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Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 55

Cycling AND Moter Notes

FIXTURE. Timaru-to-Christciiureh Eoad Race — September 2.

B? DEMON.

The annual meeting of the Dunedin Cycling Club will be held in the "club rooms, Dowling street, on Thursday of this week. The balance sheet of the Dunedin Cycling Club for the year ending 31st July shows a surplus of £144 7s 3d, including cash balance of £1 0s 6d. When it is remembered that expenses to the amount of over £70 were entailed in going into the present rooms, and £20 a year more Tent is paid, the finances of the club must be considered very satisfactory.

The most important business to come before the Dunedin Cycling Club's meeting on Thursday night is a notice of motion that tho name of the club be- altered to "The Dunedin "Motor and Cycling Club (Registered)." T have no doubt but whajj this motion will be 'carried, and hope that the change of name will be the means of a large number of "Dunedin motorists becoming members of the D.C.C

That the secretary of a sports' body has the making or undoing of aiich body in his "hands is a fact well known. In this connection the Dunedin Cycling Club ha 3 reason "to be proud of its secretaries, and to the present occupant of the D.C.C. secretarial chair, Mr E.^-A. Falok, the club in a very large measure owes its present standing. Aa I have before stated, Mr Ifalek is an ideal secretary. The entries received for the Dunlop Timaru -to-Christchurch Road Race reach the splendid total of over 270, which should eneure v a fine contest on September 2 in the New Zealand Blue Riband of the road.

The Otago competitors in the Timaru-to-Christchuroh Road' Race have been handicapped as follows: — T. Christie 12 minutes, G. MAuley 23, M. Michel&on. 25, J. Walquist 25, W. R. Palmer 30, G. Adams 30, J. Young 30, B. O. M'William 30, F. Anderson 30, A. Carnegie 35, W. Jackson 35, W. Withey 35, W. Goulding 42. J. Arnst is on the scratch mark, and the limit is 50 minutes.

The Dunlop Road Race, to be run on ■September 2 next, has gained the largest patronage of any athletic event ever held in this colony. The course is again from Timaru to Christchurch, the promoters believing that it would be a difficult matter to find a more suitable on© that will test the stability of the modern cycle and the stamina and speed of tho road riders. The entries have now practically closed, with the exoeption of Napier and Auckland, but with these additions it is not anticipated that it will increase the entry of 274 already received very much. The company is again making extensive arrangements for feeding competitors en route. The food bags will be supplied at Rangitata traffic bridge and at Chertsey (two feeding stations, in place of three, as formerly), the reason for the cutting owfc of on© being that Ashburton is very unsuitable on account of the enormous crowds that always congregate and block the way of the riders. At 2.15 p.m. tlas

