"CYCLING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2623, 22 June 1904, Page 55

"CYCLING NOTES.

BY DEMON.

A meeting of the Otago Centre of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen was held in the Otago Cycling Club Rooms on Thursday (Mr W. J. Moot-e in the chair) to arrange details in connection with the Otago sub-list to select a rider to compete in the Dunlop Timaru to Christchurch annual road race. The course will be from Henley to Milton and back twice, a distance of fome 55 miles, the race to bq run on Saturday, July 2, eight starters or no race, riders to be members of a club affiliated to the Otago Centre, the race to start at half-past 1. It was decided to award £6 for first prize, £2 10s second, and £1 10s third. In addition to these prizes, £5 will be given by the Dunlop 1 Tyre Company io the rider putting up fastest time to help pay his expenses to Timaru to compete in the Timaru-Christ-church race. The entry fee for competitors was fixed at 2s, and entries close on Saturday, June 25. Officials to superintend matters at Henley and Milton were 1 appointed, and it now remains for road riders to forward their entries to ensure a representative competition in Otago. There are plenty of first-class road riders in Otago, and there is no reason why the blue riband of the road in cycling should not bo won this year by a rider hailing from this province.

Several entries for the Otago Test Race are already to hand, and Mr Wilson, secretary to the Otago Centre, informs me that h© has reason to look for a good entry list by Saturday next, when entries close. The winner of the race becomes the chosen representative of Otago in the Timaru to Christchurch Road Race, which race decides the New Zealand representative in the big Warrnambool to Melbourne Road Race on 20ih August next.

Whether he becomes the chosen Otago representative or not, J. Cameron (Taieri Cj'cling Club) purposes competing in the Timaru to Ghristchurch Road Race. A clubmate (T. Irving) may also take part in the event.

Cyclists are always ready to respond to the call of charity, and in this head it is interesting to mention that the Speedwell Cycling Club (New South Wales) recently held a^racc meeting in aid of the Maitland Hospital. Major Taylor competed at the meeting, but owing to conceding long starts made only one win. This was his last appearance in Aiptralia before leaving for his home in America Major Taylor took with him _to America quite a menagerie of Australian animals and birds, including a kangaroo. -The officers appointed for the next 12 months for the Australasian Cycling Council are:— President, Mr J. Callaghan (Victoria); vice president, Mr H. D. M'lntoßh

(New South Wales) ; and secretary, Mr B J. Gleeson (Victoria).

Don Walker and Major Taylor have left Sydney £oi- America. They go straight to Taylor's home in Worcester. The two riders will th'en visit the St. Louis Exhibition, Walker thereafter crossing over to France to do a little racing prior to the .championship meeting in England.

— — The Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Watson, is a cyclist, and depends upon his wheel for exercise. It will be recollected that Mr Watson hails from Oamaru.

The Australasian Cycling Council have decided that all riders desirous of racing throughout Australasia will pay a registration, fee of 10s yearly, which will exempt them from payment of further fees in any State, except those for nominating and accepting for races. Hitherto the leagues have been able to inflict a fine not exceeding £25. but a resolution was passed by the council empowering them to exact a sum of £50 if deemed necessary or advisable.

