Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 59

Cycl ing and Motor Notes

— The bicycle races at the Caledonian New Year's sports were of a distinctly interesting nature, and though no "star" radars competed during the two days, the finishes in almost every instance were very -*lo«u»_ /uod the majority, of the rjder§ in t&e

different events cam© into the straight together and battled it out to the finishing post. From a spectator's point of view th« bicycle races provided plenty of excitement, and seeing that the bike men provide such a big proportion of the' day's sportj it would be only a. fair thing on the cart of the Caledonian Society' to put up better "prize money in future pro- - grammes than they have done during the past few years. To give prize money for a mile walk, with but four or five ' competitors, of about the same total as" is given for a bioycle jace, with 15 or 16 riders.

seems rather Inequitable. If the Caledcw nian Society could, see their -wgiy "to prcw vide better money for the bicycle riders' they need .not have any fear, of local competitors journeying to outside sports- held on the earn© -days, where larger^.prizes are given for '-bicycle, ridera. The" local -fiooiety should take steps to' be up with the time*.. - " Of the riders seen out on our local! track, the scratch man, O. Smith, was easily) the fastest, and secured during the two> days meeting the, largest amount of priza money. The ex-Palmerston rider, HI Withey, also rode well, and L. Maw put up an excellent race when he won the Mile Race on the second ,day off the 110 yards' mark. Carnegie, who only started! on the second day, was suffering from the after-effects of a strain, and could only secure second in the Consolation, in. whicfc the winner, A. Brown, rode a plucky race, and well deserved his win. In the Two-mile Race annexed by M'Laren off the 170 yards' mark, this rider, with Lambert, took turn about at pacing, and, riding with judgment, they were never caught, the back-markers refusing to take the pace to bring the field up. The Klataura rider, Tall, was - fast in patches, but was palpably out " o£ form, and Wroble, too, seemed to lack training, and faded away at the -end of his races. J. Walquist and Goodall also secured wins, and the prize money .was very evenly distributed. There were only two 6pills during the two. days, and both* occurred when the riders were out by themselves. As stated above, the bicycle races provided plenty of. good sport, and the Caledonian Society *>nly require to pay a little - more attention to the needs' of the bicyola men to be abla to attract riders 'from fats and pear. , • - — The 7 horse-power Peugeot lately owned by Mr W. B. Bell has been puri chased by Mr Carvoseo, of Outram, whd a.lso, some time back, bought Mr Bell'J J.A.P. I understand, however, Mr Car« voseo has disposed of the J.A.P. , and hat now gone in for a bigger-powered machine*. All told, the ,cost of the new sauce i, track in Melbourne will be .about £2500. T A Mr J. E. Young, a London mo< torist, in a competition held in SeptembeH in the great metropolis, accomplished * petrol consumption performance which, it U claimed, probably constitutes a worldV record. With a four-year-old Argyll which! ha« already covered 35,000 miles, Mr Young made*a record mileage consumption run, certified by officials of the Automobile Club, of 40i miles to the gallon at an average speed of 19-20 miles per hour.- This was on a slightly cheaper jrade of spirit than the ordinary — viz., .760 Borneo, carrying a' full load "and on give-and-take -. roads. Two distinct runs were made, and on the seconoT a result equal to #6 " ton miles per gallon was recorded. The only addition to the standard maka of Argyll was a Bowden air. inlet. A Kansas City man has taken out a" patent on an electric motor fastened on a cow's back, the electricity .being generated by & dynamo attached to ,the cow's tail, says fcha American Inventor. It strains the milk and lianas up the .pail and strainer. A small phonograph' accompanies the outfit, which yells "So!" when the qow moves. If she kicks, a hinged arm catches the milk-stool and lams her over the head' with it. s ■ . According,±o ,one of the visitors from New South Wales, the racing at the last Austral was the tamest yet witnessed ,in Victoria. A. C; Colvin, the Austral winner, is only & youth, but appears ~to have- a" good future before him. -Thie was his- third win this season. - As the M.8.0. only -paid away about £250 for prize money, and the "gate" for -the two days k' reported to be over £700, the meeting should enow a urofit.

r Mr Harvey dv Cros, M.3?., presided Vt the ordinary general meeting of the Shareholders of the Dufilop Rubber Comsany, held recently at the Hotel Cecil, Lon- | j^on. tn moving the adoption of the J-SSor'ti* jymich recommended * dividend of 100 per ipent., the Chairman said the capital of thel ©ompanjr wa s £22A,Gm. l?here tad befftt I |B ftgn} of gfiodsiU, but in, .tie ieajc 1904

total profits earned by the company, which 1 only ha<i a capital >of £220,000, were

£1,194-,099. One of the competitors in, the motor car reliability trials had a curious experience near fiorarafca on the fun home. A swarm of bees setslecl on the car,- which was making a "non-stop" run, and rendered it anything but a comfortable vehicle. It s was aalf an hour before the car "was free ; of the uninvited passengers. — r — On Friday, 3rd inst., the Moeraki i included ,(eays the , Lyttelton Times) amongst her passengers, from Syd!- • ney a ' middle-aged man whose > air , and general appearance suggested that '■ he seen, more prosperous days: i His entire belongings * consisted of a bicycle of an antique model,-two " billies," *nd , a quantity of clothing stuffed into a -well-worn- .sack. Litjjle , time was. wasted ever him by the Custom House officials, and the immigrant was soon trudging up liyttelton's hilly 6treets, pushing his bicycle.-on-~reaching Norwich quay he f blind that both tyres of his machine were out of breath, and he at once, with remarkable fortitude, set to work to repair them. The capacious sack was emptied of its contents, and in a corner, -securely wrapped in an old sock, he uncovered a, tan of rubber solution. The other necessaries for the repair work, were unearthed also from" the 6ack, and before the gaze of a diminutive crowd the man repaired the brace of punctures. Then, with the aid of a bicycle pump, also extracted from the mytserious sack, the traveller inflated the tyres, and, after laboriously replacing the" household belongings in the depths' of the , sack and fastening the whole on the handle-bars of the bicycle, ho cast one glance of contempt apon his interested audience, and mounting his bicycle, rode slowly in the direction of Governor's Bay, neither stopping aor 3aGiing A glance behind until a bend in Shs .vo^ad had hidden him from ■view. During his stay-in the Port there wore many who used their best endeavours to eiioii from him his name and occupation and ihe reason of his presence in the Doadnion, bat bo a.ll questions he was silent, and • he did not even deign a respoßG© to the -smark by a bystander: "'Hs'j another one of those fellows that's -•id'ng x<Di;nd ti-e world and have to spend nothing."

that was wrisen off to the amount of £78,000 out 9I tise profits. The assets of the company vfexe £1,029,000, but if they took the liabilities off the *§»«ts, other than, the gapital, they }»& asseto for £825,000. If they deducted the oapital, their assets were £605,000 fc excess of every possible li&bility. The shares appeared to have a roßJkei iralue of about fiUOQitaQ. Khs,,