Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 55

Cycling and Motor Notes

NOTES BY DEMON. Seeing that the entries for the Timaru to Christchurch Road Race close on August 5 it behoves the Otago Centre to push on with details of the Otago subtest" Communications are being received by the different cycle firms in Dunedin from intending competitors asking for information, and our centre should at once get to -A-ork and make arrangements as to distance, course, etc. From, what I can gather by the Dunlop Tyre Company's circular, it will not. be necessary to run the test this year over a distance of not less than 50 miles — this being a condition of last year's race. This necessitated the course being mad© from Taieri Ferry to Milton and back, twice. The Taieri County Council having refused permission for the race to be run in the Taieri County necessitated the centre making arrangements to go outside, the Taieri County to get a 50-miles'. course. A good course this year, I consider, would be from Taieri Ferry to say, Clarksville and back, traversing the distance once. We have the men with the necessary stamina in Otago to make sterling road riders, and as the inducements to be offered by the Otago Centre and the Dunlop Tyre Company are" very substantial I am sure good entries will be received when the date for holding the sub-test and the course of j the race have been arranged.

In connection with the Timaru to Christchurch Road Race, run on September 2, a monster cycle parade will be held in Christchuroh for the purpose of demonstrating the numerical strength of the cyclists in that city, and impressing on the City Council and th© Road Board authorities the necessity for the) provision of better roads and traffic regulations. The Automobile Association .is to be invited to co-operate with the committee having the parade arrangements in hand. Seeing that road racing is undoubtedly calculated to foster interest in bicycle riding, I consider the* local cycle agents should give liberally to the prize fund in connection with Ota-go Centre's sub-test race. Messrs Dey and Stokes are to b© congratulated on their enterprise in promising as a prize a Massey-Harris bicycle. In making it a condition that there should be at least 20 starters the firm in question is quite right, I consider, as such a handsome prize deserves a large number of competitors.

— — Ken Lewis, the well-known Victorian racing cyclist, who a few years ago was racing in Dunedin, olaims to have discovered • — what many like men have dreamed of — a solution that, stored between inner tube and tyre, will automatically seal up punctures before the air can escape. "Major" Taylor nas been suspended by the National Cycling Association of the United States. This action has been taken in consequence of the refusal (or neglect) of Taylor to reply to a demand from, the National Cycling Association as to whether he intended to fulfil his European engagements entered into last December.

Plugg&r feill Martin is back in Melbourne again after » brief visit to America.

That motor men when on the road ' should be careful not to get too close together was exemplified on the South road on Sunday, when a motor cyclist who came otit wide on a corner carried another rider immediately behind him right out with him, the seoond rider going ojppr the bank. The latter cyclist, however, kept his head, and , after a short ride along a sheep track managed to regain the road again. That this is ' not the only occasion that this rider's pre- ! sence of mind stood him in good .stead is recalled to "Demon's" mind by his action on one occasion some years ago when he was riding in a race at Carisbrook. The whole field came down on tue penultimate corner in the last lap of the race, and this quick-witted rider at 1 once annexed the first machine he could lay his hands on from the mass of spokes and wheels lying around — which was not his own — and finished the race all on his own, securing the first place. It seems quit© apparent to me that the old-time cyclist who is a recruit to the ranks of the motor cyclist I is quicker to make up his mind in au ©rnert gency than the rider who has started hk j career on the wheels with the motor cycle. ! . "That a friend in need is a friend indeed" came home to a free-wheel fanatic who was scorching down Princes street the other day. He struck a pedestrian at the foot of the hill just near Rattray street, and cannoned right across the road ; but j salvation was at hand in the person of [.-Mine Host of the Excelsior Hotel— to wit, ;Mr Roderick Mackenzie. The falling cyclist landed right on the shoulders of the genial member of the clan Mackenzie, -who evidently wondered what on earth had struck him. However, Mac held up his end of the man and bicycle manfully, and the thankful cyclist made a hasty if not dignified dismount from his machine — saved in this manner from what had all the appearances of a nasty spill. j

