CYCLING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2424, 30 August 1900, Page 49

CYCLING NOTES.

BY DEMON.

Among the illustrations in the Witness pictorial supplement this week will be found a group of the office-bearers of the Otago Cycling Club, season 1899-1900. This group was presented to Mr S. S. Myers, president of the club, at the annual meeting, held last Wednesday evening. Mr Myers's connection with cycling as a pastime goes back as far as mme — over 16 years — and I can well recollect him riding out from Tapanui, his then home, 16 years ago this Easter, mounted on his 52-inch nickle-plated bicycle, and giving four of us Dunedin ,wheelmen — Messrs Edgar H . Burn, Percy Baldwin, ' Wm. Crow, and myself — a warm welcome, pilotage over the rough ground, and a lesson in the art of riding foot tracks and dodging telegraph poles. He was then a genial cyclist, and remains so now. It is evident that the members of the Otago Cycling Club must be alive to his worth as an office-bearer and a comrade, and this presentation will afford, him the satisfaction of knowing that his labours for the club have not been in vain. I wish him many years ; yet to cycle and enjoy the pleasures of the wheel. G. Sutherland, the Mew Zealand reprej sentative to the world's championships, to be held at Paris, writes to the Dunlop Tyre Com- | pany from Port Said, stating that he is having an enjoyable passage. He went ashore at Colombo, and enjoyed a cycle ride on the splendid roads which are to be found in CeyI lon. Palm trees stretch along the finely-sur-i faced roads, affording a very acceptable shade, j thus rendering a cyclist's lot a very pleasant ! one. So far Sutherland has succeeded by dint of hard work (doubtless skipping, etc.) in keeping his weight down, he only having j gained 2.1b at the time of writing, so that he 1 anticipates landing in Paris in fairly good \ condition. Cycling has the following regarding ! a practice that I have frequently condemned. j I am thankful to say that of lste there have been no offender's here: — "Do you know., I am afraid those horrible baby carriers for use upon cycles are once again making a bid for public favour. During my Whitsun trip I noticed eight or ten in use, and of these at least five were the most unsafe contrivances 6i the kind that could possibly have been devised. Under the most favourable circumstances, the poor baby cannot be comfortable, since it is so placed that it gets all the vibration from the front wheel, in addition to I which drawback its discomfort is emphasised by the fact of its being cramped up into as little space as it can be sq\xeezed. But what would become of the child in the event of the front' fork breaking will not bear thinking of, and yet, with so much extra strain thrown upon a portion of the frame which is not constructed to withstand it, you would have sup-, posed that this possibility would have been the first to present itself to the devoted parents. An airing; taken under such conditions, can benefit neither father nor child, and it is surprising that, in this advanced and enlightened age, one single child carrier can exist when a baby can be so much more safely and comfortably disposed of in a horseless vehicle^as represented by a perambulator." Among the illustrations jn this week's issue will be found a photo of two youthful cyclists who have attracted some attention in their spins about town lately. These riders, Roy and Trevor Stedman, aged five and eight years respectively, handle their tandem bicycle in an easy and graceful manner and my first sight of them, descending the Princes street hill, and going towards the Post Office, was a surprise. They pedalled down the hill with the air of veteran riders, no doubt the consciotisness of the nearness of their father, Mr S. R. Stedman, also mounted, giving- them confidence. Many people watched them passing, and details of the tandem ridden will be of interest. The frame in front is 13in, at the back 17in, the wheels are 20in, the gear 52, and the weight 301b. The lugs and parts are from the Birmingham Small Arms Company. The tyres and rims were presented by the Dunlop Tyre Company. On Saturday, 11th inst., A. A. Middleton, of Melbourne, went for the 25 miles road Tecord, out and home, and did Ihr 7min 45sep, the previous best being given_as Wade's, in competition, Ihr 9min 4-Osee. He would have done better, .it is related, only his pace went astray ; indeed, his trials suggested as much. Victorian cyclists have succeeded in getting very cheap bicycle carriage rates from the railway authorities, the following being the new charges: — When accompanied by owner, from Ito 50 miles, 6d ; 50 to 90, 9d ; 90 to 130, Is; 130 to 200, Is 3d; 200 to 300, Is 6d ; 300 to 400, Is 9d ; 400 to 450, 2s. When unaccompanied by owner, the rates will be : 1 to 50 miles, 9d; 50 to 75, Is 3d; 75 to 101, Is 6d ; 101 to 200, 2s. The question as to whether or not carbide is a dangerous explosive was satisfactorily settled during the progress of a great fire at Ottawa and Hull, Canada. There were 15 tons of carbide in the warehouse packed in steel cans, with the tops screwed on. When -the floor gave way, many tons of the material fell through to the cellar, in which a foot of water had collected from the fire hose. Although acetylene gas was generated in immense quantities, there was no explosion, j but it simply burned with a slow steady flame, making less show than a pile of coke on fire. The insurance agents, who have investigated the matter, now declare their conviction that carbide is not a dangerous fire risk. The war has caused a big drop in the shipments of cycles and parts to South Africa. Returns just issued show that during the three j months ending with March last the American exports only attained a value of £1556, as against £9655 in the first quarter of 1899, and £8390 inthe first three months of 1898. | A corresponding falling off is also noticeable I regarding the English cycle exports. I ■ The. following table shows the respective hour records of the four principal coun- ! tries who go in for record-breaking: —

The first-named performance was made behind well-sheltered tricycles on the fastest traok in the world — viz., the Pare dcs Princes, Paris, and averages a little under lmjn 32sec per -mile throughout. The American and