monster motor and cycle run will leavs Victoria square (Christchurch) for the finish and a large number of cyclists is expected to take part. At 3 p.m. all of the assembled motor cars will parade around the Metropolitan Trotting Club's Ground, after which ladies' and gentlemen's motor-driving I competitions will take place up to the J arrival of the Road Race competitois. The latter, after entering the ground, will ride once around the track, finishing at the judge's box. The telegraph office on the ground will be open for the receipt and se-nding of wires. The Victorian rider R. W. Morgan. from scratch, won the Haudieap Open Road Race, run under the auspices of the League of Victorian Wheelmen, in lhr 17min 40sec, which work? out at very good time indeed considering 'the cold wind blowing. There were 53 starters. Two cyclists, who evidently thought *they had a right to the whole of the Portobello road, were taught a salutary lesson last Sunday week. They were riding up abreast from witnessing the tangi at the Beads, when another rider, who had also been to the Kaik, came along behind, and rang his bell for them to allow him to got through, as the riding surface was narrow at this particular part of the road. Looking round with supreme disdain, they pursued what was soon to be the "uneven" tenor of their way. The rear cyclist, however, kept well up to them, and as they opened out a little dashed thrgugh. His Irish blood no doubt inflamed by the hakas he had just witnessed, he -cut right across the inner rider and brought him to terra firma; then dismounting from his machine and taking off his coat, he proceoded to summarily deal with the other discourteous user of the read. Having lr.eted out what he considered sufficient punishment, he again put on his coat and rode triumphantly on, the consciousness of having clone a good deed lighting up his countenance. The sound of a bicycle bell behind the before-mentioned delinquents will ntf doubt in future be a tocsin "which will not need to be sounded twice to. at once secure instant attention. George Farley, the well-known Aus- , tralian rider, was beaten at Antwerp by ! Kramer in his heat in the- Grand Prix de , Paris. The Kaiser has joined the army of ■ scorchers. Attempting to ou trace a railway , train, by which he had meant to travel, he 1 c.ped along the highways in his motor car ! at an average speed of 34 miles an hour, ! doing the distance between Hanover and Hamburg, of about 120 miles, in 3-^ hours. Most of the Dunedin motorists must have been slightly "had" by the rain which fell on Saturday evening in the city, as only four -city motormen ventured out on the ' South road on. Sunday. These four motorists were thought by some of the others to be ! more keen than wise, as ihe town streets were decidedly wet and sloppy ; but the undaunted four considered that Saturday's rain was purely local, and they were correct, as, once past Caversham, the roads were quite dry, and very dusty — in fact, unpleasantly dusty, no rain having fallen in , the Taieri district for months. j Mr Fraser's twin Werner is now going I splen.didly, and from what I can see will be a most -simple machine to keep in good going order. The machine has had. a faulty lubricating oil tap, which allowed' the oil to he continually leaking through into the crank chamber, with <the result that the ' engine was being over-lubricated, which ', caused a deal of trouble before it was discoveied. Once found out and remedied, th& motor was quite a. different machine, and now roars along, much to its owner's delight. — —Mr Tom Fraser found his naphtha leaking through into his lubricating oil, and had to use th© mixture for both firing and lubricating, but got along without any trouble. For the last two Sundays Mr W. B. Bell has had 1 puncture troubles. Punctures are like colds in the head — one dees not die of them, but they are very disagreeable. W. Tisdale's motor was missfiring a little through one of the contact "points of the make-and-break being almost devoid of platinum. I Mr Dod Bell was riding 1 Amos M'K-egg's ■ 2 hoise-power Clement. This machine is about the best 2 horse-power motor I have seen ; _i<t can almost hold its own with the best twin Clements on the flat, and with hardly a touch of the psdals kept up to two twin Clements climbing the Junction hill the other Saturday. Mr Amos M'Kegg, accompanied by his sister, Miss Nellie M'Kegg, has gone on a trip to Melbourne and Adelaide. Mr I M'Kegg has suffeied rather severely with

rheumatism this winter, an after-effect o f the Beer war campaign, and expects hi;.* health to be- benefited by the change of climate. I am sure all his many friends join him in tha,t wish.

Mr Jas. Gray's 12 hoise-power Wol63ley car was out for a spin to Henley on Saturday afternoon.

Riding a motor through the main streets of the city with the muffler-cut-out open is a thing that I really did not think any one of our local motorists, would dream of doing ; yet, strange to say, the very oine that I complained of in last week's notes for riding too fast through the city is also an offender in the aforementioned manner. It surely is not necessary for mo to point out that letting a motor make such a hideous noise is very irritating to other us&rs of the streets, and is only prejudicing them against motors generally. I can only say that if this motorist does nob mend his ways he will bo considered a very unwelcome addition to the ranks of motorists, and that the Motor Association is most certain to take the matter up.

1 believe Mr O. Wibon, of Gore, has sold his new 8 horse-power De Bouton car, and ordered a similar one.

