CYCLING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 51

CYCLING NOTES.

— —Two bicycle races weie run off at the Boys" High School sports at the Cnnsbrook ground on Monday afternoon, v.hon the weather was decidedly unfavourable to racing. The sports meeting had been twice delayed, and Monday giving promise of being fine enough to get off the events, the meeting was definitely fixed to come off that afternoon. It was very hard on the officials and competitors that rain came on early in the afternoon, and the events had to be run off on a sloppy track. The Onemile Race, for old boys, was won by G. Dey (60yds), with A. Bathgate ("80 yd.=) second, and J. C. White (50yds) third. Time, 2min 47 l-ssec. The other race, a one-mile event for boys at the school, was won by Camcross Tsoyck), with Bannister (30yds) second, and G. Macdonald (=cr) third. Time, 3min 7sec. Ping-pong tournaments are all the rage in nome of the Home cycling clubs, and some members of the Dunedin Cycling Club having become players of more than ordii nary ability the committee of the club have decided to purchase a ping-pong set for tho benefit of members generally. I opine that billiards will be almost forsaken for the pleasures of this fascinating table game, and if the Otago Cycling Club, following m the lead of the Dunedin Club, encourage pingpong playing there should be some interesting tournaments- this year between the two clubs. Now that winter has set in cycling is j not so much in -vogue, and members of the two clubs are wont to gather together of an evening and go over what has taken place in tin? season's cycling, and generally extract a pleasant hour or two from the genial companionship to be found in club rooms, aud the attractions of the various club and interclub tournaments that may be arranged. Almost every fine morning I am accustomed to see one or more cyclists (freewheelpr-) enjoying an easy spin down part of Albert street and into Stuart street, turning- then by the Wesleyan Church into AjL'ir.iy place Coming, as some of these I ni'.ei- do, perilously near to the tram rails. I ha\e sometimes thought what might happen were a side-slip to happen when the riders had their pedals fixed and going at a fair speed. This is, however, by the way, and serves to introduce the opinion of a London cycling authority, to whom the question as to whether a bioycle fitted with a free wheel is more prone to slip than when the pedals are fixed. He gives as his impicssion that the wheel is more prone to slip in such a case, and advises care on the part of free-whoelero when riding on greasy or slippery loads A number of cyclists seem to mako it a practice whon riding through the main .streets to come down Princes street riae ' to Rattray street at high speed, regardless of what might be the consequences at the c rossing were some obstacle to appear On Wednesday a young man, who seemed to have but httld control of his machine, dashed down tiie slope just as a horse and cart appeared on the Rattray street crossing. The cyclist just managed to run in front of the horse, striking it on the nose, and then, ,-eeing another cart in front, lie attempted to turn down Ttattiay street, regardless of the fact that many people ->\eie pacing along m front of him. The natural consequence followed, and ho collided with an elderly gentleman, though by thir- time the speed had considerably blackened, and neither was hurt Tho 50 mile bicyclci roa-rt lace from Imcrcargill to Lady iWkly and back, i vnt on Wednesday wa> won by J. Stew ait in 2hr 45mm 25-cc. The New Zealander- C. Burton and M Handrup, who ha\ c boon lacing in Austiaha tin- soa-on. 'tate that notwithstanding the piiK' money they ha\o won between them this season, they are considerably out I of pocket over the trip. Burton intend- to take up his re-idence permanently, while Randrup will probably leturn. to New Zealand shortly At "the Melbourne Bicycle Club'o Autumn meeting betting was not allowed, aijd it wa.s noticeable that the racing was much better than hitherto, the whole field racing from the stait to the finish, and gnmg the public good value foi their money. One bookmaker wa.- arrested at the meeting, and he wa« accompanied by the mau who made the bet. There is no distinction, made between the layer and the backer. Both of the per-on- iemo\ed will appear at the court. A South Australian cyclist named J. M 'Donald recently had a terrible experience in the interior. 'Ho staited on a journey and had proceeded only a feiv- miles -when, he collided with a stone fence, sustaining a hea\y fall, resulting in a broken leg. He lay for three days *nd two nights without food before he was ji-covered. Last re- , ports legarding his recovery are favourable. I A six days' race is mooted in Sydney, competitors tc ride 12 hours a day in teams of twe riders each. A Sydney ym"' r - a . f;f ' has