William Kane, a tramway gripman, who lives in Talbot street, Brunswick, had his face badly smashed one evening by the breaking of his bicycle front fork as he rode down a hill on the way home from Footscray. When the fork broke he fell, and was stunned. Constable Sims took charge of him, and had him conveyed to the Melbourne Hospital. His cheek \ras gashed, his lips were cut in two places, his nose was flayed, and a piece of -the bone vr&e broken oft, and his eyebrow was laid open. Just at present, when hard road riding is seasonable amongst cyclists, and the risks of front fork accidents is greatest, the time is opportune for a few words of advice to riders as to the selection and care of thoir machines, so as to reduce the liability lo accidents. The steering tube and the front forks are the most vulnerable points of a bicycle, more particularly on a down grade. Upon them on a descent is thrown the full weight of the rider, and they have also jarring, which are at their worst in downhill motion. For these reasons the first care to withstand the effects of vibration and tht» of a man when purchasing a bicycle should be to sec that he buys a machine whose front fork* arc staunch and designed to carry his weight at full speed down a hill which may, and probably will, be scarred with ruts and plentifully sprinkled with metal. The second care of the rider should be .to keep the head of tire machine well adjusted, to examine the machine frequently, so that deterioration in the metal, if any, may be discovered early, and to "nurse " his mount to the best of his ability when parsing over rough places. A bicycle, like a horse, may bo saved many a disastrous fall by a prudent rider. The man who drives a bicycle through ruts and over boulders at full speed, sitting meanwhile dead weight in the saddle, may expect to achieve a broken neck sooner or later. The weak point of the steering tubes lies inst over the ball race above the crown. There have been numerous instances of accidents to tubes at this point, and for most of them the riders' own carelessness is responsible. They are due almost always to the want of proper adjustment of the " head." A man who rides his bicycle with a loose head — on his wheel as well as on himself — may expect disaster. The man who s&3'S he has been riding a' bicycle for a year or more, and has never onre " acliuslod " it. is uttering a foolish boast. The head should bo kept woll adjusted, and should never be pllowed to remain loose. When loose, a severe jar is apt to snap the steering tube or to fracture the fork immediately below the crown. The front forks, to be reasonably safe, should be reinforced with a lining at the crown and at the spindle, and the lining should be brazed to the tubing. Scnne forks are built so as to show the lining by the removing of a cap. These are a commendable pattern, becauea the owner may. by taking off the cftp. assure himself that, the lining is in good condition and its brazing effective. But there is the simple test of " ringing " which may be applied to all forks. If a tube is well lined, the fact may be ascertained by tapping the tube. The parts where the lining should be ought to ring " dead " compared with the clear note of the imenforced

centre of the tube. Some men strain their front forks when taking out the wheel. This should be avoided as far as possible. Again, a collision is almost sure to weaken the forks. After hitting anything with the front wheel the forks ehould be closely examined. When the collision has been severe, and the' forks have been shifted out of their normal bend, they should bo taken to a mechanic. A shilling or two expended in timely repairs frequently saves much in medical expenses. — Weekly Times.

Another duplex-gear hub has made its appearance, which is called the " Fagan," and is an English production.. It resembles so cloeely the Manchester two-speed hub that the latter must be receiving a royalty, else it could scarcely be put on the market openly. The great point of difference between the two is that the "Fagan" has a freewheel at hoih gears, while the "Manchester " is a fixed wheel at low. At first sight those who have not used the latter device, or who have been accustomed to the ordinary freewheel, feel that the " Fagan ' nas an advantage in this respect, but. after five yeaiV constant and varied use of freewheels, the latter four with divers variable gears, 1 must admit (writes " Fortis " in the Australasian) that the "Manchester," with the fixed low gear, is preferable. The makers of the new device make a good deal of capital out of the automatic freewheel at both gears, and state that this feature " is particularly advantageous to the cycling public, who have now become so accustomed to the freewheel that it would cause considerable inconvenience to suddenly change from freewheel to fixed j gear, and vice versa." This, however, is a movement to which one very quickly becomes accustomed, and the elimination of the fixed gear, as in the ease of the " Slurmey Archer " threespeed gear (which I experimented with a few weeks ago), is to my mind a distinct loss, inasmuch as it lessens the variety. I gave the three-speed hub several hundred milos' trial, and had no occasion to use the freewheel at low gear, because when in use I was either climbing a hill or fighting the wind. And although there were two powerful rim brakes ' fitted, I missed the elasticity of the retarding force by back-pedalling when descending a particularly rough or steep hill, such as abound in this country at least, and down which it would bo inadvisable to coast at any great speed. There are minor advantages in this gear, nevertheless. The change from hierh to low gear can be made without the slightest trouble while pedalling or coasting, for the freewheel is independent of the change mechanism. In the case of the "Manchester " hub the rider, if desirous of changing to the low gear while coasting, must turn the cranks at the same time, else the teeth of the pinions may suffer damage in me-sh-ing. In the "Fagan" hub the wire cable operating the mechanism i« brought down on the chain side, this constituting the most noticeable difference of it superficially from the "Manchester." which enters the hub on the loft-hand side. This device, however, will find many buyers; it is of the same weight as its predeceesor, is of excellent material and workmanship, and from its simple construction nothing can possibly go wrong. The arrangement In connection with the test raoe-s to be held in the various centres of the colony to choose a district lopresentativ© to compete in tha Dunlop Timaru-Christclmrch Road Race are well in hand. The Wellington test race will bo run on the 25th inst. over a course of 30 miles. The Nelson and Invercargill events on the 29th inst. over a distance of 48 miles and 53 miles respectively. The Auckland and Dunedin races will take placeon the 2nd prox., the distance being 78 miles and 56 miles lespeetively. The Manawatu test race is to be run on July 6, and the distance set down is 70 miles. Information with reference to the Napier test race is not yet to hand, but it is mentioned as probable that Masterton will hold a similar race so that the big event on July 16, and for which entries closo on Saturday, July 2, will be repi«scjilod by the finest road riders that ever competed ia any eveat $

