BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 58

BY DEMON.

Dr Bagley, St Bathans; Dr Fitzgerald, Kaitangata, and Mr Peterson, Ra.llfurly, ha\e jjurchascd llumber 3£ h.p. niotor cycles, fittcxl with two-speed gear. Dr F. C. Bateh^lor has pui-cha=od the latent mcdel F. Buitk, fitted with magneto ignition. Dr Riley purcha^-d '.vhile in England a 15 h.p. Roser car, which will b? landing- shortly. In tho South African Automobile Association's hill-climb, lvid at Capetown recently, a Siddclcy car won all three incdald. Mr Xalder. Timaru, landed tins week a 14-16 Siddoley. The Rev. Father Clcary, who leaver phortly for South Amci ica er route to England, ha." ordered a ]6-l8 h.p. Vulcan, and' will take delivery of it n> London. He will then tour in I.k new puihca«o through the Biitish l^!e-» and Euiop^. Dr Oleary i< a incst enthusiastic motoii-jt, and svill do his own diiving. Du.-ing the pa-t week I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Gordon M. M'Giego.-, tho Australasian rcpiv-?-ntati\e of the Ford Motor Company, of Detroit. Mi M-Uiegor had ju^t auivc<l in the Dominion, and after fixing up agencies for the Ford car here left on Surday by the Ulimaroa for Axis tralia. On the completion of his business in Au'-traba Mr M'Gregor leaves for England, and finally makes his way back to tho town he hails from — Walkervillo (Canada), Our visitor was driven out f o Saddle Hill on Saturday afternoon, where h4 was an interested spectator of tb© gtaxt

of <he Otajjo sub-test road rac^. Ho informs me that Mr Durance, v»-ho was a special rep^Mftntative of the Dunlop Company ia. £jew Zealand some six years ago, is aga:n cbeaing out her© from Montreal' to aj»nn» control of the Ford intei-asts in Australasia Th# officials \\Jio had control ot Saturday's road race appreciated very much the kindness of Mr F. Denxiisan. of Oamaru, who wfis in town on Saturday, in driving out to Saddle Hill to bring them back to Dimedm after the conclusion of the .race. Mr Dennison has beer appointed agent for the Ford ca.r in Otago and South Gant-er- . bury, iir<l ihe Dcrfonnance put up by his 20 li.p fcurcj Under four-seattd car on the run back was indeed a splendid oni3. With six pas^ng-crs on board, aggregating somewhere about 75st, th© little Ford took both Saddle Hill and Lookout Point on fche top gear, and id without doubt a very speedy ard powerful machine. The car only weighs about. 12c n't, has but two geairs, and is fitted with -dual ignition. Mr DeiHiiison informs mo he has placed a Ford with % local die.nti=t— Mr R. Kidd. Mr George Henning, of Auckland, ■was in town during the past few days with l.is hijj cream-coloured 38 h.p. Daimler, fitted w ifch the Knight silent engine Mr Knight was an American gentleman who came across to England, aixl so impressed the Daimler Company with the efficacy of his patent sliding valves, that the company decided to fit them to their engines. I matched the- Daimler standing stationary th© other day, and the aib-ence of engine noise was \ery marked — in fact, ono had to bo fairly clc=-e to it to know whet her th© ongine was in motion or not. The ease- with which the engine took up its lood and th« car silently glided off was indeed rather surprising 1 . Afterwards i had a short am in the Daimler, and the engine. is certainly something out of the ordinary in motor car construction. As showing Ihe flexibility of the engine, when th© Daimler was en her top gear, and able to do up to 50 mile? an hour, Mr Henning was able to throttle the engine, down so that the car went along at only a walking