CYCLING NOTES. BY DEMON

Otago Witness, Issue 2516, 4 June 1902, Page 51

CYCLING NOTES. BY DEMON

The week end has been shnplj glorious for cycling, and numerous riders were out on the south roads. As I write the weather has broken and a drizzling rain set in No matter— we have had a good two-days' cycling, and our peace celebrations are over and we are content. A word of warning might !ie given to cyclists who frequently cross the Kensington railway crossing. It has become a habit for some riders to scurry across the rail.*, no matter how near a train may be. There might be a serious accident some day, but there will be a prosecution unless more caution is displayed by riders. It is an offence to ride across when the crossing-keeper has his warning flag held ~up, and I am informed that his warning has several times lately been disregarded. . One sometimes wonders where the old ordinaries of the early days have gone to, and when an ordinary is actually seen in use nowadays it is a matter of comment. Watching the procession organised for the peace celebrations to-dfty, I was taken back to the good old days of wheeling here by the sight of a rider in the procession mounted on an ordinary, a 52in it seemed to me, and on his shoulders —was perched a youth, who seemed to be enjoying the unique situation. As a safeguard against accident, two comrades were placed on each side of the machine, so all went well, and the unearthing of this machine and using it in the procession added novelty to the sight. In wet weather the streets in NorthEast Valley are not the most suitable for cyclists and pedestrians, and the horse brush which I understand the Borough Council has had on hand for many months might be used to the advantage of all parties concerned. — The statement was lately made in this column that the Monte de Piete in Paris had over a thousand bicycles for sale at 20s and 403, these being unredeemed pledges and unsaleable even a*t the small figure asked. A correspondent then wrote for details, and received a reply, which states that it frequently happens that bicycles put up for auction by the Monte de Piete are redeemed at the last moment, and that it would be simply, impossible for the writer to obtain a bicycle at such a sale unless he was personally represented. Martin and Beauchamp, who left Victoria for Europe, expect to be away six months. They intend disembarking at Marseilles, and travelling north to Paris by rail. ' Both have taken home trainers for use on the boat, and with plently of skipping they expect tt keep fit. They are hopeful of rendering a good account of themselves against the world's best. Among those whom they may bo expected to meet are Major Taylor, W. C. Stenson, F. Kramer, and Harry Elkes, America's, best ; Jacquelin. the famous French^ sprinter ; Bonhours"; A. A. Chase, the noted English pace follower ; and all the Continental cracks. English papers refer to the chances of Chase for a successful season in Paris as being somewhat rosy. They consider him a better rider than ever he was. Recently he succeeded in reducing all British figures from one mile to 11, and finished remarkably fresh. On his last appearance in Paris he won five big international races again&t the cream of Euiopean, American, and English stayer?. A meeting of the Duuedin and Suburban Cycling Track Committee was held on Friday, Mr 6. Mondy in the chair. Arrangement! were made to proceed with repairs and top-dressing of track from Anderson's Bay railway crossing to Mussclburgh. The secretary was instructed to write to the St. Kilda Council inquiring on what terms they will render .suitable for cycle traffic that .portion of the Queen's Drive between Market street and Onslow House, thence to the Ocean Beach Hotel. It was resolved to apply to the City Council to grant the same concession as heretofore, on the purchase of tar required for top-dressing the track. The members to whom collecting cards have been issued reported that they had" received considerable encouragement in Their canvas, for subscriptions. The committee pjop'qse to make an effort to carry the" track through to St. Clair should the necessary financial support be forthcoming. .The. hope was freely expressed that every cyclist, would -subscribe for that purpose. A-- meeting -of the Otago Centre League -• of-- New- Zealand Wheelmen, held in the Otago Cycling Club roomt> on Wednesday- night, was attended by Messrs W. Begg (in the chair), D. Wall, H. S. Kussell, S. D. Minn, K. Scott, and G. Capstick (secretary). A letter was received from the secretary of the