Mr Paterson, of Gore, expects £o be in Dunedin this week with his 12 horsepower De Dion-Bouton, on his way north. Another offending motorist is the driver of an Oldsmobile run-about car. His chief dejight seems to be in driving full pace round street corners in the city. This is meant as a word of advice to avoid falling foul of the local authorities Yet another motorist rides his motorcycle about town wiihout any muffler at all. It neecls little reflection to see that he is not assisting to favour tha use of motors by this practice. In regard to the two great international motor road races just concluded, ifc may be of interest to point out that in the International Motor Cycle Race, ra;i at Dourdan, France, the average power of the cycles worked out at 1 horse-pov <t for every Wh weight of the machine, while in the Gordon Bennett the average of the cars engaged was 1 horse-power to e*.cry 231b of the vyeight of the car. According to the Motor Age r-.i June 29, during the first four months of 1905 the State Department of New York issued 2041 automobile lioenses, of which 1593 applied to American cars and 199 to imported machines. There were -also 124 electric and 120 steam oars among them. Tho largest number among licensed American cars is credited to the Cadillac, of which 158 were lioensed. Then followed the various Pope cars with 149 licenses issued, ami the Oldsmobile with a total of 135 licensed cars The leaders among the foreign cars are the Panhard, Mercedes, and U^n.iulf"respectively, 39, 38, and 25 licenses being* taken out for these cars. Sixty-seven out of the 124 electric vehicles are from the Electric Vehicle Company, while 95 out of the 120 steamers are Whites, marie in Cleveland.

The municipal authorities of 13ammersternj Germany, have forbidden motors to approach with 20 miles of the town, on the ground that fhe speed fever is infectious. This Hammerstem must have lost its head. The sports meeting organised by the proprietors of Cycling, to practically demonstrate that the London public could bo induced to attend a cycle race me^ti'ta; in sufficient numbers to make it pay, lesuhed in a profit of £60. The expenses tcualled £820. Says "Rover," in the Canterbury Times : — George Sutherland is determined to have the Royal Enfield Cup. In this connection he has a grievance. Ifc is not against the Christohurch Club, the local Centre, or the League Council, but ifc is against Maurice Randrup, whom the judges declared the winner of the cup on Good Friday, though finishing second past tho post. Sutherland is grieved that jßandrup should have blocked an "inquiry i'lto the race, and he purposes showing his displeasure by exhibiting a-n extraordinary burst of speed in the- last 100 yards of the licyal Enfield Cup Race next year. Sut>i?rland is looking particularly well, and I should not be at -all surprised should he reproduce his old form next season.

It is stated that the combined output of British manufacturers of motor omnibuses is about 40 vehicles a week, which 13 quite insufficient to meet the demart'l. As a consequence, the Continental bmldets, chiefly German, have received orders for large quantities of this pattern of raptor. Drive slowly — Through towns and villages. When approaching cross-roads or turning corners. When passing 1 schools, cottages, and churches.

On dusty or muddy roads when parsing cyclists or pedestrians. When meeting or overtaking JarJy cyclists ; and do not steer too close to them.

When entering a main road from a side road.

When passing any live animals on the road — cows, sheep, dogs, etc.

Compared with the horse-drawn omnibus, the motor vehicle is really coining money for the owners in London. \S hile £2 5s was considered' an excellent day's taking for the old style of vehicle, £9 to £10 is about the maximum for the rai'tov omnibuses. The conductors now are hotter paid, and are earning nearly £2 a ivoefc for nine hours a day — a fair wage in Loadon. The Cycle and Motor Trades E<j\bw, in its issue of June 29, reports that Mr R. Murie, the well-known Invcrcargill (iealor. at present in England, has secured thi> sols agency for the South Island of the Simms Manufacturing Company's production?, such as the Simms-Bosch ignition, cars, launch engines, heavy waggons, etc. Ifc is anticipated that by the end of August the gathering of the racing oyclista from the various Australian States will commence, as the sea-son opens fairly early this year, the first meeting being announced foi the middle of September. Both MacFarland and Lawson are expected to arrive in less than a month's time, while there may be other oversea riders en route, apart from those who may be imported by the oydnov promoters. West Australia, however, will command a good deal of attention from the racers this coming season, several big meetings with rich prizes having been already spoken of.