pace. Th' 3 Mc-^sts W'mpenny have taken over the lecul agency for the Daimler. J. Carnegie aiid Maw, who have entered for Saturday's Thnaru. to Christchurch road race, loft for Christchurch on Monday lpommg-, and Roxburgh went north on ! Tuesday. fha other southern riders like-, wive intend to travel to C'ont^rbury in tiiiiG to allcuv of them having a trial run over ! the rour=j. Our Duiv-din nc'ier, Withey, ' should puc up a gocd performiaiKo if ha escapes t\ r-> troubles or any otho.r miohap to his machine. Kncourag^d by the rerewed interest l>eir^ displayed in cycling, the Otajro Centre- of iho League of Wheelmen intend to put on another road race next yenr, j probably in March. Mr T. P. Williamson has already donated a gold medal as givo , of the prizos for the race. I At Friday night's meeting of the Otago Cant re of the League of New Zoa- j land Wheelmen it was decided <o draw the Palm Piston Calrc'onian alten- j tion to the fact that a permit to hold , ic-yole races at th^ir sport? on Xo\ ember 9 | nnvt be obtained. I do not tlimk, owing to the o"\v agreement between the Leagr© of New Zealand Wheelmen and the Athletic Union, that any fee will bo charged for f-uch permit, consequently the Palmers ton ' Ivody should see to it that no obstructions J :. re put in the way cf c\cli°t<> competing, j I'Vo or not. however, any <-<\c:iet\ placing ' cycle race^ on it« piogtamnio without being affiliated to the League or ohutiiiuig a permit is breaking the laws of tho latter body, ' and cjcii«ts cempeting ar any »uoh giith"r- j ing-, lendsr theinse!ves liable to disqnalifi- , cation. I If road rid«rs would but pay a little' more attention to the size of the Tyres j affixed to their machine? befoio competing in i> road race there would b" far f^w er ! I'linctnies to record. For le-ws dutnncfi ]i/>.n and lgm cover'- are quit*- -mull enough for racing o r our loarK : th-ov weigh only an cumcc? or mo per ]:■■! more than th" j r-mal!"r cii'd-iK'ie tyres. n»'<l are ji>t as fa.sO (in fj/4 'aster oh rough leads?) as i.he liii trie, winch for a heavy ndor lias to be jjii'i'PL'd up "is hard a-: a board*. «»nd con- • sequ3tit'v, owing to \iliration, must be the tau->' of xiiuch f atigue to the cjclist u&ing them. A Pianto. the We.=t Australian representative in the -■•ecent "Warrrambool," la'-t .Saturday week turned the tablci on 1. R Munro. w-Jio established such a wonderful world"-- record in th-D Dunlop Road Race. Pianto beat Muriro home by a couplr- 1 of l'-ngth? for fast<>=;t time in a 34 mileV ioj'! race. Pianto's time over an out-and-home course being lhr 3:rmn 4Ceec. ——A mctor-eycle ricla from Tim-aru to Dunc<:lin and return to Timarii i one <!av i is a, feat that was recorded for the fh^t • time op Qetobei 13 (-a\s the Ti'narn , Herald). Mr Hugh Ma\o Mailed fioin Timaru at 5 40 a.m , reaching Oumaiu at 7.30 arid Palmsr«ton Fouth at 9 15. After ha\iii2: birakfast he k-ft again at 10 o'clock, arming at Dunedin at 11.40. S'artins; on tho return j'jui-ney. he left Dunsdin at 1 p m , p<is.-ing- tliron^h Palm-orston .South afc 2 45, Oanuru at 4 30, and liom.? to Timaru at 6 45 — an over-all time of 131ir smin which i^ inclusive of stoppages cf two hour.-j and fi\e minutes for meals. This loaves tlia mi riding time foi tho 253 miles at 11 hours exartly. A ride of this kind goes to lllustiate the wonderful reliability of the modern motor-cyclo, when a pleasure trip covering a distance of 258 miles can be accomplished in less than one turr of the clock's face. Though Australia bea± hor at cricket, New Zealand at football, South Africa and America at athletics, Belgium at rowing, AfltteKsa at polo and; t«nnis, Br.tish repre-

