NOTES BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 59

NOTES BY DEMON.

A a committee meeting of the Otago Cycling Club on Monday night, Mr H. B. Courtis, president, in the chair, it was resolved to give up the club's present club rooms in Moray place at the ond of March. A special meeting of the club is to bo- held on Monday, 27th inst., io consider the position of the club, and, I understand, it has practically been decided to wind up this old sports body. The club is trying to dispose of its billiard 'able as it stands in the rooms, Moray place, before the end of March, and presumably the club"s other furniture will meet a like f<ie, and with the sale of these, I regret to state the closing down of the club se-'ms a certainty. The Taieri Cycling Club run off the last of their season's series >of races on Saturday night at the Caledonian Ground. The distance will bo three miles, and entries will bo received up to Thursday night. On learning that he was in receipt of 50yds in the Sydney Thousand, R. Arnst, the Christchurch lider, who won the Wheel Race at the recent Dunedin Cycling Club's sports, at once -booked his passage i for the other side and left by the first boat. j W. Rutt. F. MacFarland. T. Ellegaard, and ! Ivor Lawson constitute the scratch men in the big mile handicap, while the limits have been considerably lengthened — up to 240 yds, and the back men will have to keep their pedals going if they wish to get within ' striking distance of those in front when the | bell rings for the last lap. Information by cablegram conveys the nelcome news that Arnst won his heat on Saturday. The semifinals will be run on Wednesday, and the | finals, I presume, on Saturday next. The success of the New Zealander in the final of the Sydney Thousand-pounder .would, I am sure, be hailed with delight by New Zealander?. I The New Zealand League has a credit balance of £73 9s 4d. The Nelson A. and C.C. has been offered next season's champ ionshins foi the t-um of £35. The resolution did not state whether amateur championships were included in this amount, but presumably they will bs '"thrown in" if the Nelson Club agrees to the council's terms. It is reported! that the Nelson Club intend to jmt on a £100 Wheel Race as an additional draw. Two Taieri clergymen of the Catholic der omination met with a narrow escape from a nasty accident at Allanton on Tuesday evening of last week. It appears one of the clergymen was riding a motor and towing the- other behind. The motorist got Into a rough bit of road, with the result that he had a nasty fall, bringing his colleague do\vn with him. Fortunately both riders escaped injury, the only damage done being a bent crank to the motor. This was j

1 — Tun M M V ' '"- L '•*' f 1 - wi *m , iiilhj .wu wi»'^>..ii M^^Mwqjy fgMB>9TC3SP» speedily remedied by Mr A. P. Fleming, of | Allanton, and the two gentlemen were enj abled to set out o:i their homeward jour1 ney. This is another exemplification of a 1 now much-proved experiment — \iz., that the easiest way home is not always the shortest. ', It is six seasons "ago since Major I Taylor won the world's professional sprint championship — viz., 1899, at Montreal, and , as he has already announced his intention £ of visiting Europe in 1905 for his last racing i tour — and, in fact, has signed to m&et Frank " Kramer, the American champion, in a J sprint match on June 1 at the Pare les Prince's Velodrome, Paris — the committee , of the world's championships, which are to be decided at Antwerp in July, has specially arranged the date of the sprint event so as to allow of the negro competing if he chooses. It is generally the custom to run the preliminary heats of the sprint event on a Thursday, and the semi-finals and final on the following Sunday ; but this j-car all will be decided on the same day — viz , July 21, which falls on a Friday, as it is tho National fete day in Belgium. No single professional can now have any excuse for not competing, not even the "Major," who claims that he has not been able to defend his proper title owing to tho world's championships being decided on a Sunday. The London Sportsman says that Rutfc, in a recent letter, stated it was a big mistake to underestimate the Australian racer. In fact, Pye and Morgan could, he considers, hold their own in the best company in Europe, providing the change of atmosphere did not upset their present form. Both he and Ellegaard hope to showsome of their best form before they return to Europe, which will be at the end of March. Tho te-iin i\aees between Lawson and Farley and Rutt and Ellegaard at the M.B.C.'s meeting last Saturday evening February 25, were scarcely satisfactory. It was obvious, after the first test had been decided, that the Rutt-F.llegaard team must, win. Lawson, as individual winner of the event, scored 4 points : Rutt, second, 3 points; Ellegaard, third. 