CYCLING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2579, 19 August 1903, Page 55

CYCLING NOTES.

The annual mooting of th\> Dune-din Cycling Club is to bo held at the cub rooms on Monday evening next. The annual lepor.b 'to be submitted at the meeting will 'be found below.

The new cycle track in Sydney, lo be opened in October next, is expected to carry motors at 50 miles an. hour. Those who saw the winning motor travelling on the Caledonian Ground at t'ho last trial match at the rate of 30 miles an hour can form an idea of what a track must be to allow of a speed of 50 miles an Tiour being attained.

A certain Melbourne dealer in motors as said to have on his books orders for nearly £3000 -worth of motors and motor cycle?, whilo inquiries are daily pouring in. This looks &9 if motoring had taken a strong hold on tho people of Victoria, and must bo encouraging to the dealer.

Tho Argus newspaper had a motor in use carrying the paper to the country districts during tho recent railway strike. The car used was one driven across to Melbourne •from Adelaide, and purchased on sight by tv well-known motorist, who took a fancy for it. The machine has Again changed hands at a cost of £250.

The Summer Nights' Amusemc-nt Company oi Sydney, who. last year im-

ported Major Taylor, and sublet him to Victorian and Soii'jh, Australi-an sports promoters, after drawing some enormous crowds in Sydney are, now makin.g arrangements 'for the fofbhooming season. Thoir^ first meeting will be held on the Sydney Oricke-t Ground next November, previous to the (Austral Wheel Carnival. Prize money to the value of £500 will be givcm, the programme including motor races and motorpaced racss. In January next their "big "Sydney Thousand Race, for £1000, will •bo hold, 'the total money for the meeting amounting to £1500. The seriep of meetings will conclude in March next, £500 feeing distributed. Altogether it will h& seen that th& company intend giving the large sum of £2500 in prize- money— a fact that will be very pleasing information to the racing cyclists. Several European and American cracks are expected to visit Sydney for the above meetings ; in fact, Mr Tom Scott, the company's energetic secretary, is now in Europe engaging them.

G. R. Broad bent, the present 'handicappcr to the League of Victorian Wh&E-l-mco, has been elected to office for the ensuing year.

West Australia's representative in the Warrnambool to Melbourne Road Race is O. Prowse, who made the fastest •time in the test race from Beverley to Perth, a distance of 118 miles. Prows© came fifth in th© race, and did tho distance in 6hr 36min sscc.

It is estimated that the value of the motor cycles entered! in the Warrnambool to Melbourne Race amounts to over £3500. A run from Melbourne to Sydney is within the 'bounds of possibility.

Twenty-six riders started in 'the Tasmaiiian test race, and' 15 completed the distance (about 116 miles). Th© fastest lime, was mad© by A. Hardnmn, who rode -the distance in 7hr 33min 21ecc. Hardman thus 'becomes Tasmania's representative in the Warrnambool to Melbourne Road Race, to be run this Saturday.

Hopper, tho winner of the Sydney Thousand Race, is now gracing in Salt Lake City. He recently beat' Chapman, a cyclist who visited Austrnlia, by four laps in a. ten-mile paced race.

- A mil© * minute was actually atta.iiMxl by Ciss-ac on the Buffalo track, Paris, recently, under ciicnmstanees which aro somewhat amusing. Marius The, the wonderfully successful motor cyclist, was -defeated hy Cissac in a race, but feeling disratisfied straightaway issued a.i open challenge 'to all and sundry. On the following oar. A-hile he was enjoying an after-dinner fiesia, Cisrac burst into his apartment, and, fizzing 200 franc* on the table, exclaimed : "I'll take you on. Cover my money. We'll run the race now, within 10 minute-;.'' Alarius wasn't prepared just then, probably iinding his cigar drawing well; but Anzani, obtaining permission from The to use his motor, covered the depo&H. and the combatants forthwith adjourned to the Buffalo followed by an excited throng, amongst whom was Major Taylor. Sixteen h.p. motors were used, and at the start Ciewc •steered down to ' bhe very bottom of thetrack, almost on the grass, whilst Auzani Icep* up on the banking. A terrific ■paco was set, the spectators, Major Taylor especially, becoming wildly excited, aud after a few laps had been run Anzani, sceiiig his opportunity, shot down in front of Cissac, who in turn was obliged to go upon the> banking. There he lejt his ongine out, and covered three miles in 3min 1 l-ssoc, eventually winning the match, "and after claiming the 400 francs he and his hk-nda repaired to a cafe, where ho regaled them ■with champagne.