approached the New South Wales league with a proposal to run -un li ;i cmti---t next October. Similar contests recently held in ! the United States have been a great sue- ! ce--> financially The proposed prize money for the l-ace if £130 winning" team, £75 second team, £25 third team, and a bonus of £10 for every team that cover* a stipulated distance. Fully 25.000 people witnessed the Diuuls' meeting at Melbourne on Easter Monday The principal event, a two-mile handicap worth £26, was won by C. E. , Bui ton, of New Zealand. 1 -The times of three events of the I Walker-Morgan match, particulars of which are given below, werr nothing sensational, except that of the mile, which actually took longer to cover than the three miles distance. The former occupied 6mm 5 4-ssec, while in the latter the watch showed but 6min 2 3-s«ec. The last lap of the three miles occupied 32 2 ssec (for nearly a third of a mile), as against 46 4-sseo in that of the shorter distance. In the three miles the last mile was covered in lmin 44 3-ssec, and the last quarter of a mile in 26 4-ssee. The last mile of the five miles event was clocked in lmin 53 2-ssec. 1 — — A complete- bicycle, having lOin wheels and frame in proportion, is now on view in the window of Mr .1. F. Bradford's Glasgow depot (says the Cyclist, London, of February 12). It is owned and ridden by ■ " Cluquita," the living doll, now exhibiting ,at the Zoo ii the " second city." Needless to say, the machine hr.s been well inspected by passers-by. According to an English paper there io an indication that the cycle racing season of 1902 will ho a memorable one, both in England and on the Continent. In the provinces several new tracks have been projected and are in course of construction, and, although one or two old-established n'eetings will be abandoned, t>e\eral new sports gatherings have already been aniicunced. The go-ahead Town Sports Committee ha\e purchased the Catford (iold Vase, and that- I—and1 — and nearly every other classic I tiophy s-till in competition — will be competed for during the year. In Paris a new track i^> being laid down on the site of the famo is old Buffalo path. The track, which will be on a small seale — a little more than five laps to the mile — will in all probability be opened at Easter The surface is be of wood, a material which was given v thorough . trial in London and abandoned. I According to their advertisement, the Druids engaged the winner of the WalkorMorgan race to attempt to lower the Victorian mile record behind pjce. and Morgan, on Easter Monday evening, made the attempt. In a first trial the effort pro\ed abortive owing to the bieakdnwn of the motor, but on a second attempt he managed to cover the distance, but not in anything like record time The mile occupied lmin 5i 4-ssee, width was considerably slower than the fastest mile cut out in the three miles distance at St. Kilda in the afternoon, when lmin 44 3-ssec was recorded. — — The King of Belgium, though an enthusiastic motorist, i*s very fond of tricycle riding. From authentic s-ouiees he i* said tv iiaie lomaiked: "The reason why I am following the example set by Lord Salisbury is on the adMce of my medical man. who means me to biing into action (he miKclns of | my body, for (Finding) kings, like human beings, require bodily exercise." The higher the gear the 10-.* effective is the back pressure on the pedalr in stopping the machine. On the contrary, the lower the gear the faster the pedals re\olve, and it i? therefore difficult to back-pedal, for not enly may tho rider lose hii pedals if his machine is going at a high speed, but it il.i 1 . also \ury hard to follow thorn round fust enough to back pedal to much purpose. There aie dih advantages in back-pedalling, both' in M:ry_ high and very low cjear*. hut of the two the high geared machine require, a brake the more, and i'll hmt-. of high fjeaii- should 'cc that they hare a reliable brake fitted Shoe with boxcloth uppeis, golo'-hod. and made large enough to take loofah foot ■-neks, are icoommended a^ a pie\enti\e of (old feet while- winter cycling It i- a~ well to dry the loofah w>clv> atu\ the ordinal y <yeling ntockmgs beforf thi- fire before v--A contiact for 200 bicycle was r' 1 cently placed by the War Office in tlio h:tnd-> of the Progress Cycle Company, Coventi\. Tlip machines were lcquued foi immediate shipment to South Africa Major Taylor, the great American "printer, is booked tc ride at Cologne on May 22 against Elk-guard, the Continental champion of last season, and Rult. Taylor lea\os America for France early this month, 111 oider to become acclimatised befoie he <-tart- lucmg. In the Herman military budget a sum of £15.000 is provided for carrying on further expenments with motor \ chicles. It is not a bad plan when winter cycling to carry a bit of rag or some cotton waste under your saddle whon away from town. Winter punctures are rare, but when one gets a puncture it is nice to have a bit of rag handy to wipe the mud off your tyre before beginning repair operations. At the Cry~>ta' Palace tiack on February 19 there were numerous C3'clists and visitors present to watch an old cyclist, J. van Hooydonk, make an attempt to cover 200 miles on a Phoenix motor bicycle without stopping the engine or requiring fresh petrol. The rider set a steady pace of over 25 miles an hour, but aftei covering 105 miles in less than four hours there wa« something amiss ; with the engine, and van Hooydonlt was I

compelled to stop. The atifra--? eot*»re?, however, is a record foi a motor bicycle. Dan Canary, the old trtcb rider, has determined, aft=r an aL«cnco of sevcial years, to return to the busic.esj. In the days when we were all young. Dan went to London (says the Cyclist), and set the cycling world agape with the wonders he performed on the high wheel. When he retired, some years ago, he became a bicycle salesman for a Chicago company, and since then has been in various lines. His latest determination is to return to the scenes of his old triumphs an a partner of Kilpatrick, and the pair are at present learning to t ridi around a. bowl about SOft in circumference a favourite feat with a few of the advanced performers now on the stage.