2 points; whi'o Farley, by helping Lawson, ran himself out and was last, fourth man gaining nothing. Thus is is seen that tho European team, being plaoed second and third, scored 5 points, as against Lawson and Farley, who made 4- points only between them. Farley, ii sacrificing himself to help his teammate, also helped his opponents. To win the stake, Lawson would have had to win the three team races, and also the two so-called paced events, in which latter tho winner only scored — 5 points being the number. To do this he would havo to bo a prodigy. He recognised tho almost impossibility of it, and undertook the equally difficult ta=k of helping Farley to sco^e ; and he failed. Fa,r'oy. it is admitted, is io match in tactics with the other thiee: thiis bis first season as a fiver, and. theret fore, despite his fine ?peed. he cannot br placed in tlie »ame class. Thus was it an unequal match, and the srroi-ger combination won easily. On two out of the. fife times did Law»on get on even terms with , his opponents, and won brilliantly. In two j of the tests, while he was overhauling his man on the outside, raid probably would j have won, Rutfc opened out and let Elloj g&ard through, who then could not veiy w-ell lose. It is very questionable whether such tactics are admissible. To me (say "Fort is," in the Australasian) it ai>pear-ed grossly unfair, for such a thing was not looked for by the opposing side, and. in | ordinary racing, is not permissible. Whether it is or should be allowable in team-racing, > ! should bo clearly stated, when the contestants will known what to expect. Tho scoring at the end of the series of fvv-e. races was— Ellegaard and Rutt 24- points, Lawson and Farley 13 points ; the former thus winning easily. The secretary of the New South Wales League on February 21 forwarded the following letter to the secretaries of the Victorian and South Australian Leagues: — 'To promote friendly rivalry, I hereby challenge your league to "produce [ four men to meet a similar number from

this State in a road competition, one distance to he 4ecidpcl in each State, and the third event to be drawn for, the winners to decide where the next contest the following year shall bo held — Victoria or New South Wa!e=. As you have some of the fastest riders in Austialia you v\ould have no difficulty in securing a representative warn, and a competition of this kind would' do bo*h bodies an immense amount of good, and hflp to bring our men closer together." The secretary of the local bodythinks that Victoria will accept the challenge, even if South Australia does not, for great interest is taken in road racing b3 r Victoria, which holds several ioad championships each season. The liability to side-slip on s, easy roads, over-watered tramlines, and similar surfaces has long been recognised as very serious drawback to bicycling, more" particularly in thickly-populated districtsThe English Cyclist' Touring Club has offered a prize or prizes to the val'-e of 200 guineas for the best means of preventing side-slip on bicycles as at yicTCnt in general use. Miscellanea. — Paris intc-ndt to hold a big sporting exhibition in 1907. and the project \a ill he taken in hand by the municipal authorities. — Within the firsts week after the Pari-- Motor Show an English firm which oxhibitetf received orders for 27 automobile*. — The motordriving profession is being invaded by women, several firms having r.c-en applied to by girls for the post of "chauffeuse." — Although, the road* m the Trnn«vaal are j terribly bad, the motor cycle is in great | den. and : a tax of 2« 6d {..-or rnnum is levied on 'hs^ machine*. — Belgian motors may net lr- entered for this year's Gordon- ! Bennett iace. owing to -omo misunderj standing with the French Automobile- Club. — Including 3000 motor cycles, there ara about a quarter of a million bicycles in 1 use in Italj , which, last year, by a cycle tax, brought In £100,000.— An English ioad rider is said to have ridden 15,C00 milea la=t yeai — an a\era^r> of 0.