league endorsing notices of motion which would be considered at a special meeting, to be held on the 2nd prox. The amendenients, -which were all in the direction of a recognition of those engaged m the trade, y ere considered, and all disapproved of excepting the first of the series, to be submitted by Mr Asquith Nelson. This motion to strike out in rule 4, section A, the words, " Who must bean amateur under the league's definition " was approved of. The rule to be thus altered refers to the constitution of the council and reads: "The. committee of each centre shall at its annual 111661111™ elect the district representative to the council, who must be an amateur under the league's definition," etc. The secretary was instructed to inform the league's secretary of the decision of the centre. On the motiou of Mr Minn, seconded by Mr G. E. Scott, it was resolved— ''That Mr M'Kechnie, the representative of Otago Centre, give notice of motion that the part of rule 4, ' That no new members shall lie elected on the council without the approval of lhe council' be deleted." ... An ingenious. defence was raised by si cyclist Jiamed . Martin Hannah, who was recently, charged at the District Court, Melbourne, with aeglecting to comply with the directions -of -the- constable regulating the traffic. ■ On- May 5 • he was riding along Bourke - street, when Constable Scanlon directed him to slop in order to permit of the traffic proceeding along Swanston street. The cyclist •dismounted, but attempted to wheel his machine across the road. On being told to stay where he was he shouldered the bicycle, and walked on. When he appeared before the court he subjected the witnesses for the prosecution to a aearehiu§ fiH*fl-«WttaißAfcioo.» ftad «it«r their »vi-

deijpe had been given, he said: — "I contend this point, that there is a technicality, which practically is, that a machine does not become a vehicle when I have it upon my shoulder ; and I will submit that to you foi your consideration iv connection with this particular case. There seems to have been officiousness of the worst sort." Mr Dobbin, P.M., who occupied the bench in company with Messrs Hartley and Cherry, explained that the defendant's offence consisted in neglecting to obey the constable's directions, and that the position in which he parried the bicycle had nothing to do with the charge preferred against him. He was clearly guilty, and a "fine of 20s, with 10s 6d costs, would be imposed. 1 Henry Price, aged 40, charged with stealing a bicycle valued at £15, the property of George S. Prout, a student at the Melbourne University, on the 25th ult., was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. The accused sold the bicycle for £2 10s. A thousand pounds handicap is announced by the New South Wales League foi March next. The first prize for the Warrnambool | (Dunlop\ road race this year will be a £30 cheque and a £5 5s gold medal. Dr O'Hara, a well-known Melbourne surgeon, has fallen foul of the police for riding on the wrong side of the road. At St. Kilda court he was charged with riding a bicyole on the 'wrong side- of the road. When challenged by Constable Gordon, defendant indignantly told the officer he would be better employed catching thieves and i pickpockets.. Defendant, who admitted the offence, said he was on his way to an I urgent case when the constable stopped him. I During the late festivities, when the streets : were crowded, he • had received authority I from Mr Chomley. then Commissioner of Police, to take whichever side of -the road Ihe chose when on urgent business. The bench informed defendant that Mr Chomley had no power to authorise anyone to break the law. Defendant said he thought constables should be taught how to address a gentleman. He complained bitterly of the manner of the constable who had summoned him. He was excited, and spoke insultingly. A fine of 2s 6d, with 5s costs, was imposed. The date of the WarrnambQol to Melbourne road race will have to be altered from September 6 until an earlier date, owing to the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria having selected the date mentioned for their annual show at Flemington. As it would be impossible to finish the race at the Haymarket, owing to the heavy vehicular traffic on the road, it is necessary that some other date be .selected. The Dunlop Tyre Co. have received patronage from the League of Viotorian "Wheelmen for Saturday, August 30, a week earlier than the date previously fixed. At the annual meeting of the Melbourne Bicycle Club, held last month, the I <?4th