That Mr Herbert Sanders, an old Dunedin track and road rider, late dredgemaster of the Matau dredge at Clyde, and now holding a similar position in the land made famous by Rudyard Kipling's "Mandalay," has not wasted much time in getting to work on the tigers at Burmah during his short sojourn there is made apparent by the information that he has already bagged three full-grown female tigers. -The practice our old friend "Bert" got at Clyde with another old Dunedin cyclist in the person of Mr R. Crow in shooting wild goats has evidently stood him in good stead. ''Demon" will never forget the ovation Sanders received on the occasion of his finishing first in a 10-mile test race, run some years back between the Dunedin Cycling Club and the Invercargill Cycling Club. The D.C.C. was represented by R. Crow, W. B. Bell, Simon M'Donald, and H. Sanders, and the Invercargill Club by Cuthbertson, M Thereon, M'Kenzie, and, I think, P. Muir. The D.C.O. easily annexed the contest, Sanders finishing first and M'Donald second. Sanders put the seal on his fame that day after the race by innocently asking if the other members of his team had found his racing fast enough when he was in the lead. As it was quite fast enough to prevent any of the other_ seven riders slaying with him to the_ finish, and as he did prety well the lot of it over the. last five miles, any further eulogistic remarks of mine on his performance are quite unnecessary. - — The meeting of motorists in Mr Sievwright's auction rooms on Wednesday evening last was a more refreshing and interesting one than is usually experienced. This was mainly due to the keenness of all present for the sport and the thorough manner in which Mr J. F. M. Fraser had prejaared particulars for the occasion, besides the masterly manner in which the same gentleman controlled the meeting, thereby •enabling a lot of business to be put through in a fairly short time. There were about 40 motorists present, and all agreed to join the association. The one or two who j were un avoidably absent have signified their intention of joining. The election of office-bearers seems to be generally satisfactory, as those elected are men with sound judgment and have already done infinite good towards assisting the deligthful sport of motoring.

The first thing to remember now that the local motorists have formed an association is for each member to do his or her best to suppress reckless motoring. One way is to acquaint the committee at once with any known case of this sort, when the committee should, after inquiry, come down with a heavy hand on the guilty. — The South road was fairly alivs with