sentatives showed themselves vstly superioa to Continental '-iders of th\3 amateur ranks at tih© recent Copenhagen champ ionship meetkiig. The one kilometre and the lOtl kilometres championshipr were wop by W^ j J. Burke and Leon Meredith 'respeotavely.-' j T.he longei distance championship has been 1 in British hands with only on« exception ' since ISO 4. " j Mr F. Dennison, of Caimaru, informs ' me that he has made a model of an aero-.^ plane, an>d tiha+. he had conunonioated -with' J the Australian Aerial -League to ascertain^ if he would be eligible to compete for the. . £10,000 prize offei^ed by the Common weal*b' \ for a successful flying machine. Mr Den-- ) nison war informed 1 , kowever, thai iho competition was open »*>. lx to residents ofi. Australia. Seeing tn« interest at present being taken in asrotnat'tt all over the world, docs it not dovdre en the Dominioof authorities, seeing that we are supposed to be one of the most advanced nations in the world, to do somo-thin.. to foster the in* ventive genius of t.h3 New Zealand nartiv«7 I consklw it .would ba money well spciv^ to give a prize something, on the lines ofi the Commonwealth offer. The following condition has been embodied in the rules governing the Timaru-Christchuroh road race: — "Tlhat aH prizewinners -v^ ill be required to make ai statutory declaration before being awarde^ their prises that they have conformed to all the conditions governing the race, and mox« particularly have no"; received directly ofl indirectly "from or been pircsshted by any person ot firm with any monetary or otbetf prizo or reward othsr than that Eihown on tho official prograimme." At a. ne^tin.!? of the> Ohri&tchurcn Cyclino- and Motor Club's Racing CoinTnittec, the offei oi the Dunlop Rubber 1 Company of a trophy to the value of 25 "uineas for a series of open road races, and an additional trophy of the value of 5 guineas for a Cycle De-rb> Road Raoe, was accepted, r.nd a aearty vote of thanks was accorded fr the donors. It was decided to hold the Duniio? Derby Road Race on Saturday afternoon, Novam-ber 20, over a distance 'of 15 mil««, and to confine it to youths under 18 years of age. It was also d-eckted to hold a series of open handicap load races a, follows: -For the DurJop trophy, with added pnw>s, December 11, [20 Ss: January 15, 35 miles; February {^L^Acl'orkin. to a Wellington > writer \ one of Africa* crack riders ..» h™^ (of Aisirii.s w early m the Y-ir if sumciiT.t inducement otters, now ■ ever ' I hardly imagine the prize money I placed on Xew Zealand sport* programme* I will prove a *uffiei«i*ly powerful draw for. 1 a crack American cvclist-that i«. of coui^e, if th»re i« ar.r truth in tlve statement, j --Racia-r" on the high I°'*™'** 1 bJcyclps ha» been revived in England, and i'l^FTaiSsßirtL,. the cycling over* 'larder Girted hi, third jouinjoy aero« 1 A ,, ftl'lia at th- be-in-iing of the mow*. 'Melbourne Auvt.al n,ect:ng . « to be an j t^i J niimably of the aeroplane \ capital to the .eap-t j tow r, of ! baok,- and the e^ent. wbwh « R j l,, s t month, include* -ivod t Both ihe ™<\ ™c* and the .^ were won .^ Tn^l Tvi«. The car, fitted with P f" J1"0^J 1 " 0^ tot sp««» -cc itself w a» not c ? lv a teA «P^ ° n the (r teh of difficult country, over a great •.ti^u" irnnassable. being in >ome part* all but ' m r> a % in at — WhH-t - c^- lo J OW cc n oT1 trol of her 80ck...?, a l 7l 7 t<Mbf ton* .at the unhurt « a potato field. TIMART- TO CHRISTCKFRCH ROAD RACK. The foMowin, Otn ? o ccli^ are entered :2^t tt in the Orafo road -co s:, h - i^'i Se ;s TT w t g -S-a^^in^^A^a^ TT F Mohrtni-. who are giving Z tour U-r Arn.