English records were accomplished behind motor tandems, while the Australian record was made behind multicycles without mechanical aid. Harry Elkes placed another victory to "his credit at Berlin, defeating Ed. Taylor, Robl, and Kaeser in a 50-kiloms (about 31 miles) paced match at the Kurfurstendamm track. The whole of the competitors experienced very bad luck with their pacing. At one period of the race Elkes was over a mile to the bad, owin^ to this cause, but he plugged on very gamely, and just got up in time to beat Robl for first place, and put in such good riding at the finish that he beat .several world's kilometre record, his full time for the distance being 55min 2sec. Taylor, who evidently had not recovered from his smash in the two-days' race at Paris, was third, five laps behind. The English cracks, "Walters, Gascoigne, Jenkins, Chirm, and Green, are said J;o have thrown in their lot with the International Cyclists' Union, the new Continental body formed in opposition to the 1.C.A., a body practically controlled in England. The most unique cycle track in the world is to be found at "West Baden, Indiana (U.S.A.). ,The track is a third of a mile in circumference, covered all round with a splendid two-storeyed grand stand, and is suitably fitted up with electric light. This is' the largest covered-in cycle track in the world. According to an American exchange, paper, Tod Sloan, the crack American jockey, has paid £2000 for a motor racing car. It is said that Sloan is taking the car to the States after the English racing season is over, and intends to go in for motor-car racing during his off-season. C Jarrot beat the motor tricycle record by 2-ssec at the Crystal Palace track on June' 26, covering the distance in lmin 27sec. The 'previous record was held by the Frenchman, Rigal, and was made on Whit Monday. The Cycle Age contains particulars of the recent deplorable accident at "Waltham, when W. F. Stafford and Harry E: Miles, while pacing Stinson in a four-cornered 20mile race, ran off the track and were dashed against the electric light poles with* such terrific force as to smash the motor-pacing machine hopelessly, and result in the death of both riders within a few hours, break a spectator's hip, and put another in the hospital. It' is the first disaster of the kind ever recorded, happily, and the most serious in the history of the cycle racing game. It has f caused a shock throughout cycling circles, . and has shown riders of these machines and those who follow them the full danger that exists in their use unless they are steered and controlled by the most experienced men in the game. It seems that Champion touched the re^r tyre of his pacing machine, and fell on the inside of the track, forcing each of the following outfits to run further up on the bank of the track. Mil.es and Stafford were left a space of only about 4ft between Kent and Rue] and 'the electric light pole to get through. Miles apparently lost his head, and was unable to hold the turn close enough. Such an accident might happen to the coolest and most experienced steersman on the path under similar circumstances, and Miles should not be blamed; but the accident will "surely serve as a grim warning to all in the racing business to use the utmost precautions in selecting steersmen for the powerful motordriven pacing machines. - An American paper reports that a Miss Marguerite Gast, a New York wheelwoman of 22 summers and build, is going to try a 1000-milei spin, and if she succeeds in breaking the record, G6lir 55min, recently made by Will Brown, she will win a trip to Paris, a money prize, and several other awards. It is generally thought that such a ride requires more endurance than a woman is capable of, but Miss Gast is confident of success. It is-selated that during a holiday tour in the mountainous district of "Wales a cyolist lost his way, and became so hungry that he decided to slightly puncture his tyre, and so have a leak! TO BABBIE'S WHEEL. Thanking Babbie for the pretty pictures and charming description of her trip to Berwick. Nature, jealous of her graces — Toi toi in its golden quiver, Wavy flaxes, ferns that shiver In the scented shade, to give her Every langour rest possesses From the outward wildernessesHid them by a gentle river, In the tidiest of places. Hid them close, till thou, whilst reeling Off the miles with silent wheeling, Took one Babbie out and bade her, With a shadow trap we made her, Be sweet Nature's fair invader; Who, in turn to do the bidding Of a wheel so gently ridden, Sent the choicest light to 4 aid her In the art of shaddow stealing. Addington, August 27. — J. M. LEAGUE OF NEW ZEALAND WHEELMEN. * CHRISTOHURCH. August 27". The Council of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen met to-night. The chairman, (Mr W. G. Atack) referred to the fact that at the annual meeting of the Amateur Athletic- Association certain of the rules dealt with affected league matters. It was decided to ask the-as-sociation to appoint representatives to meet the league representatives in conference 1 on matters of mutual interest. Mes&rs M'Kechnie, Parker, and the chairman were appointed to represent the league. The Rakaia pnd Kumara, clubs were struck off the list of affiliated bodies on the ground thai their subscriptions had not been , paid. A. Calder (North' Canterbury) was reinstated as an amateur. Applications from A. Holmes (North Canterbury) and H. Miller (Auckland) were referred back to the respective centres for further particulars. The secretary pf the International Cyclists' Association wrote regarding international cycling matters. He said that Reynolds had informed him that under existing circumstances he would not think of competing in Paris. G. Sutherland wrote from Paris referring to the uncertainty regarding his competing. He said that he was dn.ily expecting to hear from the league as to how he should act. Meantime he should keep in training. The chairman said that Sutherland and Reynolds would have received information in plenty of time to compete. The cycle, path movement initiated in Auckland was brought up, and the secretary was instructed to communicate with the various centres directing their attention to the bill drawn up in Auckland, and asking them to consider it and take action accordingly.

'France America England Australia Distance. Miles. Yds. 39 1111 „. 36 747 ... 34 740 29 1201 t "t Holder. A. Bauge H. Etkea E Bouhours T. ReJph