Tho laminating Race, h n '(' •"> the 1 Isle of Man, to decide England"? i-• "i ior the Gordon-Bennett Race, lesr/'e i ni Messrs S. F. Edge, S. Giding, \m\ <"...» I" Jarrott beinj- selected by the Au'-:.".05n!e Club of Grcal Biitain and Ireland to represent England. The three 1. o'oi"-ts selected include two of the oool^-t an.l n>o«t daiing motor oar dvkevs in "Kuiop. — . iz , S. F. Edge, who won the 1902 event f;oin France, and Charles Jarrott, who has carried off several cf the big Continental automobile events. The- fivot-named will drive a 100 horse-power Napier, and Jarre ti. * 96 horse-power "Wolseley. The third member of tho team (S. Girling) will also drive a Wolseley. It i-, estimated that, including the to-t of building eai-=, etc , the total cost of hold-'ng the eliminating racps and oondi'rting the gieat even!, itself will be £250.000.

The next meeting of (iif. AuilraUwn Cycling Council takes place m Syc'uev in 1905. The New Zealand League uiaj be represented at the' meeting.

The Giand Prix de Paris which ia recogni c ed as the Derby of eye'e track racing in European countries, will b» bold in Paris for the eleventh year on June 20, 23, and 26. The vacs is one of the most, popular elastic events of the year, and cyclists and spectator from all pa.its of the world go to see the \orious champions struggle for vicrory. The event has been won by Ellegaard, Meyers, Zimmerman, and other famous crack> at various times. The Paris Town Council gives £400 annually towards the prize money.

The American papeis are persistent in their statements that a renewal of the cycling enthusiasm which characterised the years 1596-7-8 is apparent this year. The dealers report a marked increase in the number of machines sent them to be overhauled, as we.ll a.s in the number oi sales of new machines, to say nothing jf tho liundred and one inquiries regarding wheels, accessories, etc