-wVnt.red for th. ™»- 11. P., F. W., ard HWONDERFUL RIDE BY F, A. PYE. Kim^t A. P\e, the crack little Austi'alian plu^cr. la=t mon*rh rode one of the mo-t remarkable races ever witnessed a 4 the Salt Palace saucer track. It was on; unlimited match pursuit against W. h*. Samueb^on, and that the Australian weul able to defaat the local flier a* his ow< game is truly the wonder of the season, and at once places Pye in the firs* ranl< of famous unpaced riders (states an Ameri* can paper). It wae no parlour affair, the

match i between Pye and Samuelson. Th^ local man. confidently expected to mako a monkey of Pye, and the result was that i " etarbed right off tlw reel to tear tha hetul out of the little "kangaroo" v.ho had dared! to ohallenpe him. Contrary to ex- . peotations, Pye did not WA under S?rare!Bon's terrific pounding, but he held his own for one mile, then for two miles, and at three miles was slowly -dra-wing- up on the Yankee. The fLot three mites were covered in 6min 13 w. fivo s^ec^rds better than the world's u.npaced record a.gain^t, tinw». Then, with th-y crowd en its feet yelling like mad, Pye overhauled Samuelson, a.nd two "laps after the third mil a, passed.. When the g>u:i denoted the finish, Pye was unab]o to dismount, and had to l-o -carried to his dressing rcom. OTAGO SUB-TEST ROAD RACE. The- weather on Saturday was anything hut suitable for cycle road-racin<J, a heav>. chill sou-wester, with frequent hail and gleet showers, raging all day. The bid weather notwithstanding, the Otago Centre had to ge* off its road race, &e«irg that It was held for the purpose of select inn i.n Otago representative to compete in next Saturday's big race from Timaru to Christohurch. The course was from the foot of Saddle- Hill to Milton" and back, a dista,nc3 rtiriously estimated at from 50 to 56 mile.'. I!he road was in excellent order, the heavy wind haviirg drk>d ir wonderiully e\eer>' for a few stray ,pcols of water, bit a pie<r^ jf newly-metalled road at Henley r.eca^--lated careful, liding. tfevenxc-en of the 2.T entrants faced tho" siauer, but the timappointed ,for commc-nniTPT the race found spectators and riders a' ike sheltering und n i a neighbouring hedge from the effect? of a violent hailstorm. However, at 5 minutes , to 3 p.m. the limit man, •). j Smolensk! (18min). struck out into th<> ; teeth of t.h^ blizzard, tho reef of the riders following at the ap(>oint.^l intervals. The scratch men — Muir Wilson. of Oamaru, and H. "Withey, of Dunedi'i liaving been sent off, the now el a.=?embleil j at the starting: nc«t drifled : way. »•.> ] xeturn there conic two hours later. I^eitL- ■ , A. Carrregif no' 1 Ferry got far, the former ! being out of form, and the latter's m&ch'u >■ 1 puncturing. Tt uas clo«e on three houi-j before any of the other riders returned when two cyclists came over the biow <)f) f the hill and scorched along towarjs U" finishing line. They turned oat *o V<Walquist and Fiaher. but on inqiiirv it w<i~ lea.rnt that neither had covered the c^.u*.--' Almost immediately after, however, another rider came into view, and this •yin"'] out to be the fir^t man horne — L Iviaw - \ and at intervals followed J. MTVor;-". •'of Carnepie, H. Withey, and White. The- ■> j •were th© only competitors who had rotumc.l I w.hen the ofiicial<; left the fi fishing p'j-< at 6.15. The race T.herefoio resulted: — li. Maw (6imin), ?hi? 57min 25seo ... 