T motorists on Sunday. No efwer than about 15 motor cyclists and 3 motor car loads luncnod at jrienl".v, while there were about six 01 seven out foi part-way morning or afternoon spin=. Dr Roberts accompanied Mr Goodman in the latter gentleman's De Dion-Bouton car, and I belies c enjoyed his first rid© very much, but frit anxious at the pa.o© sometimes attained. It was a good job for fcbe doctor's nerves that Mr Goodman was only driving an 8 h.p. car instead of a 40 h.p. one, m which case I would! have been sorry for these self-same nerves. • Mr Milk's oH=mobile wrf. also at Henley. The car going well and so much other motor animation on the road seemed to bring a beam to the faces of the occupants of this car that was only rivalled by that of Old Sol himself, and lie shonei brightly enough. Some parts of the road wore a little 1 slippery, and it was rather a peculiar picture from the rear to view the big car swinging about on the greasy parts. At one particularly °reasy part the car got abreast of -a motor cyclist. Both were doing about 25 miles an hour, and both were side-slipping, and the road was extremely narrow. It was a very anxious moment for these two paties, as the car occupants hardy relished the idea of picking out pieces of a motor cyclist from among the spokes of their wheels, and the motor cyclist hinvself hardly cared about causing- them such an unpleasant job. It, however, ended all serenely so far as these two parties were concerned, but there waa a third person interested in this little incident, even though a good 150 yards behind. He was so anxiously watching the evolutions being performed in front of hiro that he forgot he was himself riding a motor cycle, and was promptly discharged from his seat on to the road, but without damage. There were two spills from side-slip, but the second one seemed to be more serious, and the victim made the return journey in Mr Goodman's car. Mr Cooke was riding Mr Alex. Roberts's twin Clement, which took hill or flat spl&ndidly. It was one of the best on Sunday. There is no reason why it should not always go like this. Mr J. F. M. Fraser was riding his" 2-h.p. Clement, which he still retains, pending ihe arrival of his 3J h.p. two-cylinder Werner, which should be here in about 3 weeks' time. Mr Tom Fraser has fitted a Longuemare carburettor to his twin Clement, and was going wall. With a Longuemare carburetter, one hardly knows that they have a. carburetter at all — they never cause any trouble. The same cannot be said about a good many carburetters. Mr Howlison was riding a new 2£ All-day motor cycle, and the- "Tittle engine carried its big load in grand style. Mr Gordon was riding his twin Clement, and was among ih? best. I uotic3 he is using very heavy high tension cable — the correct thing, as the thinner cable very often leaks. Messrs G. Sise, E. Boot, and *W. # Bell were all riding 2J h.p. Browns, and spun along at a good regular pace. Mr Dcd Bell was riding his twin.^ Clement, which has recently had most of the engine bearings t-e-bushed. A pair of Castle trembler coils has displaced the original ones. This machine, though now two years old and the one that is oftenesfc - on the road, is still too fast for any of ■the others. Mr Hudson and Mr Fiddis were eaofc riding 2| h.p. Humbers, which, though no< fast, were very steady. Messrs Stcdman, Wetherilt, Tisdale, and .Price were all mounted on 2 h.p, Clements, and hold their own with all excepting the twin cylinders. Mr Tatter sfieid-4s getting more work out of his 2 h.p. Thomas than any of its previous owners did. Mr R. Jones was riding his 2 h.p. Universal, and it is a good 2 h.p. engine that beats this one. All the machines were going well, and caused very little trouble. Messrs Goodman (car), and 1 Price, Stedman and Bell (motor cycles) had each a punctured tyre. * The day was perfect ai)d the roads splendid, except for an odd greasy bit here and there. "All the motorists got home before dark. In the British eliminating trials for the Gordon Bennett Cup the Hon. C. Rolls successfully drove a .Wolseley car. As Mr Rolls is in the trade in opposition to the Wolseley Co., it <=.hows a very fino sportsmanlike feeling. The contributor of cycling notes to the Canterbury Times sevornly condemns the North Canterbury Centie for the manner in which it conducted its recent inquiry into the running of the Royal Enfield Cup Race last Good Friday. He goes on to say: "No official who po'ssefsed an atom of knowledge of cycle-racing could fail to realise that there were non-triers in the race, yet ihe offieiils cf t>lvo promoting body, the Christchurch Cjoling Club, failed to take any action at the time or to report to the committee. At lea^t two of the members present at k,st meeting of the North Canterbury Centre attended the Christchurch Club's meeting 1 in an official capacity, and must have seen the manner in which the race was run. yet (hoy <;at calmly by at the meeting 1 last week and assisted to the finding that therti had been no grounds for an inquiry- If club and oentr-e treat their responsibilities as lightly as this, no wonder the riders have so little respect for constituted authority- I trust that the council will show a keener appreciation of its duty to the sport and tc the public and take aotion in thw caso, where both club andl centre have failed. It is true the unexplained absence of the 'referee of the meeting placed the centre in a difficult and 1 awkward position* but ell the same there were witnesses present who could, if they had chosen, have given evidence that would! have justified the inquiry. As it was, it was very evident that the more prominent members had made up their minds beforehand that thdrei was nothing to inquire into, and the different witnesses were asked' leading qxiestions to bring forth answers inf accordance with this preconceived judgment. The whole proceedings wei'& most unbusinesslike, and the centre showed itself incompetent to deal with the important duhes entrusted to it. "Now, this matter of the running of the Royal Enfield Cup Race cannot be allowed to stand as it does ati present. I have refrained previously from commenting on it, as I wished to give the^ responeible bodies an opportunity of taking the steps they should in such a case. Its is ooinuion knowledge that therfc were onhu