annual report was read and adopted. | It showed a very satisfactory state of affairs, both as a sporting club and as a social organisation. The statement of assets and liabilities disclosed a surplus of £9356 8s Id, the profits from the two race meetings held during the year just passed amounting to £1972 6s sd, as- against that of £1017 53 lOd | for the previous year. Not the least gratifying item was the profit in the club account of £420 5s 6d, which stands out well against the loss of £100 on the preceding year. It was also reported that a transaction of some importance had recently been completed) being' the purchase of land in Collins street (referred to some months ago) for the sum of £12,500. The committee anticipates in the near future to present to the members for consideration a soheme for the building of suitable premises thereon. The lampless cyclist should take warning 'from the plight of Ewart Gladstone Salter, of Ballarat, who last month was committed for trial for manslaughter, for having caused the death of Mr George Waller, an elderly man, whom he ran down i in the street. The verdict was arrived at j by a coroner's jury. The evidence showed that three brothers named Salter were riding home on their bicycles at about 10 p.m., after attending a gymnasium class at the Pleasant street Methodist schoolroom. Being without lights they travelled at a slow pace. Near the Benevolent Asylum, in Eyre street, one of them, Ewart Gladstone Salter, collided with the old man, who was returning from a service at the Eyre street Methodist Church, and was walking in the roaaway. The deceased suffered -from m affection of the eyes, and usually looked on the ground when he- was walking. Mr Dick- i son, in summing up, defined the difference ' between manslaughter and misadventure, and said he considered that Ewart Salter was guilty of culpable negligence. The jury found accordingly, soul the young man, who felt his position keenly, was committed to take his trial at the Supreme Court on June 6. The property purchased by the Melbourne Bicycle Club for £12,500 has ' a" frontage of 59ft 4in, by a depth of 147 ft 2in. and carries a substantial building. Property is valuable in Collins street. The Melbourne Bicycle Club is taking all possible care to avoid a recurrence of the undesirable calling of odds which clxaracterised the third day of the Austral meeting last year, and a notice of motion has been received for a proposed new rule, or an addition to an existing rule (No. 23), which reads thus: — "That in. the control, management, and administration of all race meetings of whatever kind to be held under the auspices of the club, the committee shall duly observe, authorise, and direct the enforcement 5f everything contained in the 'Betting Suppression Act 1901.' in and as far . as the same is their responsibility, and the like action shall be taken at all times when other similar laws are in force, and such committee shall provide for the preservation of order otherwise by prohibiting any person or persons from gambling in any other form, either by the promotion of sweeps oi otherwise, at such meetings, and shall also direct the employment of all necessary assistants with legal appointments for proceedings at law against offenders." The above, too, may placate the Melbourne Cricket Club when application is made for the ground this year, if it be not already granted. Some sensational trials of ipeed with automobiles were made on April 13 Tast in France. M. "Serpollet, on a specially built racing machine, covered a kilometre (1098 yards) in the almost incredible time of 29 4-ssec — a rate of over 75 miles an hour. The car is said to be particularly light, and lurched all over the course, jumping and reaping over the road, which was as smooth as the finest racing track. The nearest competitor to M. Serpollet (in time) ' was M. Dograiß, who occupied 36seo over the same distance. The fastest mile was accomplished by the latter motorist in lmin 9 3-&j»w>