To the benefits which motor'ng has conferred on humanity, Dr Blauchet has added another. In a thesis presented to the University of Lyons, he showed from his own experience md from that of 1 number of other doctors the valuable influence it exorcises in the treatment of lung troubles. He himself v. as a sufferer, and had to give, up woik. For seven or eight months he underwent the open-air treatment, with the result that he was able to resume work, though he was si?iil weak, below normal weight, and had very little appetite. He bought a motor-cai for professional purposes, and, having long distances to drive, he was in t<he open air for many hour a daily. The ie%ult was that at the end of a year, despite the fact of returning to work, be regained his appetite, gained six ki~o3 in weight, his cough disappeared, andi liis ehesfc capacity was considerably increased. Since then his health h#s been wholly restored. From this experience, and the observations of colleagues, he concludes that motoring is a most valuable factor in the treatment of lung troubles, aud that it will gradually cure the cough of tuberculosis and chronic bronchitis, while at the same time it induces appatite and causes healthy sleep. The patients should, however, be thoroughly protected' from cold, and, as far as possible, from dust, and the treatment should not be employed where there is fever, nor' in very nervous, excitable cases.

Mr Cecil Edlge (Londou), mounted on au English-made 15 horse-power car, aud accompanied by a companion and a press observer, set out from London to try to journey from -one end of England! to the cthea-, and back again to London — a total distance of 2000 miles — without stopping his engine for any cause whatever. Mr Edge and his companion decided upon taking eight hour stretches at the steering wheel, so that a few hours' sleep could be obtained in the car. The ride was started at midnight on Saturday, April 23, and, despite some most unpleasant experiences, such as crossing the .snow-covered Grampians during daikness, all difficulties were surmounted, and John O'Groats, a distance of 1091£ miles, was reached on Tuesday before midday without a single stop or accident to the engine. The return journey was immediately entered upon, and Kendal — about 250 miles from the starting

;oint — was reaehe.3 on Thursday, when Jyre troubles overtook the party, necessitating a considerable delay. Up to this ptage Edge had covered considerably over 1600 miles without stopping his engine, a marvellous performance, and one that indicates the wonderful strides made in perfecting the motor car during the past few years. The English mail left before Edge's tidie was completed ; consequently, further particulars are not yet available. Photographs of the motor-cars which >fc the recent speed tests at Nice attained a., speed equal to 95 miles per hour show them to be long, rakish vehicles, with very little about them conducive to comfort. Everything is sacrificed to speed. They are built low, and their fairly lengthy axles, tog-ether with their long length, preclude the possibility of their _ overturning when rounding corners at a high speed. Alotor bicyclists who sigh for a light machine with a small and highly efficient tn^ine will derive much satisfaction from the results of the experiments carried out fey Professor Callendar. Provided that the engine be suitably designed, he finds that ■hMi efficiency and nower can be obtained from a small engine running at a high speed. The total weight of his engine was Tinder 201b, the cylinder bemg 60 by 70 mm., bub he got from it over 2 indicated horse power. But his experiments were not confined to mere laboratory tests. With a -small engine of this type the Professor drove a machine with a foreearnage, the total load exceeding scwt, a distance of 4000 miles at an average speed of 14- or 15 miles an hour, and after such an exceedingly severe test he found the engine as good as before, and there was no necessity to replace any part whatever. The gee-ret of his success is, he £ays, that he used a small fan for cooling. Advocates of iheavy machines and high horse-power declare that the light machine must necessarily be underpowered and unable to climb anything but a slight gradient; yet these experiments demonstrate the fallacy of the contention. If, with a suitable two-speed gear and cooling fan, a 2 horse-power machine can give results like these, many riders ask why should manufacturers insist on Jherr having engines weighing 351b or 401b to get a little more power and 1 a good deal more discomfort, particularly in traffic. A Belfast coroner, in summing up at ■an inquest on a young cyclist whose brake•less machine got beyond control on a steep bill, and dashed him against a. stone wall, observed: — "Although it rrTay be a hard *hing to say, and although it may be a cruel thing to say, when a person goes out to ride a bicycle which has not a^ brake on it, and an accident -happens, it serves him light. Any person who rides under such {.sircumstances raust be a maniac, especially 5f he rides down a hilL like this incline. . . . I hope young men will profit hy this horrible lesson." The coroner is right, and if the machine has a free-wheel it ehould be equipped with two brakes. The Inspector of Constabulary for