The car that is said to have won tho first motor rac© in Australia is a steamdriven vehicle belonging to Mr J S. Crooke, proprietor of the Aspendale motor track. The names of the car is tho Locomobile, and the race referred to was run at Sandown Park, near Melbourne, about 18 months ago, on a grass track, the event having been promoted by the Automobile Club of Victoria. This car won a. seoonu race shortly afterwards, a three miles' con.«i

lest, at Maribyrnong. The cars of to day would lose it on any kind of track, and the day is not far distant that will see lacers here from America and Europe that will lose the best of those doing racing and foad duty at the present time. The history Jif- locomotion is one of a gradual shearing iway of time, and tilings are ''hot behindhand in fchis respect in and around Melbourne.

A bill to allow magistrates the option of sending reckless motor drivers to prison for the first offence passed the first reading in the House of Commons on June 28 by an immense majority. The only danger of .such a measure is that some bigoted magistrates will exercise their option for what may be little else than a technical offence. I (says.C. H. Larrette, in Athletic News) should much like to see some measure passed which would prevent the legal limit being -exceeded, but unless no car is allowed to be «oised on the road on which it is possible to do more, I do not see how this is to be brought about. It is all very well preaching, but speed is so fascinating that the temptation to let a car or a motor cycle rip is far, greater than those who have never experienced it may imagine. , The Hon. C. S. Rolls, a "prominent motorist- in England, -who was the first of Ihe- British representatives to traverse the

Auvergne circuit, upon which the Gordon Bennett race -was decided, said that the __ nature of the course was not nearly so dangerous as reported, and as he anticipated it -would be,_the-^Frenohmen having effected " material improvements. The surface was excellent,, being freshly made, and tarred -throughout, -for the prevention of dust, and most of the sharp turns were banked, so ihat they could be negotiated at a fairly high speed. 'At level crossings the road was ";arried right over the railways by means of ramps, with long, easy inclines, so that neither the race nor the train service would interfere with one another. In many places,Such as at curves, the road had been widened . considerably. —to allow for the inevitable skidding when rounding , them at high speeds. The effect of tKese improvements was to minimise the risk of accident. Lord Roberts has recently acquired

an 18 h.p. Napier carriage. It has been specially designed with Limousine top and canopy, which can be 'easily removed, making it adaptable either" as an enclosed carriage for use in town and for bad weather, or as an open touring car. Every convenience has been provided, including an extra folding seat and a speaking tube to the driver. _ It is announced in a London paper that during the motor, car trials in the Isle of Man a car weighing nearly a ton ran over a cat, 'and yet did not kill it. Thie . only shows what a skilled automobilist is Capable of accomplishing. The 125-miles non-stop run of the Automobile- Club of Victoria resulted as follows:— Points. ■Mr H. W. Grimwade's 10-h.p: De Dion .. 100 Mr J. W. Moffatt's 10-h.p. De Dion. .. 100 Mr J. A. M'Lecd'a 10-12-h.p. Argyll .. 100 'Mr A. H. Bell's 6-h.p. D© Dion . . ..80 Mr A. M. Poster's 12-14-h:p. Talbtot. .. 100 Mr J. P. Wallace's 10-11-h.p. Benz .. 100 £Mr F. Bennett's 1 10-h.p. Pope-Hartford. . . 97 !Mr W. J. Johnson's 10-12 ~Cl©meait Bayard! 99 ■Mr C. €r. Eoeszler's 7-h.p. Swift .. .. 99 TKere were 12 starters. The race was not a "contest for speed, but one of reliability, arid the maximum time allowed was nine hours and the: minimum seven. As will be Been from the above table, five cars secured the. full number of 100 points. Several of the members are of. the opinion that if a record were kept, of -the manner in which the cars were handled in competitions of this kind, and certificates issued to those who merited them, it would tend to more Careful all-round driving. Mr J. R. Crooke, proprietor of the Asjiendale Park (Victoria) Racecourse, who has expended', £l2oo in the work of oon»tructing a special track for motor :uoing, lays he does not contemplate -bringing at .Jury' early date tlfe necessary quantity of Drude petroleum oil from' Amercia for making ' the track firm, as the ' expense cf this commodity, he has learned, is so great as to be almost prohibitive. "The oil," says Mr Crooke, "would cost 5d per gal on landed in Melbourne, and that- puts it quite out of the question at the present stage ot affairs." As time goes on,, however, it is piobsble something will be done in this direction, in which case the track at Aspendale will be second to none in Australia, as it possesses many virtues from a motorist's point of view in its present conditions, being wellformed, ample in width, ar.d firm, as a result of consolidation with a 3| ton roller. -So far nothing definite in the way of an agreement has -,been done as between the Motor Club and Mr Crooke for the continuous use of the .track, but it is regarded is probable that negotiations will be entered upon shortly to this end, with the lesult that the Aspendale PaTk will be j-ewa-nently -established as the motor-racing track cf the club.