[ A motor bicycle endurance run from ! Boston to New York, a distance of 200 miles, is to be held in a few weeks' .time. It is intended to start the run from Boston, ■ taking two days to reach New York. The bicycles will be graded according to the ; horse-power, and the tes> will be run on & time schedule. This event (says the Scienj tific American) will prove very interesting, and will do much towards advancing the motor bicycle in popular favour, and showing what it is capable of accomplishing in making a long distance journey over bad roads. .. Almost at the last moment the Italian authorities vetoed the big motor race from Nice to Abbazia, which wai down for decision on 14th April. A large number .of cars had arrived from all parts of Europe, to compete in the event, and strenuous efforts were 1 being made when the mail" left to have the race duly carried out-" fTh© King of Italy, who is a keen motorist, sides witli the local automobile club, and is using all his influence to have the event con- . tested. [From the absence of cable news regarding the event it may be taken for granted that the race was hot run.] The French Government, with a view j of encouraging the use of alcohol for auto- , ! mobile driving instead of • petrol, held a i motor race from Paris to Arras and back last month. The race was won by Ferman, who drove a Pauhard and! ; averaged 40 miles an hour. This event uas organised by the French Minister of '• Agriculture. The conditions of the race , were that all 'contestants should use alcohol . i as the driving power instead of petroleuiifc .- The distance of the race, which was" from, ■ ! Paris, via Dieppe to Arras and back,->wai.' : ! abGul, 310 miles. The route was-- to" be i gi-arded by 4000 soldiers, to prevent a re- . j omronco' of the regrettable accidents that - ■ took place last year iv the big motor race i from Paris to Berlin. H. Farman, the • winner, ia one of the best known "chaffeurs" - in France, and would drive a 60 horse-power I Panhard-Levassor car, which has been spei eially constructed for thi3 year's big Euro- " pean motor races. Farman's average pace, - 40 miles an hour, whilst being very fast, does not approach the marvellous perfor- ' mance of Fournier, who last year, with a • petrol-driven motor, won the race from Paris to Vienna (724 miles), averaging 45 miles an hour. After winning three six-day races i x the States, a 24-hours* race at Berlin, 72bcurs' at Paris. 100-hours' at Roubaix, etc., C. W. Miller, the finest stayer ever known, has thrown hie lot in with the tram con* ductors at Chicago. Particulars are to hand of the operinjf of the French racing season in Paris an the beginning of April. Tha principal winner in the sprinting class was the Frend» flyer "Our Jacquelin," as the Parisians calt him, who carried off th* Easter prize, worth £EO, and fairly smothered the opposition. ■ In the paced division, the well-known English pace-follower, A. A. Chase, ' came out on top, winning 1 the 50 kilometre (31 miles) race from Bouhoura, in 52mm 55seo. Other Britishers to scor» were T. Lin ton, S. Jenkins, and C. Bardon, who has again taken to. cycle racing, whioh 'he i'gave "uj>-,ott "his .return to London after his unsuccessful- Australian racing trip some years baok. _ •„ In some motor " trials in connection with the Automobile Club, Cycling reports f that Mr S. F. Edge's famous 50 Napier cai accomplished the' fastest' ruhr and' made the beat "average." His best- performance was the second time uphill, when the': kilometre was covered in 45 4-ssec, .or -at; a speed of 48£ mile 3an hour. His other, rides resulted at 42.11, 44.64, and 41.90 miles per hour. Mr Robert Bird, on his 24 horsepower Mors, which used to belong ,to Baron de Caters, covered the kilometre up hill in 53 2-ssec, or 42.11 miles per hour, and the average of liis four rides was 41.18 Tniles. • Mr Harvey dv Cros, jun.'s, average was 33.51 miles per hour. Three other vehicles ex-> ceeded '30 miles an hour, and seven others exceeded 20 miles an hour. A bill appropriating 100,000,000d0l fer the construction of good roads throughout the United States was recently introduced in the House of Representatives.' Perhaps the most startling water sports in tha world are . those which are ■ held at Rome in the Tiber, the banks, of which river were some time ago" artific&lly raised by means of a a series of embankments attaining the very great average of 90ft. Here all manner of water sports art held, some of the most remarkable of which are described in an illustrated article in a recent number of the Royal Magazine. The idea of diving on a. bicycle originated with Signor Umberto Diamanti, a Roman youth, who rejoiced in having thought of a new feat, which un- - doubtedly called for nerve and daring of »■ high order, together with the ability "of a" powerful and rapid swimmer. A very interesting contest was arranged' between young Diamanti as a cyclist and his rival," Borghi, on foot. "On the word for the starts being given both went off along the arti- " ficial embankment at top speed. It seemed' hardly possible that any sane man could' deliberately ride a bicycle over so appalling', a