■ %\ro triers out of the five riders who '- Started." , ■ ' - — The following important rule, which iocs not find a place in the Canterbury asjociation's by-lawa, was unanimously apjrovei of at the meeting of Otago motorten- on Wednesday night: — 7. In the event of any member of the - association committing any breach of any of .these rules or by-laws it shall be competent for the committeo to serve such. Aneinber wibh a notice in writing setting jtnit the alleged breach, and such notice tnay be cither served personally or sent .through the medium of the post to the 'usual or last known place of abode of £ueh member, and shall require such memriber to attend personally before the coniiraittee at a date not less than 48 hours after the service or posting of such notice, jjand the committee rihall thereupon inquire '.'into such alleged breach, and if satisfied 'fthat * breach as aforesaid has been oom'niitted, may either fine such member in "any sum not exceeding twenty shillings '(20s), or expel such member from the as- " sociation. Not kes than forty-eight (48) •hours' notice of the holding of any such -" inquiry shall be given to each member of 'committee. Mr Gerald Balfotir. replying to Mr s<C?awley in the House- of Commons, said that ihe local authorities who have applied to -3tbe> Local Government Board for power to jimifc the speed of motor cars within their 'trea to 10 miles an hour and have their ap- _ nlications refused arc- the Common Council pf the City of London and the town councils ■pt \ Be*er!ey, Bury, Doverj Kmgston-on-.jTham.es, Leeds, Leigh, Newport (Monmouthkhire), - Todmofden. Winchester, and Whitejbaven.- The application was .in each case topposed by the Automobile Club, the- Motor Union, and similar organisations. There \rete local -inquiries, at which both sides -Jkvere heard, and the inspector reported: the ' evidence to the Local Government Board, together with the result of his own observations. Mr Balfour assured the hon. member he will give unprejudiced 1 consideration. to any application for the imposition of a speed limit in populous places. It is an easy matter to ascertain if an 'Accumulator is discharged or in, bad contiition by the appearance of it. When fully fcharged the positive platea are of a rioli chocolate colour, and the negative plates of - a ' clean lead colour. When discharged the positive plates are. brick red. If the plates Eave a dirty white appearance it indicates Sulphurating, ancf the cells should be charged - Very J slowly for a long period. Voltameters „ are" well in their way, and shouldl always be 'carried to test the amount of.energy in the Accumulator; but the surest way to judge j irbetlier ' the cells are in a good working Condition is by the colour.- Ammeters should foe carried by users of dry cells, as they are . pyat to drop their energy suddenly. — ;—; — Motor cycling- is hot, on the first blush _taf it, the sort of pastime that one would expect ladies to go in for; yet it is "rejported that- a considerable number of ladies -»re now to be found indulging in the pasgim« in England. Sufficient, at anyrate, . tor,, it to be worth the while of some of the -piixioipal motor cycle makers to design 1 and ipufc . on the market a machine specially • jaclapted for ladies "riding. The Motor Cycle, kT newspaper devoted -to the sport, evidently .Jjßnds. thai there is actemaad for this class of -feaohine, for it has lately started 'a special _page devoted to the interests of lady motor jpjtelists. Tho machine* inane, of course, are v. .on -similar lines toja"dies' ordinary cycles. .1 ~t~A De. JJjon motor 'bus, it is expected, -jyili be- running in London very- scon. This ■Will be the forerunner of 110 similar vehicles to be imported by the Motor Car Emciicrium-. Holland Park, London. '-L --—-On Saturday, May 6, about 11 at - Jiight, while a chemist named Harry Young, _t>£ Uddingston, England, was driving aaotov car down Kirkfieldbank Brae, he aun. into ah embankment, causing the" Jctcupants to bo thrown out. The car was 'only going at the rate of four miles an - fcour, .=0 that tlw injuries to the occupants Were trifling, but one of the lamps got jbroken, and the oir, catching fire, spread j ".pver tho front of the tar. Mr Smith en- ; 'iSeavoured tc put the flames out, but while moing- so the car started and ran down the mill, still burning, nearly a distance of 500 ■■tyards," until it crashed into an unoccupied - Bious^ belonging to General Stevenson, of - feunnysiJe. The ear. was allowed to bnrn ' [cut, the only portions undamaged being , [the" wheels. The" value of the car -is put v.t «!700^ while it was insured for £600. The 'occupants liired a carriage to take them to Jtbeir journey's end, Init before* they had Wched Larkhall they, met with another jaccident' through" a wheel of the carriage getting, into a hole in the road, the horse JWragging tha front portion of the carriage body. .V v— As showing the way seme daily -Jpapers -.deal with motor accidents, it may Jbß._well to point out that a Wesfc^ of Eng- - land paper recently described, under starts ~, ling;. headlines, the running down of a lady -.fcy^a "furiously -driven motor oar. A day or rrjbwo afterwards \.ife was explaired, in an Jiobsenre paragraph, that the lady had been "knocked down by a horse and cart which ' tad made off/ The motorist, who had tome on the "scene after the accident, was ' \jn reality acting the part of the good Samaritan. The speed-changing mechanism mthc Jnotor car requires very careful handling, fava that there are some novices in motoring anay b& recognised by the jarring sound (heard when the changing 1 levers are Operated with. Some drivers, who have ibcen handling th&ir cars for a long time ' fer© slow in mastering the principles of ■jfche movement, and the chattering and ratt- ' 'ling heard when the change is being effected t|s a most discordant sound to the meehani"^ja lear Many drivers when climbing a ' ihilU wait too long be-fore they throw in the Sow gear, for when the* engine is making "fewer revolutions per minute than the numhet at which it gives its full power, not r ionly ia time lost in climbing the hill, but -.|here is a much greater strain, and conse- " tauently wear, on the machinery. In England a set of championship ' Himes has been fixed by the National Cham;pien3hip Committee to prevent loafing tactics during the running of classic dhampionf hips. The times under which the different J3i&tances must bo covered arc : —Quartertoile, ( 32sec ; half-mile, lmin 2sec; one mile, I2mm'lßsej; five miles, 12min ; 10 miles. -"aflnvin; 25 miles, SOmin; 50 miles, lhr -40aiin. . 'As the result of an article vi [jondon Times, stating tha*. a British car leld the record for reliabiSty, a very m- - ;eresting non-stop reliability match has been irranged between Mr J. D. Siddeley, on L 12 horse-power Siddeley car, as representing fhe British-made car, and M. P. Meyan. an an equal-powered De Dietrich car. rejteesenting the French automobile industry. ffhe jnaidu. will bo )»+ x *L phax a eraiTEft d

