NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2467, 26 June 1901, Page 56

NOTES BY DEMON.

The billiard tournament he-Id by members of ihe Oto_ga Cycling Club \va<* brought to a successful termination oti Friday evening last, when the interest that lias been sustained in the affair for several weeks past was kept up. Though the night %vas very wet, a good number of members lolled up to witness the final game between A. F. Anderson and W. Turner. Anderson made a good start in the game, but Turner was not to be denied, and, playing a steady game, landed a good winner. Credit is due to Captain Gvtnthorpe Tor his management of the tournament.

Encouraged by the success of the re-cenfely-finished billiard tournament, the Otago Cycling Club are considering the advisability of having another one. In order to conserve the interests of the members of the club, the committee of tho Otago Cycling Club are keeping the clubrooms strictly private during the stay of the Royal party in Dunedin. Members only are to be allowed in the vcoms. The Australian Cyclist states that Bill Martin wears a "maseotte" in the shape of a diamond Ting, which was presented to him in South Africa. lie wears it continually.

A Brisbane firm of electrical engineers, Trackson Bros. (Limited), has turned its attention to the manufacture of motors, the first one already being seen on the roads. In its trial trip a maximum speed of 15 miles was obtained, with a, 5-h.p. gasoline motor. As there is some talk "of a motor race , between Melbourne and Sydney, it will be interesting (provided it can be arranged) as a comparison between the various cars now in the Australian States, both locally made and imported, and will provide instructive data, not only useful to manufacturers, but helpful to those who wish to import them, as showing which class of motor is best adapted to Australian roads and other iocal conditions. The Dunlop Tyre Company is moving in the matter. For the mntch between Taylor and Jacquelin, in Paris, seats were being booked a month ahead at fancy prices. Near the finishing post sis much as £2 10s each was being paid, and less favourable positions were being- marked off at £1 and £1 53. Taylou is a little fellow, and as black as the ace of spades. The gate at the meeting should prove a record one, as the velodiome will seat 18,000 spectators. The French racing season opened with a 50 miles paced ract; between T. Linton. E. Bonhour, PI Taylor, Himar, and Doria. The fii\st-named crack won by a 'quarter of a mile in the fast time of lhr 25min 53 2-ssec. Bonhour was. second and Simar third.

J. Platt Betts, ihe English crack, has had a motor tandem built to pace him in his engagements on the Continent t'nis season which is capable of doing 45 miles an hour.

Melbourne Post Office depaitment has iililised a corps of cyclists for the past three years, for the more rapid clearing of th© pillars in the city and suburbs. The scheme has woiked remarkably well, and resulted in a great saviug of money, as well as a. gain in time. The contract which expired last month", has been renewed for another three months, pending the consideration of Senator Drake, the Postmaster-general, who may likely advice the extending of the system throughout the Commonwealth. Both Western Australia and Queensland have long made use of the cycle to .deliver the mails in the inland districts.

Enormous powered motor cars are now being driven in France, as high a^ 70-I). p. motors being fitted to some of the big ears. A cars of this description was recently officially timed to cover 29| miles in 20 minutes on the French roads — a pace equal to 90 miles an hour.

A discussion has be<ni pioeeeding in Oeling on the ro B t of a cycle, in which the following may be quoted as an aveiage. A Hathersa^e rider worko out his bill of costs as f ollows : — Cost of bicycle, £18 10s; less l-rc-ent value, £8 10s,— £10; tyres, repairs, etc., £9; — total, £19. The chVance ridden un to March last was 33,500 miles, giving a cost of .12 of a penny, ot practically nine miles for a penny. W. H. D.'s machine cost him £15, and, assuming that itd present value is £9. the amount of depreciation k to be charged tc the account is £6. Tyres and icpairs have cost him £9 16.3 3d, making a total expenditure of £15 16s 3d, giving a cost of .21 of a penny. Ifc will be noticed that this rider &pent as much in repairs and leplacpment^ a=« did the Derbyshire man, but accomplished less than half the distance.

The funny man who remarked that the <-y< list was inojc at hon.t on Uis machine when out ridmg ran perluipt- explain <vhy cycling runs ai'f- always known as "fixtures."

If a rubber pedal still finite a squeak after it ha? been oiled and the bearings thoioughly cleaned, the noi?o will be found to aihe through a badly -fitted rubbe. block. r lo remedy, remove the rubbe., anc' rub •, htrle blacklead on th> plates.

Th London Fire department are now i--i ing -everal niotoi firs pngiae.. '\ith «ucccs=. Ciiiof Coinmaiulef Wolls, of thai deirvtmp.it, iiys "that h finds hor-cs altovjiihor too slow for effecti\e fire fighting." He ii-edift» that eventually the tondon putir? "lire department will make its runs with motor r.u*. Al. the l-ig centres, includjiir London, Par-;, aud New Yoik, are now u-mo inou.rs as -i moaib ol getting to lue outbreaks, expeJitiou-ly.