Scotland, in his annual report, pays a well-

deserved tribute to the value of the bicycle ftor police purposes. The use of bicycles.

te points out, enables the men to trayeise "their beats more frequently, and the higher 'offic-ers to pay numerous visits of supcr,/vision, and he therefore urges local authorities to encourage by all means in their ipower "this useful mode of locomotion, " neither by supplying machines for the use of constables, or by making the men suitable allowances. In sparsely-populated districts, where the number of constables is email in relation to the area to be patrolled, the bicycle makes one man almost the equal of three, while its noiseless 1 progress is a distinct point in its favour. There are numerous instances on record in which the prompt use of bicycles has been instrumental in bringing criminals to justice. The only drawbacks are to be round in the doffencelessness of bicyclists against anything 'Sn the nature of an ambush, and in the "(difficulties presented by bad weather. A .■wire placed across a dark stretch of road' nay be relied on to give at least even Chances of effectually stopping the mo3t cealous of officers. It is to bo presumed that these- mounted policemen have xheir lamps made on the principle cf dark lanterns, for the risk of accident from lack of to visible light is less important than that policemen should not be compelled to s-'-gnal their approach for flic benefit of the lawbreaking fraternity. The question) of tho .weather is not so important, as roads have to be patrolled either on foot or awheel in all weathers, and except in extreme cases, as after heavy snow, it is realiy more comfortable to make the journey on a properlyfittedi bicycle. France, seemingly, is a cyclists' paradise. There is no speed limit, no bringing \ip cf one before the magistrate because the lamp has flickered out, or for riding upon the footpath; the latter, being allowed, h pot an offence. Several towns have special jfcraeks for cyclists along the boulevards, .■while the general condition of the roads is excellent. The hills, also, a-re well engineered, the grades being easy, beca^ise the fact is recognised that it is easier to climb sn incline of 1 in 20 for, say, a mile, than to labour up one of 1 fn 10 for half a mile to reach a desired altitude. The STrench roads have, in addition, plenty of aiotice-boasds warning the travellers of dangerous descents and level crossings, beBides finger-posts at all junctions. The aunual meeting of the Cycle Engineers' Institute revealed a flourishing state of affairs and a steady growth in the vogue of the standard screw threads. The interesting and valuable series of papers on (bicycle manufacture which have been read ■by members show that we are not yet in a -position to assume that finality has been reached in ihe art of building pedal-driven machines, aad that the ground will still repay even more intensive cultivation. It is lioped that in the more pressing needs of the motor industry for scientific research the modest claims of the pedalling bicyclist will not be altogether overlooked. Although large reductions in the price of bicycle tyres are to be expected in tie autumn, oa tho lapse of the master patents, riders who are tempted by "special offers' of cheap tyres would do well, before anticipating that golden future, to refer to the case of Frankiand v. The Sports Trading Company. This was an action on the part ©f the plaintiff, a rubber merchant and maker of bicycle accessories, to recover damages for the alleged inferior quality of W- batch of several thousand tyre covers sold to him by the defendants at the low price pi 3s each. Many of these, it was contended, wero "hard and unmerchantable,'' Vrhue the defendants argued that the plaintiff had bought the goods after inspection "as a clearance lot, 1 ' and denied that they were sold to sample. The case was ulti-