Less than "half a dozen years ago the manufacture of automobiles was practically jion^existent in the United States, yet to-day the industry in "that country stands on a plane of equality with that of France — tho home of automobiling (says a contributor to the American Exporter). At the present rate of ""progress another half decade will see the American car in the van of all branches of automobile trade and sport, tndeed, in the latter particular it is a hotable fact that many of the world's records RrP i->.pld by .American caTS and drivers. A few year* ago France led in every branch Df automobile production; to-day America excels in the production of moderate-priced cars for home service, which means that manufacturers have in that time captured fch© bulk of the home trade. A really highfclass. European car costs about £1800 ; for £1000 it is possible to buy an American machine of equal power, as handsome in rleeign, and generally better adapted to the toads." Last year American makers exported motor cars to the value of £379,502; an increase' of £50,896 over the preceding year, and of £165,546 over 1902. Imports of automobiles increased from £160,000 in 1902 to 43340,000 in 1904. The American car, generally speaking, follows the lines of the European vehicle, but ; national individuality has not been suppressed. There is everywhere a disposition to experiment in the _ hope of improving on even the most universallypopular designs of automobile construction, and it is not impossible that the next few years will witness world-wide revolutions in motor car lines - which will develop from the proved excellence of American models. . The- old maxim, "Leave well enough alone," is very applicable to both bicycles und automobiles. As long as everything is running smoothly do not make any changes unless you are an expert and know what you ire about. The use of pneumatic tyres is expensive, especially for a hieh-powAvad <-.ar.

To overcome tli's solid tyres have been tried, but with little sucess. The use of spring wheels in conjunction with solid tyres has made the latter more practicable, as the springs dispose of a lot of the vibration. Spi'ing wheels are extensively used. The Warley, having eight tapered spiral springs about 3iin long, encased in a drum, is a good make. The tyre is fastened to the rim in sections, each in a shoe, and if a cut is made in the tyre only the section affected need be removed.

Chatting with the Sydney Referee about the frequency of breakdowns, an expert motorist, familiar with the smallest part of his car, through long experience and business in the trade, observed: — "I think the general success of motoring is to be found in extreme care of the details of the engine and car, attention to the tyres, and to the equipment carried — that is, tho spare parts. Exaction in detail is certainly the big factor, and if it be exercised there would be little prospect of a breakdown. The only real trouble to-day is the tyre, but the armoured treads get over that in the lighter cars."