In the very small hours of the morning of 'ast Thursday week (says The Autccart of July 4) Bomewhere in 'the wilds of L : ncoln shire, where road-- are straight and •flat and the world is de-sorted as the dawn breaks oterfche. flat f&nland, Mr D. M. •Weigel, driving his 90-h.p. Panhard. which was specially constructed for his driving in ■the Circuit dcs Ardennes, covered a kilometre with a flying start on the flat in 28 e ec dead. fho trial was made at 3.15 a.m., the course having been measured by the district surveyor in the presence of tho timekeepers and Messr3 R. Cripps and R. M. Wright, of the Nottingham Automobile Club. The timekeepers were ileasrs Perry and Albert, official timekc£iie.rs X.C.I', and •Nottingham Automdbile Club. This performance eclipses the previous best on record made by Mons. Serpollet at Nice in April la.st, when on hiis Jti-teet fteam flier to date 'he covered the kilometre in 29 l-ssec. Notwithstanding the early hour, tnrite a large crow*d of local automobiles had -g-aUiered upon Hi© course to witne-ss tho ■attemnts. of which three were made, lha fieoond run wrovinp successful, the sequence •bc-ing as follows: — First attempt. 31 l-ssec ; ■second. 2&ec dead: third, 32 2-s=ec. The spf-ond and successful attempt was made with tho mechanic up. During the others i\lr Wcigel drove alone. Tho morning waß fine and clear without wind, and tho surface of tho road was excellent for the purpose, u/lic bie ctir was not running at its best, thci Krebii carburetter not functioning quite perfeotly : and it is believed that with everything quit© exactly up to concert pitch the •time could T>e improved by .at least a second.

There have been many miniature revivals of interest in cycling oaused by ±he velum of former riders who rejoined tlifi ■ranks of wheelmen becaus-o a much better bicycle than they had ridden was obtainable. These occurred when the -safety tuciceeded the high wheel, when the air tyro /?avo immunity from vibrab'on oven when strong and easy-runninpr machines wci*e no 'more than "featherweights." Tho returned ■riders found in their new machines al! tho (pleasure anticipated, and 'they exme to Ke>?s 'Wio inspiration that loJTihcm to onco more 'become 'the poHocsaor of an ujj-to-d'ato 'bicycle. Mis 9 Baker, who was cycling along Argyle street, WanganuL, last Fiiday evening, met with a rather serous accident. She was proceeding a'ong on the proper side of the road and with a lamp burning, when a man rode his horse over her, breaking her leg in two places just above the ankle and smashing her bicycle. The horsoman immediately rode away, leaving th© lady lying on the road unconscious, and to be picked up by the next passer-by. When found she was in a serious condition, and an operation has been deemed necessary. The police have Taken tho matter up, and are iucruiring for the man.

-The fourth edition of "Cycling" in tho AlKE'ngland series is to hand. Some 13 years havo ©lapsed sines this work first made Hr appearance — May, 1890. The editor, "Mr H. H Griffin, in the preface to the piesent edition, states that many things have happened since 1897, when tho third edition was bsued, and that the great inflation of cyc'.e companies in 1896 was followed by a fearful depression, known as '"Hiie Slump," which involved thousands in

heavy loss — many in ruin. Millions of capital, raised by all kind>s of kit-eat schemoj and undue expansion of legitimate companies, melted away, and scores of companies disappeared altogether. It is estimated that the fall and extinction of stocks and shares represented something like £15,000,000. Happily, during' the past two years there has been a decided revival, and at the time of writing (April, 1903) the cycle and kindred trades are busier and more .prosperous than for many seasons ; in fact, more machines are now being made than ever before; 60 that, without tho feverish exoit-ement of a few years ago, the trade is steadily prosperous. The book, as it appears to me, is very well got up, tlio reading matter being both instructive and interesting, and as a whole the information given should; commend itself to all who take an interest in cycling and cycle* history generally. Cycles and C3 r eling are exhaustively dealt with from 1642 to the present year. Included in the book aTo an article on "The Choice of a Cycle and Its Care and Repair," by Air O. W. Brown; an article on "Cycling for Ladies," by Miss Agnes Wood, and an article on "The Motor Cycle and Motor Cycling," by Mr Ed. Campbell.

The French cyclist Lcvaloy, who finished second in the 6ij? road race from Bordeaux to Paris (370 miles) has been disqualified for life by the French governing body. It is alleged that he covered a sec■tion of the course in a motor car during the night hours.

In Loaidon Times, recently, an English lord suggested that pedestrians should be allowed to carry and use shot guns on motor drivers who were not satisfied with a reasonable paoe. The world is rapidly becoming divided into two .-lasses — those who drive motors, and lock upon others a3 a nuisanoe, on the highways, and those who do not drivo motors, and who consider motor drivers as little short of fiends.