It i-» said that ih< w diktat pait of .■> ycle /ram is ihe front foiks. ,uul tin's, to c omp extent, va, true, hut of Lite the irnuufaelurera lime ui\ou tlii-> portion, together vwtii th. <rov>n. fi lea l of considciatiou. with the refill* that, in proportion to Hie mum fume, tiu head -:l<*m. ''rovm. and €< *rks iiaxa a greater margin of safety. This

is well, for a breakage in any one of those parts is almost sure to lead to a bad fall, attended generally with serious results, for the rider strikes th« ground with his head without any chance of warding off the force of the blow. I can, says " Fortis," in the Australasian, call to mind no less than three deaths which have been caused by a fracture of pome portion of the front fork*.

The feat of riding a bicycle from Capetown to Cairo looms near. A Mr JA. Bailey has recently, by the aid of his cycle, ridden the greater portion of the way fiom Mombasa, Ea^t Africa, to Cairo, by way of Uganda and Khartoum. 'Princess Viotoria lately met -with a slight cycling accident owing to the gatekeeper of the Long Walk, Windsor, being; very conscientious in the performance of his duty. It appears (says Country Spoit) that the Princess had been cycling m the delightful country surrounding the caPtle, and was on the point of entering tbe Liong Walk, when her progress was barred by the keeper, who had strict instructions to stop all cyclists, and who failed to recognise the Royal wheelwoman. The Prinee.-s, not expecting a check, rode on, and the gatekeeper, holding his ground, caused her to collide and fall to the ground. Little damage was done, and the Fiinoess remounted her machine and proceeded towaids the castle. Naturally the keeper was profuse in his apologies. A ram of £4000 has been voted by the municipal authorities of Hanover, Germany, for the purchase of autocars for the fire brigade of that city. A result of the latest accidents by motors in Paris has been that the police have received renewed orders to stop any "excessive driving," and as a consequence the proseoution of Parisian chauffeurs is worse than ever. In the course of one week no fewer than 275 cases of " furious driving " were noted, and as many prosecutions before the court followed.

Ten thousand shilling? arc wanted for the Cyclists' Ripley memorial to Queen Victoria. With the money it is proposed to erpct a new organ in Ripley Church, this being greatly needed. The present one completely blocks the Norman chancel, and also obscures a window, and another feature of unique architectural interest. It was at Ripley- that special services for cyclists were first introduced in April, 1885. Of course, nowadays, says the Cyclist (Ens;.), the idea of special services for cyclists is apt to bft regarded as, to say tho leaat of it, unnecessary, but 16 years ago it was very different, and old riders know well enough that in the great majority of the places of worship at that time the man who put in an appearance in knickerbockers was looked at askance by the congregation, and he was too often made to feel he was not wanted. In his time many a prominent cyclist has read the lessons at these special services. In the same little church is the memorial window put in by cyclists in memory of Dr H. L. C'crtis 5 the finest amateur who ever crossed a wheel. There is also the Dibble memorial window, which was presented in 1897 by many cycling friends in memory of the Misses Dibble, of the celebrated Anchor Inn. The patron of the fund is the Eari of Onslow, and several well-known cyclists, including Messrs G. Lacy Hillier and F. W. Shorland, are on the executive. — Among recent experiments made by the French War Office has been that of fitting small bakeries on to automobiles that can follow an army at about six miles an hour. It was satisfactory, and the Government intends ordering a large number of these machines.

It is announced that hi? Majesty the King intends setting an example to farmers in connection with the use of the autocar for agricultural purposes by the use of these vehicles on his Sandringham estates.

"Major" Taylor, the American coloured rider, made his third appearance in Europe on April 18 at Verviors. In- a series of three races, over a distance of one mile, he beat Grogna, the Belgian sprinter, twice. In the first race, Taylor made Grogna take the lead, and after following him for nearly the whole distance, the American made his well-known iump, an: 1 , sprinted home five lengths ahead of his opponent. In the =econcl race. Taylor did most of the pacing, and. holding hia ouponent too cheaply, made his sprint three hundred yards from the winning post. He went to the front, but Grogna came again, and iust won on the post. In the third race, Tavlor lepeated the, tactics of the first race, and won easily. If he defeats Jacquelin, the crack French rider, Taylor will be the champion of the woild.

Tt i* stated that o motor car is beine built for the Shah of Persia at a cost of £5000.

The various methods of chain adjustment (more or less intricate and difficult in their working) have disgusted that class of riders to whom anything mechanical is abhorrent, and who earnestly have wished for the good old plain style, which is simplicity itself. In some factories there is a distinct reversion to the time-honoured drawbolt type, owing to dissatisfaction with their experience of eccentric adjustments, either at the hub or in the bottom bracket.