Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 59

Cy cling and Motor Notes

The annual meeting of the Otago Centre of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen will be held in the Dunedin Clycling Club's rooms on Wednesday I night. None of the Otago riders succeeded in getting a place amongst the first 18 to finish in the big i'oad race on Saturday, though T. Christie, of the Taieri, completed bhc distance, his time being Bhr 14-min. Christie's time was among the 25 fastest times put up in the race. At a meeting of the Otago Motor Association, foeAd last week, it was decided to organise a motor run to Lawrence. Saturday, September 9, at 1.45 p.m., Manse strest, is the date, hour, and place appointed for starting should the weather be good. If tho weather is not satisfactory the run will be held on the first fineweather Saturday afterwards. It is not intended to return till -the, next day. Tr^rse yvlio do not care to remain over-night are invited to accompany the run part of the way. The 20-mile per hour limit is not to ba exceeded, and the motor cyclists are requested tc ride in self-selected' pairs. The reason for this last request is to prevent the whole party stopping should one break down, the mate selected by any motorist who stops for some adjustment or perhaps breakdown being! the only person to stop to give assistance. In this manner the majority of the party will easiJy reach Lawrence before daa-k. The selfselected pair system need only apply to the motor cycles, it ' being unnecessary for cars. The accommodation and petrol supply will be aorangied for by the officials. Mr W. B. Bell has been appointed captain of the run. The committee will be pleased to receive notice from all those who intend joining in, so that arrangements can be made accordingly. The committee of_ jhe Motor Association is to meet at 5.15 p.m. at the secretary's office on Friday to make final arrangements. As this is the first run organised by the association a full muster is requested 1 .

One day Jas-t week Dr Fulton was required urgently at Burnside to attend to a man who had been severely hurt through being caught in some machinery. The tricar was ready in a moment, a«d in 11 minutes, from Pitt street, Dr Fulton was attending- to the patient at the works, Burnside — a very smart performance, and one which any of our other local medicos with the ordina-ry horse locomotion could hardly hope to equal. Though last Friday was an exceedingly wet day, yet Dr Fulton's little tricar was out most of the day, taking its owner round his calls over hill and flat without any trouble. The doctor's tricar and motor cycle are kept in order by his sons, who aie only schoolboys, but they thoroughly und&rstajid every past, and think nothing of pulling the engines right down and putting them together again.

Messrs Hayward and Garratt have shown me a splendid assortment of motor sundries, amongst them being a handsome headlight and two sidelights (acetylene) for motor oars. Handsome lamps such as these add &reatl}f to th* ajajuear-

