CYCLING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2413, 31 May 1900, Page 41

CYCLING NOTES.

{ Members of the Dunedin Cycling Club , will hear with regret that their fellow club- | man, Trooper J. C. Seelye, who left 'here to go with the first contingent en active service in South Africa, has been invalided home. He is at present in Melbourne, and returns to Dunedin by the first steamer. His welcome to the clubroom will be no less hearty than j was the send-off given him at the time of his ! departure. t A word of warning to cyclists who take the run down Saddle Hill into Mosgiel at a rapid pace may riot be out of place just now. At the bend of the road where the water trough is situated I have seen several riders almost corns to grief, owing to the very fast ra.te of speed that was on, and an obstacle suddenly looming up just round the corner. There is no time to pull up, and the rider has to take his chances ot an escape or a severe spill. The matter has been brought before me by a cyclist who recently watched the rounding of this corner by other riders, and he informs me that at times people who are' driving and watch the ru3h down the hill positively hold their breaths till the corner is safely negotiated. For my own part, 1 like to take this hill with a good reserve of back pedalling or brake power ; but others not so cautious prefer the very exhilarating sensation of doing the whole hill at a 30-mile an I hour swing. | The important question whether a spectator has any claim at law against a racing | man who accidentally knocks him down whilst . on the track has been brought before the i' League of South Australian Wheelmen by a recent ease, in which a bench of justices gave a verdict ao-aiiiE't a wheelman for £10, with £5 costs. It seems that one of the crowd at a race meeting- on Christmas day, at Wliitwarta, wandered on to the track and "bached into " the cj'clist. The man was thrown down and injured, and then sued the wheelman for damages. The bench, so it is alleged, would not recognise the rules, of the League, which provide that no spectator is allowed on the track. It was decided by the League to obtain the fullest particulars, and if the allegations were borne out, to place the matter in the hands of their solicitors, so that the cyclift should not suffer an injustice. Recently, at the Bendigo County Court, before Acting-judge Johnston, Edward Beaudoin sued William Matthews, a raring I cyclist, for the recovery of the sum of £12, money due for work and labour done. The case for the plaintiff was' that" in July last the parties entered into an agreement. Beaudoin was to train Matthews, and he was to '. receive one-third of stakes won. Matthews » developed speedy qualities, and. in December I last he rah second' in the Austral Wheel Racein Melbourne, for Ayhich, he received £150. Beaudoin's" share should have been £50, . of which hs received £38, and he now sued for the balance of £12. TKe defence was that no sum of £12, or any part thereof, had been received by defendant for plaintiff, and as a defence to the alternative claim, that all mor.ey due to plaintiff had been paid to him. The parties had agreed that plaintiff should train Matthews, and that he should receive one-third of all stakes won after all expenses had been paid. The point at issue, therefore, was as to whether the expenses should have been paid first. After hearing evidence, a verdict was given for the plaintiff for the amount claimed, with £5 5s costs. During the progress of the ca^e the following interesting evidence was elicited : William Matthews said that Beaudoin had agreed to train him for ''one-third after expenses are paid." Beaudoin told him that he had a good chance of winning the Austral, and if he allowed him to train him he (plaintiff) wouldn't let him win anything till the Austral. His Honor: "Which means that you were to run stiff?" Witness: "Yes." BisHoror: " How many tunes did you go out for an airing?" Witness: "Pour times. "' English cyclist Edward Hale is still plugging through his 100 mile a day (Sundays excepted) on tne English roads. Up to the end of March he had covered some 21,000 miles and was then riding as well as on the day upon which he entered into his big undertaking. He has completed about two-thirds of his task, and to do the full 12 months he has now only a hundred and three more centuries to ride ! Airiiiteresting experiment was recently made in the Italian army to test the efficacy of some new military bicycles. A cycling detachment from one of the cycling regiments, with full equipments, tet out on an extended journey, and in 34- days accomplished 1250 | miles. This gives an average of over 36 miles a day. i