precipice. Yet that is exactly what young Diamanti did, retaining his nerve and presence of mind throughout the 90ft plunge, and controlling his machine perfectly, nob only on leaving terra firma and whim plunging dizzily into mid-air, but also during the awful and breath-catching descent to the surface of the water. Down the reekle. c s sportsman sonic with his machine, and a little later he succeeded in bringing his mount to land on the opposite bank, having beaten his pedestrian competitor in the race. In one of the illustrations from instantaneous snapshots, it looks as though the cyclist and his machine were beginning to part company. In reality, however, Signor Diamanti is endeavouring to perform some tricks while in mid-air for the, -gratification of his hosts of admirers who' have assembled on the banks to watch the race. Needless to say the intrepid diver's feats have not been unproductive of emulation, hence a host of daring young swimmers who have seen him at his daily practising are taxing their powers to the utmost to follow in his steps. Joseph Nelson, the death of whose brother John in America last year placed, the cycle racing world in mourning, has developed into a phenomenon. He is but a little beyond 17, only an inch over sft in height, and weighs less than 1201b. He first came into prominence by breaking the five miles amateur record, and at the close of the last aeason he held 35 world's amateur records against time, and 11 in competition, the greatest number held by any one man in modern times. Among other performances he has ridden 35 miles 1055 yards in an hour, which is a world's amateur record. An idea of the inroads, present and prospective, which the American automobile v makiiut and will make iv foreign, teraj-

Story may be had from the fact that during the present year an exhibition, composed entirely of motor vehicles designed and built jin the United States will be heW in the .Grystal Palace, London. ■ Fashions in handle-bars, lii» in otter things, change, »Hd it is now ra.tber -unconitaion to gee the deep-drop scorcher bars that were one* so prevalent. With many young riders it was considered quite th» thing to imitate the attitude of the racer, and eoaa* of them were thoroughly convinced that the handle-bar and the gear made the champion. The tendency of to-day with th» great majority of riders is to have not merely flat (i.fr., horizontal) handle-bars, but r« often those which are upturned to a kligfcl extent, and which not only give Wreater comfort in riding, but are a decided ■ md-vantage* in. wheeling through city traffic, f _^_ The will of the late J- X- Starley; th« founder of the Rover Cycle Company} has been, sworn at £47,167 4» 9d- < The cycle trade is reported to be conBiderably on the improve in England, and latest mails notify that most of the big comrpanies axe paying dividends. One wellknown firm hae been sending out 2000 cycles psr week for several months from its Coventry works. To clean c dirty chain, by brushing It with a stiff brush or even continually rubbing it with a cloth i* not a good practice. JEbese methods merely force grit into the joints, and unless thoroughly washed in benzine afterwards will prove a fruitful Bouree of wear. I find (says "Fortis," in the Australasian) that beyond a regular lubnteatton, the chain requires but little attention other than proper adjustment, and that m chain- may be extremely dirty .externally as not to say that it is in. bad running torder. Sufficient lubrication, according to fthe amount of work it does, and constant supervision of the tension ar»- the two ccBentiak. Perfect alignment of the chain •wheels is imperative. Treatment for the enter surface of the lint* of the chain •feould be some form of lubricant that has •""tody," or consistency, and yet one which (will not hold dust too easily. But th© infcrenal bearing surfaces require a diffprent inbricant. and should not be forgotten. Good feperm oil -h*a been found to be effective and Basting,, and the best method to apply it w to oik the chain overnight, when it will find ite way into the joints, leaving that portion of the chain, coming into contact, with the sprockets fairly dry. The heavy lubricant should be applied in the morning, and pure tallow will be found excellent for the purpose. Rubbed_on the inside surface of iho chain it imparts to it a smoothness of runping that is most satisfactory. EDISON'S NEW STORAGE BATTERY. i LONDON.. May 29. Edison, claims to have invented a. storage battery able to drive a motor car hundreds of miles without re-charging.