-Preparations are already being made by many leading moi wrists of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia, with a view to compete in the .Melbourne to Sydney reliability motor conrest, to be held in November. Several enthusiasts are importing new cars. , The most powerful and expensive car that will oompete will probably be that owned by Mr A. M. Foster (Maffra) , who has cabled to England for a 50 h.p. Talbot, which is to be delivered in time for i the contest. Several other well-known Victorian motorists have landed powerful cars, and the rivalry among the squatters as to who has the finest and most reliable cv wiE alone provide a keen and interesting contest. The Dunlop Company has issued a booklet containing conditions, rules, and time schedules for the November contest, which should be in the hands of every intending contestant. THE WIDTH OF HANDLE-BARS. Fashion 'is preverbially fickle, and in nothing has this truth been more marked than in the way in which the position of fast bicycle- riders has fluctuated. In the early nineties the rider with pretentions to speed wa's found sitting with the peak of his saddle many inches behind the crank bracket, and arching forward to a distant handle-bar. Five or six years later he discovered fresh strength in putting his saddle forward and proportionately raising it, and when this fashion was at its height men sat perilously with i-heir saddles on L pins projecting some lOin forward, and kicked out behind after the manner of ducks swimming. The handle-bars were cranked forward to allow the old relative position of hands and body. Of late years we have had a mild reversion to the backward position. The speed man has been consistently faithful to nothing but to his short reach and his dropped bars. From a width of about 22in measured from end to end of the handles in a direct line, they receded by degrees to 16in, and some adventurous spirits were content with 12in. Of late the tendency has-been the other way, and there has been a demand for 24in bars, upon which the rider leans expansively like a draper's salesman. These changes have to some extent influenced the standard patterns of machines supplied to the ordinary rider, and - the handle-bars- fitted to them have followed at a respectful distance those changes affected by the devotees of speed. At the present day a certain catholicity of taste appears to be enjoyed "by the makers, and a machine ordered without special instruction may have bars with a possible variation of from 16in to 20in. To a certain extent these variations may be disregarded. We were not excessively uncomfortable with the wide bars of 1894, we appreciated the smartness of the narrow bars of four years later, and are now finding fresh comfort in once more increasing their span. Most riders can undoubtedly accommodate themselves in a very short space of time to small changes of position, which, indeed, are only noticeable for a day or two.

Efficiency, however, is to a large extent the sum of a number of small points of perfection, and it is as well to aim at devising some better principle for determining the width of bars than of leaving them to the fancy of the manufacturer. The desirability of securing lightness indicates the choice of the narrowest possible bars, while control of steering is best secured with the longest. But the possible variations in weight are trifling, and as a bicycle practically steers itself there is no need to trouble about increasing, our leverage over it. The question really is, in what position do the arms fall most naturally, whether when resting upon handles which bring them well inside the width of the body, or outside it. It is a little difficult to cite a parallel ease of a form of exercise in which the pulling force of the arms is employed, for when a man is rowing or pulling at a rope he is using the muscles of his arms only as a means for the transmission of power, and not as prime movers. Certainly the amount of pulling on the handles done in ordinary circumstances by the average rider is small, but it is, nevertheless, present most of the time. Experience, however, seems to show that the bess results are obtained when the hands are separated by the width of the body, and thus the width of the bar should vary according to the physical character of the individual rider. .

Thus from 18in to 20in would be the natural width of bar for a fairly well-set man, with 22in for one of a larger build than usual. With slim riders the rule should no.t be pressed to the same extent, but the benefit of Ibe doubt given to the wider bar, because of the danger with narrow bars of catching the knees against the handles. It is not so much in making deliberate turns that the danger occurs, because then the rider makes allowance, if necessary, by putting his knee outside the handle. It is when owing to an unexpected brush with some small obstacle in the road or to a sudden slip, the machine swerves sharply and the knee comes in contact with the bar, the steering is momentarily locked, and a fall *>n"ue«. Narrow bar-3 have been responsible for a good many accidents, and have really no compensating advantages to oiler. — H. Graves, in the Field.