Few motorists lealiso the enormous spead of th& electricity that 19 running through the induction coil on thoir machines. During the period it takes a motor cycle to travel 440 yds, the^ electric current has covered as many miles.

Evon in Great Britain gear-cases have gone quite out of use, md, it is thought, never to return. Modern cyciwte, it has been said, have lost tho interest in the- details of their machines which old-time wheelmen evinced. Nowadays a man purchases a machino almost as it stands, seldom thinking of indhidualisimg it by the addition of specialities. The cycle trade has been blamed for tho abandonment of the gcarcaso, and '.he public became quito accustomed to its absence. In New Zealand tho gear-case had but little vogue; the climatic conditions aie hardly severo enough to render them more than ordinarily advantageous. Although tho motor cyclist may not physically feel the effects of a head wind whi'-e'ridiug, it certainly retards the machine, and by that the rider more quickly realis&s tho, variation in the fierceness of the gale. With his machine running at Ha best, the petrol vapourising satisfactorily, and fho spark occurring regularly, he may be riding at 15 miles an hour against the wind, and suddenly find his pace- jumping to 20 or slowing to 12 as the force of tho wind' moderates or inoreaees. The experienced may counteract these variations by giving his engine more or less gas as the conditions change. The art in motor cycling consists in obtaining the best results or power with the minimum of fuel.

It is recorded :n Cycling, by H. 11. Griffin, that cycling in its crudest form existed, either in imagination or reality, as far back as 161-2. and this record is to be found in the design jn a stained church window in the remote English village of Stoke Pogcs, not far from Windsor. Tho picture represents a youth astride a kind of hobby horso on wheels, the front ono of which only is visible. It would seem to show tl-at the idea cf. the feasibility of locomotion by mechanical means was implanted centuries ago, even if it was not altogether achieved. fhe churchyard at Stoko Poges is famous as being tho scene of Gray's "Elegy," a'oci contains the remains of tho poet.

It is remarkable «vha_t a great amount of work a gcod bicyc'e ■will etand, and in this connection it is something like a watch. Watcher 100 years old havo been known to run well. Each will have ticked 1 240 times every minute . Amd must, therefore, havo ffhen a total number of over twelve thousand mUlion ticks. Of course, the wear must have been i>racticallv nil. In the- running of a bicycle 5000 miles a year — not an exceptional mileage, ie will be nclmittod — both front aucl rear wheel bearings maloc 3,770.000 complete revolutions without any material deterioration taking place. Similaily in a liisjh-sp&ed cycle motoi the tool marks may still he visible in' the cylinder after years of running, although one year's worfc may represent two hundred million poshes of the piston over tho surface of the oylinder. JJufc with in excess of speed or pressure, wear, of courso, takes place rapidly

The roads of New Jersey are about the best in the United States, and motoring and cycling are very popular, therefore. Motors are greatly used for the carriage of passengers, and for their control certain laws have been passed. A speed of 20 miles an hour -is allowable in open country, but this pace must be reduced by one-half at Intersections of other roads. The. limit m city streets is nine miles per hour. All drivers have to be certified as to their competency. The law relating to speed appears to be tho most rational vet noticed.

English Cycling says: — "Chatting with a well-known racer and pacer who has been in Austialia during the greater part of the past racing seaaon. and who, in his time, has raced all over tho world, wo were informed that the betting evil ' down under ' is i - e3pon=ible for much dishonest riding. In all the big races there are many httlo syndicates at work, and, with the exception of novices, there are very few riders who win on their own merits. In Major Taylor, however, the Cornstalks found a tough cugtomer, for he would not listen lo any proposals for pooling, receiving aaiatance," cr standing down for anybody. Time after time have the cracks done their best to shut him in at a tritieal moment, etc., but the negro has been too good for them. In one race, where a certain rider had been backed to beat Taylor, the whole of the other competitors worked against the visitor. Halfway round tho last lap they hemmed him in severely; bur ; not to be done, he back-pedalled, rode right out on the- outside, and then won by a length. It is the general rule for a likely winner to havo foiw other riders working for him, two for pacing purposes ?nd two to keep jther riders from pas'in? or getting on to his back wheel ; while it is no umirual thing for a rider to be stiff (not try to win) for

a whole season in order to get a long mark.' The above may sound a little like exaggeration to those not "in the know," but it ie mostly correct. " 'Tis true, 'tis pity, and pity 'tis 'tis true." — Australasian.