BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2862, 20 January 1909, Page 67

BY DEMON.

The monthly meeting of the Taieri I County Council, which will be ho.d next Friday, is imested with moie than oidinary interest for cyeli&ts, as at that n.eeting a 1< tter will l>e road from the Otago Centre L.X Z \V asking permi-sion to lun a road race through pait of the I county. It is seveial years now since i the Taieri Council prohibited road racing 1 within the confines of the county, and as I a result the Otago Centre officials have been forced to go out to the Taieri ferry bridge, running any load races they might wish to get off in Bruce Countj , who=e council does not object to such road racing. ! The time taken to tia\el out to the Taieii bridge, wait for the lace- to be run. and then come back to town occupio^ most of a day, and naturally both ofh'eia's and competitors complain of the difficulties thus put in the way of a popular and healthful sport, and have decided to once more approach the Taieri Council for permission to hold a road race. The officia's maintain that there is no danger in such road races, seeing that the speed of the riders very seldom exceeds 20 miles an hour, and that, they intend to tjko precautions to safeguard other users of the road whil-e the race is in progress. The oyclists, too, point out that in New South [

Wales. Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, West Australia, and Tasmania road . racing among cyclists is recrgnised a.5 a most fascinating sport, and whore big road e\ ents— such as the Warrnambool to Melbourne road race — are being run off policemen are actually told off to control the crowds at the starting and finishing posts. It would also seem that our legislators are not eager to enforce the law prohibiting- road racing in New Zealand, as though in the Christchurch to Leeston. road race early last month the police took tlio names of the competitors as they fmi-hed the distance, the police have not io far taken any further action. In the event of the Taieri Council still objecting to th- running of road events in the countj, officials and competitors will have to one? moic sorrowfully journey cut to the Taiori ferry biidge. Should tho Taicn Council, however,/ vaise no protest, the course of the centre's race — which has prize money attached amounting to £20 — will be fiom the foot of Saddle Hill to Waihola and back, thus enabling speo: tutors and rideis to comfortably cycle ouf from Dunedin after luncheon, witness tha. j race, and be back again in town before 6 o'clock. ilr H. LeCren has returned to Dunedin fiom his northern trip. Mr LeCren states lie had a splendid run of 1200 milea in hi? 16 h.p. Buick. The only mishap experienced was a puncture. The arew model 8 h.p. Rover landed la*' week by Messrs Ccokc-Howlison, while of the- same gentral design as the 8 h.p. Ro\cr of three years ago shows a great improvement in details. Ihe radiator of the colonial model i-> much larger than that fitted to the EnglU'i machine, thus p? eventing overheating on our hills. The axles and springs are alco specially strong. On h«r trial spin the Roier took three passengers, weighing 35 s ,tonc. to the Mount Cargill School on the s-ccond gear, excepting the Hangman's Gully pinch; and with 26 tvtone up went from the Normanby Hotel to the Mount Cirgill School iir 9min 55sec, — ■- very good performance for an 8 h.p. car. Dr Ferdinand Batchelor has purchased a 16 h.p. Buick. which he himself drove out to Otokif last week, making? light of the difficulties experienced by the learner when first taking a hand at the steering wheel. Messrs Wimpenny Bros, have had a number of visiting machines in their garage during the past week — Mr M'Clutehie, of Christchurch, in a 15-20 Enfield ; Mr Aitcheson, Christchurch, with a 23 h.p. Darracq ; and Mr Williams, of Wellington, with his 22 h.p. S.C.A.T. ■ Mr Pater^on, of Roslvn, i-s at present visiting- Roxbmgh an<] Waikaka. in his 7-9 Stuart oar. A v ell-known Xoith Orago stationholder is bomcthing of a humourist, his humour in this instance taking the ha-rm-lfK form of assuring each motor car driver Msitinj, the homestead that his car is the first o-r.o to surmount a very steep pinch leading to ihe house. To the writer's knowledge the owners of at least three ears— a Buick, a Cadillac, and a. Stuart — are each laying the flattering unction to their 6ouls that they alone are in the possession of a car which has been the first to surmount the before 'mentioned hill — and quote with pleasure the slation-holder'c assurance that "Yours is tha very fiist cat to get up that pinch." Meanwhile the runholder is no doubt smiling to himself, &n4 waiting for the next car driver to com< along, climb the stiff incline, and receiv* the welcome intimation, "Yours is the very first," etc The -average owner of a motor car is every whit a-s proud of tbe deeds of his machine as any eea. captain of the seaworthiness of the craft with which he has been for some time associated, and the runh<i!der in question is evidently quite aware of the fact, and flatters accoidingly. P'or the purpose of giving a hint to cyclists who may suffer a similar experience, the following incident, which came