malcly compromised at tho «uggc=tion of Mr Justice. .7clf by the pajmrMit to the- plaintiff of t25 in full settlement, with no co^ts on citii"r mclo. Wo do uot know at what piico tlie~e lyre* were to bo offered to tho public, and in tho absence cf any definite judgment it would be unfair to lay too mucii stress on this particular oaso. The defence, however, throws a eood deal of light on the nature of many of the special offers of cheap tyres made to the public. Rubber goocU are exceedingly perishable, and a first-grade tyre which may be of full value to-day, may after a few months' storage be almost worthless, and yet correspond with the advertised description of "1903 fir it grade tyre." Some such offers are, no doubt, made in good faith for the purpose of establishing a market, but unless the prospective put-chaser has good reason, for knowing this he will do well not to buy without seeing the actual goods. — The Field. , An intovciting sketch of the development of road-making in France is given by M. L. Eonnard in the current number of tho Revue Meusuelle of the Touring Club do France. Serious road-making had its beginning under Louis XIV, who caused a series of good roads to be constructed, giving communication between Paris and the royal payees. For their construction recourse was hatf tc the corvee, to which all able-bodied men of a certain degree were liable. Empty earls returning after delivering their goods could, moreover, be compelled to cary materials. The royal example gave an impetus to local enterprise, and we find the- merchants of Rouen and Orleans subscribing to put in order the Roman road between these two towns. The year 1716 witnessed the formation of the Government department "dcs Ponts et Cliaussees," which seems to have had from that date- a continuous existence, and which, in the earlier part of the eighteenth century, constructed many of <he broad, straight, poplar-fringed roads which are still charcteristic of France. The latter part of the century, however, waa a time of retrogression, the continual deficit in the revenue and the increasing discontent which the corvee caused among the overtaxed peasantry made road-making a matter of difficulty. The Republic, of course, abolished the corvee and substituted a system of tolls, which proved exceedingly unpopular, and led to riots. It appears also that the tolls were often diverted from their proper objects, o ml many roads, even in the neighbourhood of the capital, we.re impracticable for heavy traffic. Under Napoleon, attention was concentrated on the main roads, or such of them as were of strategic importance, and the smaller roads are said to have been left entirely unrepaired. The. heavy wear and tear, moreover, of mo\ing large bodies of troops caused, especially on the eastern side, the virtual destruction of many of the roads. The restoration of the monarchy marked the commencement of an age of progress, distinguished especially by the general construction of stone bridges and by a revision of the methods of road-making, in connection with which a generous tribute rs paid to Macadam. The railway epoch did not in France involve the same neglect of roads as was the ease in England, thanks largely to the! Department of Bridges and Roads, which worked unceasingly at the perfecting of road beds, the engineering of steep gradients, and so forth, patient spade work of -which the motorists of France are now reaping the benefit. In conclusion, we may quote some curious calculations ?s to the average speed per hour attained by travellers on the highways between Paris and the great towns. At the end of the seventeenth century it was 2.2 kilometres ; 100 years later 3.4; 4 in 1814-, 6.5 in 1830, and 9.5 in 1847, which, apatt from subsequent improvements in locomotion, may be considered as re-presenting the highest efficiency attainable.

—Of all things sacred in tha eye of the law there are few which stand on a higher pinnacle of sanctity than a section of policemen on the- march through the street. Even a regiment holds a somewhat lower position. Impious indeed is the bicyclist who tries to break through the files, and thrice accursed he who in doing so lays prostrate a British constable. Yet both thc-«e acts were lately performed with impunity in the London streets, and by a mere- foreigner. It appears that at about 10 o'clock in the morning a sergeant was taking a, section of police acros-j Kcnnington JTVo >.-■>, and, seeing a bicyclist rapidly approaching, held up bis hand to hina to stop. The rider paused, but again quickened his pace, and passing through the files, laid low the sergeant in the mud. That officer presented a lamentably dismayed appearance as he told his taj" to the magistrate. The alien, however, explained that his offence was the result of a misunderstanding. He was on the point of dismounting when it seemed to him that one of the constables made way for him to pass. He accordingly rode through, and the next moment saw the sergeant biting the mud, owing, he believed, to his foot having caught in one of the wheels. The rnagistiate accepted the. explanation, btvt warned the defendant always in future to dismount when lie saw a section of policemen. It was well for him that he- wa.s under the mild regime of a western country. An eastern cadi would have considered him, if not as a wanton outracter of the majesty of law, as a man forced into his desperate evil by the special displeasure of offended gods, and would have doubled accordingly his sentence of stripes.