] 30C0 miles on French roads, the distance to be covered daily to be 200 miles. Most stringent conditions are to be enforced, and an official observer carried aboard each car to report on stoppages, repairs, etc. Both ihe oars named have made names for themselves for reliability, and it was only recently that a 12 horse-power Siddeley ear was driven, under official conditions, a distance of 4500 miles without- a single mechanical stop. The French car has als-ja ls-j a very fine reputation for reliability, so that the contest "should prove a. very interesting and instructive one. Z Motor cycling has not caught on in Australia to the extent anticipated 12 months back (says the Australian writer "Tangent"). No doubt the inferior state of the majority of our roads has been the cause of this interesting, healthful, and economic mode of locomotion dragging a bit In Great Britain alone some 30.000 motor cycles have been registered during the past two years, • which affords a fair idea of how mor.or-cyclmg is booming at motorists know that most pneumatic tyres become quickly heated when in actual use, and the temperature they attain often exceeds 40deg C. In high-speed can,, running at 50 miles per hour and over, the WnSerlture may reach 70deg to 80deg C, perhaps even more in very hot weather. Writinsr of its air and of its composition, it is pointed out that the two principal eases are oxygen and nitrogen, and a curious fact is that the former gas has a greater penetrating or diffusing power than the latter, and, consequently, the air in a. tyre that has been for a long time inflated i« richer in nitrogen than the outside atmosnhere. This explains why an air-tight tube always needs inflation at comparatively short intervals during th& first week or two, but as the nitrogen collects, the periods of inflation are longer. The ideal gaa for tyre inflation is, nitrogen, but this, however, cannot be obtained economically. French- statistics show that last year there were^in that country 1,310.228 cyclists, 19 816 motor cyclists, and 85,000 automobilists In, the tables are also enumerated runners, pedestrians, gunners, boxers, etc the aggregate total of these being 332,475. Accordingly, there are four times as many cyclists in France as there are in all other sports combined. Another item in the statistics is that Paris has 400 cycle policemen, the majority of whom are on night duty, but a recent decision of the authorities will result in increasingathe number to 1000, | who will be stationedat five different points m the city, and be available for duty anywhere at short notice. . "The police of Melbourne are, as a body, by no* means familiar with the construction or management of motor cars, therefore when one of these machines was found late one night travelling empty along a street in one of the suburbs the constable who saw the "runaway" was in a dilemma, for he .did not know how to stop it. It had been left by its owner standing on the road, and some person interfered with it, causing it to start off at a 6low pace. But slowly though it was travelling, it was not possible to stop it unless one knew how, and as the policeman did not know how, lie had to stand aside and let it pass on. This mishap has been discussed by motorist* in Melbourne since tho event happened, and there is a consensus of opinion among them, that steps should be taken early to impart certain instruction to constables in respect to a number of details about motor cars, teaching them how to start a car and how to stop one when it gets away. They know how to stop a bolting horse by saying "Whoa" to it, but the car that bolts wants more than this— the right button must be , touched. It is proposed that an afternoon be set apart from, time to time for giving constables a run out for an hour or 60, and affording them what information may be regarded as necessary. The Automobile Club will probably make the arrangements, and invite members to place themselves and their cars at the disposal of the force for instructional purposes. — A Christohurch telegram states that the annual Championship Cycle Koad Race over 25 miles, for Canterbury firms, waa competed for by teams representing three firms. The event was won by the Centra.l Dairy Company's team, v=ho scored 30 points; P. and D. Duncan's team, 26 points ; Cooper and Duncan's team, 22 points. Morrison, of the Dairy team, put up the fastest tinne of lhr 16rtun 7 2-ss«c.