T

under my nodes last week, may be of interest. When riding along the Cumberiland sneet cychng track I parsed <a cyclist |Who had got into a kind of gutter alongside jfche picket fence which traverses the path, land off The asphalt brack, the latter, owing too wear and tear, having m places a sharp edge of a couple of inches in depth for a idfeiwnce of some yards. The rider in question, finding the space in. which he was jrlding beginning to narrow, tried to jump ,ihis front wheel back on to the asphalt .(path, but the wheel caught on The track, ! Swung tCUJKI, and a fallen ri-der and a, jbadly -buckled wheel was the result. The ■rider picked himself and his maciune up, tetJMi gazed disconsolately on the bucklsd fwlheel, which bore a wonderful hkcn«ss to 'the figure 8, and then started to walk. On the writer's advice, however, the IbicycJe was laid down fiat, and my not i»ooaisiderable weight judiciously placed here a*..- there on the bent rixn, w-ihioh speedily *aSsttmed a enrfficiently normal condition to allow its rider to once more mount and ride off on his way rejoicing. « Mr Eberlett, New Zealand agent ifor tho Buiok car, was in town last week, and left for Wellington again on Monday shornvntr. In .i lew days ff.h.e last of the horsedrawn mail coaches whiet travel nightly from T .ondon to Gkjildford will be superseded by a raot/OT vain (fiays the Motor Car "Journal o r November 28)- And thus the gereice of a horse for carrying mails ■through the night will be relegated into fl'stoTica.l arrnala The way in which tlie Vest Oi'iue has tackled the quee+ion of the

conveyance of the mai's h.i-> v x en leally commendable. Of cour=?, the motor vehicle | will not ciny pan eN and letter, long di-jta-noes from o'.ie end ci the country to the other, but wit.hin a rad uo of 50 or 60 miles, or even rather more, will have opportunity of pioving its utility. Every provincial town in future will have its motor mail van to distribute its bags of | mails in the villages, and in the organ isa- j tion of a.n evan quicker service than now pievaLls the automobile will have a place. Tho Xcir Sourh Wales ride-, O. I H Biook, after 12 rnonrW retu-P- J nwnt, is to return t< the track and race again. He has placed an order foi- a racing- , machine, and desnes a lr.atc'a with Gasooigne, and af'ci wards a match with Geo.-g-e Horder. Brook is so keen on his return to the track that he is piccseciing to Anver,ca in cotrpaiiy wuh George Horder in April, and will ihcd on the saucer tracks there. It will Le ltmembered tha.t Brook, after his return to Sydney from a pathracing tour in Europe, denounced the piactices mdu'ged in bj racing cyclists on the tracks, aid a^ a proTe^t to such pracit:cr-=> decided to retire from the racing aiena. — — Speaking at the Canterbury Automobile Association's omoke concert," held in connection with tho lecent reliabjity trials. Mr T E. Taylor, M P , -aid that the mo.orcai v.as a thoroughly democratic institution. The possession of a carriage and pa-r was looked upon m, a man an an-to-Ci-at. but as long as a man couid drive a motoi-cai .-afely he na' einuWl to v-n .one, and he considered thitt the car v, ould ,