-er 41 miles daily. — A cycV dub m the Old Land holds two classes cf runs or outing? during tha j winter months — one for tho«e who cycle, j and one for rhose who walk — The AutoI mobile- Club of Victoria will hold its first J annual dinn-c- +his month, when the prizes I won during the rcliabi'itv run v. ill be 1 presented. • Some- fi o^i. .wtori^ts .\% .cc attempted the South roa'i on Sunday last, 1 and twice they retreated io Dunedin. not ! deeming it wise to go pa«t Al'anton either ' time owing to the rain, a heavy bank of which apparently came up as far as Otokaia. The following jjiows the advanced stage to which motor manufacturing has reached. Mr S. R. Stedman had contracted to build Mr Amos M'Kegg, of Henley, a 2 h.p. Clement-Garrard motor cycle, and late on Saturday evening completed thi. wotk. Tho very first turn of the engine was made by Mr Stedman on Sunday mcrr.ing, when off the little motor flew over hill and dale on the Main South* road, as well ?s the- best of its class has ever run. The virtue of the spare accumulator was proved on the South road on Saturday afternoon, when more than one ''spare" had to be called upon. The alternative. \if no spare cell had Sbeen carried, would not have been pleasant. Mr Cooke was out on a Torp-edo model 2 h.p. on Sunday, and his motor seemed io bo doing good work. Tins machine has some very gcod points — viz., large diameter outside fly wheel, long direct belt drive, lijht weight, and all parts very getatable. Mr A. Clement, son of the great motor engine maker, though only 18 years of age, has been scoring a series of -successes lately in some of the world's biggest competitions in motor car racing, driving his fathers make of engines. Mr and Mrs W. H. Grey, with Miss Downcs, have just had a most enjoyable pnd interesting tour round the goldfields of OtagO'on their Darracq ear. This is one of the mo^fc delightful advantages of driving a car on tour — going where you like and when you like. Mr Bockhaert drove his 8 h.p. De Dion car from Dunedin to Oamaru in four hours ten minutes. He could not_ have had many stops on the road. , One of the latest converts to motoring, I believe, is Mr Kirkland, of the Taieri, who, rumour pays, is purchasing a fine Trench car. Mr Kirkland has always taken a leading j^osition in securing the latest and best in machinery for agricultural purposes, and seems to be trying to get the highest class likewise in motor ears. , 1 am indebted to Dr Fulton ipr the ; following interesting particulars *bf his recently-imported motor tricar: — The engine has a bore of Esmm and a stroke of 100 mm, reaching 5 h.p. at 1500 revolutions a minutp, water cooled with radiators, large diameter fly-wheel. with leather-covered clutch. The engine is started by means of a handle at the side of the car. Three-speedi Panhard type change gear, in GarradisecE steel. Transmission is from gear-box to propeller shaft through a Cardan joint, which allows the shaft to follow the flexure o£ the suspension springs, thence through a gearing of steel on phosphor bronze. , The car is controlled by two foot pedals, one" ' of which actuates the clutch and the other ! a powerful hind-wheel brake. In addition, i there is a powerful Boivden wire brake fron* the stpciing wheel to the two front wheels. Tho carburetter is a specially-designed one of float feed spray type, with automatic air inlot that admits the right mixture, no matter at what speed the car runs. Hightension ignition, with the ordinary standard sparking plugs. The capital Garrard-Max-field mak'O-and-brcak is fitted, and 1 from nay 12 months' experience of this on the motor bicycle I am well content to leave tremblers to other riders. The car is ordinarily handle-steered, but I had' a fine wheel fittedwith oxhaiist valve lifter, horn, and brake and double switch all at n^' finger end". The front seat is most luxurious, well cushioned, and is suspended on long 'C' springs.The driver's bucket seat is cushioned, on springs, and is also placed upon the top of tho triangle at the rear part of the frame, which is hinged, and the road shock absorbed by a spring pillar. Wheels are 26in by 2iin. Tyros are clincher, beaded 1 edge. I have taken 'Look-out' on tha c ocoud gear easily on several occasions, and! have covered my daily round of work over, bad roads, such as Park place and Maori road to Roslyn, Stuart street and York place to Mornington, Look-out Point behind Industrial School to Mornington, etc. I carry two accumulators with a two-way switch." * Some makers of motors fit; trembler induction coils with wipe contact, and othsr

