilson, characterises 1898 as " the brake year," on account of the general attention to and popular use of this most important of cycling accessories during that year. Even the reckless " scorcher " now finds that the use of a brake adds speed to his movements awheel, because instead of having to exercise some cautioD on approaching unknown steep hills he goes ahead confident in the knowledge that by the aid of his brake he can control speed at his own sweet will. From another point of view 1898 may bo regarded as somewhat in the light of a " break year," for many of the over-capital-ised cycle firms lost piles of money through over-production and the lessened prices of bicycles. An exchange gives comparative figures indicating the position of the principal firms : —

A very clever Hhenie for inducing riders to buy early is bpinq worked with considerable by rt prominent Cleveland retail hoiue. A in'.iiLooki similar to tha*»

used in savings banks, is issued to prospective purchasers- upon payment of one dollar, the rider being instructed to deposit one dollar per week, or more, as he desires, the amount being credited in the passbook. When he has paid one-third of the amount asked for the wheel, he i& allowed to take the machine, giving the regular notes for payment of balance. As in an ordinary savings bank, the rider is allowed to draw on his account at any time-he desires, , or, if ho decides not to take the wheel at any time, the full amount is returned lo him. The scheme is attracting .•considerable attention and the enterprising . concern has a number of running account*. The house being well known, there is no risk for the rider, •' and 'the possession of the ! ( passbook gives him a special incentive .lo ' &aye his money. ,1 Joseph W. Grimes, an American, ! claims to be the heaviest cyclist | in the world. He weighs 5551b, is 6ft ,4in _ high, and measures 62in ! | round the chest. He is sft 4in round the | \\aii% 44-in round the thigh, 26in round the calf, and his collar must be big I enough to surround 22in of neck. His rei cord is 84 miles in 10 hours, with an hour's rest for dinner, and he can hardly wnlk at all. [ Three hundred and seventy-eight pounds, or j 27st, is thejjveight of the cyclist Dr Meldin, a Dublin physician. His immense weight would even be more than it is were it not for the fact that the doctor .regularly indulges every day jn out-door sports, having a particular fondness for lawn tennis^and cycling. Another heavy rider is Mr M. A. May,- a native of Waterfprd, who turns the scale ,at 22st. Besides being' one of the heavieit j cyclists, he is probably the tallest in the world, I as he stands 6ft 6in in his boots. The ma- [ chine he ride 3is a solid-tyred safety, and was ' ; specially made for him. .. ' . 1 j . .- ■ Cycling, must .be -booming hi .Tohannes- j : burg, South Africa, as a recent carnival reai Used £1000 profits after deducting £700 ex- I penses. , ' . j Major J. Battersby, of the Roynl Army Medical Corps', tells how, being short of any"} I convenient power for driving the dynamo by j I which the Kontgen rays are produced from J Ihe cathode rays within the vacuum tube, he '• employed a tandem bicycle for this purpof-.e. I Of 120 wounded soldiers, there were 21 in ! whose wounds it was impossible to locate the , bullet except by the aid of the rays. One soldier was 100 ill tc^be examined, but the , remaining 20 were submitted lo what lie niajoi calls " the piobe that is painless ond exact," and il may be truly &aid thai the ! sufferings of these 20 men were allc\ ialcd by the tandem. The first prize for the French Grand I Prix Championship of 1900 is £1000."" J

3ycle compan'es ... £355,000 L'yredo 515,000 Lube do P.OOO Miscella:ie< is ... 110,0 ji) Xft^O.OOd £74,000 £135,000 3,000 5,000 1,100 12,000 25,000 10,000 £103,100 £162,000

Net Reserve. Carried Earnings. ■. Forward, Dyclj companies ...£BBO.OOO £:50,000 £130,00t I'yre do 1,035,000 • 573,000 2.00 C I'ubodo 88,000 37,000 18.00 C Miscellaneous ... 225,000 75,010 18,00 C jE2,225,000 £035,000 ;£1«6,00J