as it became easier to pc-s-ess one, dc away with a great deal of ela-=s prejudice. i Up to the present 130 licenses have been issued by the North Canterbury Centre this season, a-; again 111 1 69 last year." The day befoia the- American Grand Prize Race was run a race for small cars took place on a part of the same course, the distance being 196 mil's. W. M. Hiihaid, in a 12-16 h.p. Lancia (Italiar). won, with , Robert Burman's Buick second and L. B. j Lonmei-'s Chalmers third. The winner's I time was 3hr 43inin 33-cc, the Buick being 6min behind. The race was a duel betvvcpn the Lancia and Buick from start to finish. Aluminium, which enter* into the 1 construction of the modern motor car, costs . o\er £^000 a ton ltes than it did about 20 years ago. ! Despite the extent of the British , motor industry, foreign cars ro the value of £3,763,000 .have been impoited into KngI land. Of that =urn under £400. C00 represented material, the balance going in wages to foreign workmen. The new year sees the initiation of the first taximeter cab service m the Comj mon wealth. The new -\ehicies will first be placed in commission in Melbourne, when 12 8-9 h.p. Renault cabs will be split up on the principal ranks. These little vehicles, which are now all The rage in London and Park, will rme seating accommodation for four people, bcsicle> the driver. Drivers have already been secured for the first lot of cabs, ihe men having bi. . put through a thorough course of training, fitting them for proper handling of the taxi-cabs. The amount .of fare, which will always be indicated automaticu.l'y on the taximeter, will rang" from one shilling for the first mile or portion thereof and threepence for every additional quarter of a mile. Judging by the popularity of these vehicles in London and on the Continent, there is every chance of the new service proving a boon to the public and a financial success. To some extent aerial navigation and automobilism are kindred sports, for in both an indispensable part is played by the petrol engine. Consequently motorists will be in te rested to know that the French journal L'Auto has offered a prize of 12,000 francs (£480) to the first aeroplanist who lecomphshes a flight from Bordeaux to Paris, a distance of 370 miles. The route will be divided into five sections. "Many j people," says that paper, "will say that I f«cb a flight is impossible, but if the science of Aviation continues to progress as it has done during the »pa«t year, it is more ;han possible that the flight will be undertaken with a good chance of success ne\t June or July." | This year the honour of showing the ' lightest machine in the show .incioubtiidly belongs to the Dursley-Pedei^on firm, who exhibit one of then famous cantile\er maclnneb. onlj scaling lOjlb (-^ajr, a writer in Athletic News in a review of the Stanley Show exhibits). Yet this is not a freak machine, as a friend of mine, who is a great believer in these mounts, and who scales 12st, has ridden it for a short distance, and did not notice the slightest give. This is a speaking advertisement as to what is the real strength of the cantilever frame, which, owing to its thin tubes, looks very frail mdesd, but such as certainly not the

case. i Mr S. F. Edge recently ga^e to tho ' werld the motive which induced him to announce the withdrawal of all JSapier cars from dangerous competitions, and it was quite in consonance with his character that it should have beer one which, in all the profuiulity of conjecture and opinion offered in public and m prhate, was not even guessed. He had become aware that a certain august personage was opposed to f-uch raeincr, and solely on that circumstance ' he founded his decision. Tlic Committee of Management of the English Society of Motor Manufact- J tm-ers and Traders have passed the following re-olution :—"ln: — "In view of the fact, to which attention has been called in the recent circular of the Local Government j .Board to county and borough councils, that the racing of motor cais on ihe public roads i<- illegal, the society, hiving regard to the boot interests of the motor movement, requests its member? not to take part [ in sucb competitions (including hill-climb-ing and speed trials). And the society further lecommends the Royal Automobile Club to prohibit the organisation of or participate in such trials."