makers fit non-trembler induction coils with ordinary make-and-break contact, and this is the source of a deal of argument amongst motorists. Of course, most riders argue in favour of what they themselves use, and intending purchasers are often puzzled es to (Which is the better, so I shall here state my opinion on the subject, and that is, firstly, /that the ordinary make-and-break contact /with non-trembler coil is the simpler and snore suited for the less experienced motor•ast, while the trembler coil with wipe con- ' Ifcact gives a far superior spark, and therefore more power and better running. Most motorists of any experience know that the "quality of the spark at the plug influences %reatly the vigour and keenness of the 'iengine — more co than does the quality of •jihe petrol or anything else similarly connected with the running of internal combustion engines. That being so, the question Miat next arises is, Do trembler coils require smuch attention, and can the ordinary motorfast easily understand their adjustment? I - {.would here state that it is much more imi^poxtant to only handle in the case of jjErembler coils absolutely the very best ttnakes, such as E. 1.0. or Basse Michel, and a few others, than it is in the case A noncoils. The aforementioned high.Bpeed coils are good, and are tested up to labout 5000 revolutions a minute, and it {is on such as tEese that I am basing my but thereare a good many others Jon the market that are not high-speed, and mot good either, and of -these I cay, leave jfchem -very severely alone, as a bad trembler »oil is an infliction to be avoided. Some Jirembler coils are good enough in all respects excepting their manner of adjust--Jnent, which, if not the simple thumb-screw adjustment like the E.LC. oi those fitted - ro the twin-cylinder Ciement-Garrard motors, , siad better be left alone. Now. as to the adjustment of a trembler coil, provided, of course, that it is a £humb-serew adjustment ''■on the very best mate of coil. Adjust ■thumb-screw above the trembler blade till «, buzz is heard, then set the engine going nn the stand, or any support that will let the engine run free — that is, without propelJing the machine; then adjust the thumbjerew backwards and forwards till the best running is obtained. OI couree, a different Wjustment means a different quantity of , Current used, but this can easily be determined by putting an ampere meter in circuit, which will plainly show the quantity Used at each contact ; so make the adjustment accordingly. The lighter the adjust--Vnenir on the trembler blade the smaller phe quantity of electric current used, and ,Vice versa. Some coils* — trembler and non-tremb- ! .ler — require more current than others. Most coils are made to run on 4-volt accumulathough some of these run very feebly lonj, 4 volts, but run with great dash when i run on 6 volts; hence some motorists swear j jby 6 volts, the only drawback being the jextra space required for carrying, and a ] little extra burning of the platinum points, i fft is comparatively safe to use 6 volts on any - god make of coil, but it is unfair and Jinsafe to attempt to put any higher voltage jfchrough a 4-volt coil, the insulation in the secondary ■winding of the coil being likely fto break down. This same result might ' happen through trying to see the utmost length of spark' -that can be thrown out at _ jiigh tension terminals — a rather common And .foolish practice. ; — —'With a few instructions almost any- 1 j&ne -can drive a jnotor cycle along the level ■-cm their first attempt, but to get over such Willis as Lookout Point and Saddle Hill on a 'S'h.p. motor without pedalling at all is, po the writer's mind, a really creditable performance, and was achieved by Master Crerald Ferguson on 'Sunday last. Some can never get much work out of an Engine; others can do well right from the itart. -On Saturday evening next the Taieri Cycling "Club holds its last race of the season on the Caledonian Ground over a distance of three Jrmles. This -will be the find race for the ■National bicycle presented by Mr A. Findlay, and a record number of entries is expected. Entries close with the secretary (Mr A. P. Fleming) on Thursday. A BIG CYCLING PRIZE. SYDNEY, March 8. The opening heats of the Sydney £1000 Bicycle Kace were run to-night. A WORLD'S CYCLING RECORD. SYDNEY, March 12. U. Arnst, the New Zealander, won his heat In the Sydney Thousand Pound Race. The «emi-finals will be run on Wednesday. The Five-mile Scratch Race resulted : — Ellegaard, l;'L»wson, 2; MacFarland, 3. "Won by a few inches. Time, lOmin 40 4-ssec — a world's record.