FRENCH ELIMINATING TRIAL

The eliminating motor contest to decide which cars and drivers shall represent France in the Gordon Bennett race took place on the 16th ult, over the Auvergne circuit, ' the course upon which the bigevent itself will be decided. The results, which were cabled to the Dunlop Tyre Company, are a win for M. Thery, and a second and third for MM. Duray and Caillois respectively. The course, which had to be covered four times, is 83 miles in length, making the total distance of the contest 344miles, which the winner compassed in 7hr 36min. M. Thery, it will be remembered, won the same test race last year, repeating the performance in the Gordon Bennett, when he secured the cup from the Germans, who had annexed it in the previous year. M. Thery drove a 90 h.p. RichardBrazier car, as before, while M. Duray' s choice was a De Dietrich motor, the third man, M. Caillois, driving one of the same build as the winner's. The course is considered to be one of the most trying yet adopted for this competition, being well supplied with sharp turns. — in fact, it is said that in the circuit there are 145 rightangle corners which are dangerous. Hence the time of the winner, which works out at an average pace of 45 miles an hour, is really a wonderful performance, for the race was not merely a test of speed, but of great judgment of pace and skilful handling generally. The sha>-p turns, if taken at as fast a speed as the angles allowed, were an enormous strain on the tyres and cars, to say nothing of the nervous tension endured by the driver. In addition to the cup, the first prize is a sum of £5800. Great efforts -were made this year by the French automobile industry to place an efficient and speedy trio in th& field for the classic "cup," and for this purpose 24 huge racing cars were specially manufactured, at an average cost of £3500 each. The field was made up of three Panhards, three Bayard-Clements, • three~ Darracqs, three Renaults, three De Dietricbs, three Richard-Braziers, three- Hotchkiss, one C.V.G., one Gobron-Brillie, and one Automotor.

" The worst winter in Napier for many years." a« it is generally described (says th© Hawke's Bay Herald), is maintaining its renutation.