; anco of a car, quite apart from the fine light given "when required. i Mr James Mills, managing director j of the Union Steam Ship Company, wa-? : a visitor to Auckland last month, taking ' with him bis 10 h.p. Oldsmobile. The amount of freight charged on his car by the Union Company came as a surprise to Mr Milk, and no doubt this fact will assist ', motorists in getting the shipping companies to fix a fair and reasonable ra.e 1 for the carriage of motor cars. i Mr and Mrs Bockacrt left Auckland | last month to take up tr-eir residence in Christchuroh. It is reported that an action is pending against an Auckland motorist for the recovery of £2000, for alleged injury canssd to the occupant of a trap, the result of a collision. Our recent visitor, Mr Charles J. Glidden, -writes to the New Zealand Cycle and Motor Journal, from Boston, saying that he expects to start out again in Egypt or India in November next, leaving home about October 1. C. R. Collier, on a Matchless motor cycle, fitted with a J. A. P. twin-cylinder engine, covered 54 miles 523 yards in the hour on the Canningtown track, London, this constituting a record. ;A road race, promoted by the New South" Wales League of Wheelmen, was competed for over the Bafchurst-Ashfieid course, 126^ miles, on August 26. The first prize was £50 and a gold medal valued at £5, the second a bicycle valued at £20 and £5 cash, the third £5 and a gold medal, and the fourth a trophy valued r at £5 ss. Theic were also special prizes for fastest and second fastest competitors. Out of 75 acceptors 61 faced the starter. R. Arnst and T. Larcombe were on scratch, R. E. Mutton and G. H. Hordier had smin start, 0. H. Brook lOmjn, and Dotzavou (V.) 15min. Other times ranged from 20min to 55min. The winner was J. D. M'Mahon, a country rider, belonging to Lochinvar, who had a start of 45mm, but tho fastest time was made by Horder, a rider well known on Sydney racingtracks. Arnst and Larcombe caught Brook before 60 miles had been covered. Herder and Mutton kept pretty well together, and the latter was beaten for fastest time by ' 50sec. Arnst when riding well fell somej what severely, and was ;ut about the head. j Another rider (Stoke) also met with a i mishap- owing to a punctured tyre near Katoomba, and was for a time rendered unconscious. A few steep hills were crossed, but the road was in good order. The fir&t seven men were placed a-s follow: — J. D. M'Mahon (Lochinvar), 45min i start, 7hir 38min 30sec ; F. Alsopp (Bauik- ! hair Hills). 45min, 7hr 4omin iOsec; A. E. S Sommerville (Sydney), 55miii, Thr 57min ; 30sec ; J. Munford (Granville), 35min, Vh.r : 39min ; A. W. Carton (Sydney), 45nrin, 7hv 1 58min ; G. H. Horder (Sydney), smin, 7hr ; 23min ; R. E. Mutton (Sydney), smin, 7hr 23min 50aec. A large crowd of speei tators witnessed the fini&h of the race at the Ashfield Town Hall. The record for the Warrnambooi course is 7hr 43min iSc 165 miles, by J. Arnst. Last year, although Laroombe did not quite touch these figures, hi-s time being 7hr 48min sseo, ho made the best in tho race, beating _R. Arnst's time by a, small margin. Practically the record put up by J. Arnst (in 1903] stands as a world's host for the distance, as even in Franco these figures have not been bettered, irrespective, of course, of a comparison of roads. — -■ Contrary to what has been 6tated, MacFarland had not raced since his return to the States — at least, not up till a month ago. In a letter from him to a friend in Melbourne, he states that shortly after his arrival he was asked tx> go to New York and take charge of the Madison Square Garden track, whioh ho did, for it was an engagement of a lucrative nature. In his letter MacFarland says he had done no training up till then (July 10), and, consequently, had put on a lot of flesh, and was "as big as a house." His iretontion, however, was to start training immediately (having been engaged to race .before the month was out), and to put in a lot of work, before he sails for Australia. He expects to reach those shores about the middle of Septembor, so that he will have sufficient tima to become accustomed to the climate. It would seem, therefore, that MacFarland and Lawson have parted company, and this is partly borne out by the statement in MaoFarland's letter, to the effect that he expects to be accompanied by Fenn, a rider of the first class in the States. Fcnn, it is stated, will ride well in handicaps, and will, therefore, be an attraction here. In making! a cblaine. MaoiFa/rland:

may well be left alono, as lie understands the class of rider that will bo best suited by the competitions hero and the kind of tracks available.

The cyclmg lacing season in Adelaide was to open on September 1, when the Eight Hours' meeting was to be held. The large amount of prize-money offered has induced a big entry, Victorian riders

being well represented. Amongst those, who have nominated are D. J. Walker, E. A. Pye, S. E. Gordon. A. J. Clark, F. H", Soheps, J. H. Sandberk, and R. W. Morgan. ■ Auto-mobilists who have to drive in London will be sincerely tfiankful (says the Field) that the London Country Council refused to adopt the motion of Mr Timothy Davies that a ten-miles limit of sp<_jd for motor cars on all main roads' within the council's area should be applied for. Had it been adopted, motoring in London would have been practically impossible, for unless a motorist proceeded at seven miles an hour he would always be in trouble. Se&ing that the council's own tramcars run up to 14- or 15 miles an hour at times it would obviously be absurd Tor it to ask for a 10-mile limit for other vehicles, and the members evidently recognised this feature of the situation. Mr Allen Baker remarked that in Liverpool it had been found that the high rate of sgeed at which the tramears ra-n had reduced the number of street accidents. One does not suggest, therefore, that all vehicles should be allowed to travel as fast as possible, but undoubtedly a very large proportion of street accidents are due to the carelessness of pedestrians, who would not run the risk they do if they knew the traffic was moving at a more rap'd rate. Thory's average pate p-sr hour {.Sirougho.it in tho recent Gordon Bennett Cup was 48.51 m;les. This is over 10 miles slower than that averaged by him in last year's contest — 59 miles per hour. This was made on tho Homburg course in Germany, and the comparison of the two speeds serves to show that the Auvetgn© ciicuit was not the best adapted for motorracing. Even Jenatzy. in 1903, bettered thig year's average, ove-i the course mapped out. in Ireland, the speed beiug 49 miles per hour throughout. The. best average for the English oars this year was 40.43 miles ier hour, by tho Hon. 0. S. Rolls. fho Hon. C. S. Rolls, one cf^ the best motor racers in England, has been, contributing some of Ins experiences to a London journal. "I think about the narrowest squeak I ever had when travelling ai. racing suecd on a motor car,"' saici Mr Rolls, "was when I was driving a car in the great Paris-Vienna race. At one point in the race we were whizzing along finely at about 70 miles an hour, and all was going well until, on rounding a corner, the two outside tyres punctured and the eainaturally swerved off the track. It made straight for a big treo on the side of the road, and we seemed to be in for a most terrific smash and a very probable termination to our careers, when away went the tree as if it had been merely an optical delusion on our part or had fallen down, on hinges. The car knocked it clean away as if it w'e-re nothing but a straw, and the next thing we knew was ihat we -were almost buried in a bank, but very little tho . worse for what had happened."

- — Doctors of Adelaide aTe having their motor cars overhauled preparatory to the visit of delegates to the Medical Conference, which is to be hold at the beginning of September, when the visiting" doctors will bo iaken to places of beauty and interest.

The Epsom magistrates recently dismissed a chprge of exceeding the speed limit. The "police trap" alleged 27 miles an hour: a speed indicator carried on tl - e car registered 17 miles an hour. The owner of the oar immediately had 1 it verified by a firm of Strand experts, and produced it in court as evidence.

— - It is said ,that Thery retires with a comfortable fortune of £10,000.

Mme. Ge-llner-Bettague, a Viennesesinger, is said to have lost her voice from sheck, caused by a .rild boar charging her motor car. This is a case of "road hog" with a vengeance. Tha price of shares in the RichardBrasier Co. is stated to have risen from 65fr to 40J)fr in the last three years. It vas a, Richard-Brasier car Thery drove to victoiy in the recent Gordon Bennett Cup Race.

■ It would seem as if Charles Guillemaid, an elderly gentleman of Orpington, had seriously adopted the Marquis of C'ueensberry's recent whimsical application for permission to shoot motorists. On July 10 it was staled by a party of motorists itt Bromley Police Court that they psssed Mr Guillemanl's house, and saw him dancing about on the front lawn in ar excited slate, ai.d on their return he had a gun in Ms hand, which to their amazcoient he firou at a range of a^cut sft, without, howevoi, doing any damage. One of the motorists returned to remonstrate, and Guilinniard ea ; d: "Yo.i ran ovei my children, so I shot at you," and the next moment declared that he had not fired, as ths> gun was out of order. Ono witness for the defence declared that the car was invisible fiom the garden, op account of the hedge, and two deposed to seeing Mr Guillemard fire iti the air. The motorists admitted that Mr Guillemavd was "all contrition" the moment (-bey spoke to him, end that he offered io get ronio brandy for a lady who wa;, in Ihe car. The accused was committed for trial, bail allowed.

"Rvc-y purchaser of a motor catshould see that he gets some form of petiol gauge, if no provision is made for easily estimating the. quanrity present in the tank. Motorists are often worried by the uncertainty of having _ sufficient petrol left to carry the car fo its destination. 2nd compelled to m ike some crude measurement by ireans of a st'ck thrust into the tank, or driven ■' ■> the necessity of making a rcugli and freq leutly inaccurate calculation hni :d on mileage covered and average consumption of engine.

After stopping, the change-geas lever should always be brought back to its neutral position. This removes the possibility of your trying to start the engine and finding yourself suddenly pulling ihe car on to you, accompanied probably by a nasty knock. If available, pure ram water is the. best that can be used in the cooling sys-' tern, as it is free *rom the mineral substances which are deposited in the piping and jaokots bi hard water.

Almost any cable will .safely carry thfi low tensio 5 current, but no cable can b# too well msulated or of too good a

quality to narry the high tension current fiom the induction coil to the sparking pttig.

The motor cycle section of the Austrian Automobile Club, the holders o£ the International Motor-cycle Cup, and which will have to organise next year's contest, is studying the question as to how to reduce the effect on the race of the numerous tyre punctures which have hitherto been co prominent a feature. To this end it intends to propose that the weight of Ihe machine should be limited to 45 kilos. (991b), leaving 5 kilos. (111b) for the tyres. In this way, it is thought, tyre manufacturers would be able to produce tyres capable of responding to the requirements of the contest. v