1 J. M'Crorio (16m in). 3hrs sm-in B«er ... ? J. Carnegie (I'jmin), 3hi^ smin 40ceo ... 3 IJ. Wirhey (-cratch), 3ins 7niin 53* cc ... 4 ' _ Maw wins both first place and faitc-i, j time, ai*d s°ciires in priao money £°. a { pair of Continental racing tyros, and t ■"■ ' Dunlop god medal, valued at 4 cruin-"a~ : ! M'Crorie takes £3. and Carnegie £2. \\hi\o < Withey's reward i- 2 guineas for fj~to,t unplaced time. ' I'ho !^e\cre h<?s<T viird fa%our<-fl ti,o ! Dbanoe? of the bj>ck-mj.ik<ers. aix! \Yith\ j and Wilson wore up with their fi"'d -hortlv I after (passing Waihola. only M'Crori" bein'T I then out in f'-ont. Then hid luck owitook the i-oiatoh m<»rf, Wilson's pedal rate hinig in the back wh-t-el of Wit.':e\\ bicvclf* and tearing out a. number of -pokos Hot 1 ; i rider.« fell and al^o lirout:hi ilo« 11 Maw. I whose machine wa« n<jt ?onoubly hurt } however, aird <ho mi'Wio-markcr-- trot away I again from tho scratch irrv. Withey aji<l ' Wikon managed to pet ir>-ind tho tinnimri post, a;rd Withev, havincr borrowed another i machine. \\a.- a^ain catching the font nrn, when he had once more to c'"an<ro h s mount, and by thi- time- his (banco <f iviirnins "as gone. M Wilson, « nr x- ' Bt-ronp pacing in tho early -<tag --, of 'he, race- mu.-f have taken a lot o'.st of him. gave \ up at Waihola on r;he return joun.<\, | J. Carnegie, M'Crorio, Murray (6m in). Maw. and J. Shea (who. ov, ing to air ir regularity in his entia.nce. form, \\j> r" handicappe<l at 7^min). were lrunchcd .-*■ ' Waihola on tlie return, where Murray goi an attack of cramp and ga\e up, and Shea's machine punctured. A like calamity befell Maw's machine at Henley, when Carnegie, feeling that he had had enough, j somewhat ehort-sigh redly, as it aiiemwh t turned out, gave over his machine to Maw, J "wJio eventually won from M'Crorie Carnegie, however, beginning to feet a whole man again. borrowed another ■machinfe, "started off again, and easily secured third place. There were a fow punctures recorded during tha day, but tsvese were the result of pure misfortune, and not caused by a tin-tack " fiend, as was the case on the occasion of tbe road race over the same '

course last March. Hot lnl'ik \\ as pioviJ«d io the rk'-ers ft ~51. <;•,.-.. bun could haw ixeir moie avaikJ of hu 1 tiic-re boen a few more cups. Messrs T. P. Williamson. E. A. Fakk. (J. Nelson, an-cl S. D. Mmn acred as =wu-ters and judges, while Mr Marshall Vias tho turning steward at Milton. MEETING OF OTAGO CENTRE, X.Z. WHEELMEN. A general meeting of the above centre vaj held in the Dunedin Sports Club's rooms last evening, Mr W. J Moore in the chair. The Secretary cf the Roxburgh Athletic C'iub wrote asking for a pormit to hold cycle races 'at its sports mooting, to be hold on December 26 (Boxing Day).— The permit was granted. The secretary was instructed to write to the Palmerston Caledonian Society informing it that it -would -ncvil to apply for a permit to hold cycle lacos at its sports meeting on November 9. Tho annual general meeting of the centre Mas th-e-n held. The Secretary reported tlirl the receipts for the year amounted ro £41 2s 2d, and) tho expenditure £31 Is lOd, leavirug a balance on ihe year's working of £10 Is 2d. The election of office-bearers resulted, as follows: — President, Mr W. J. Moore de-eloctodi : viee-pre'-kl'ont, Mr D. Wall; consul. Mr E. A. FaJek ; delegate to the Now Zealand Le.igue of Wheelmen, Mr D. T;. Wood (,va-elpote r l): aiu'iicr, Mr F. T. Anderson; handicapp«*'\ Mr S D. Minn ; examiner of motors, Mr D. Wall: hon. secretary and f iva^uivr. Mr G. Nelson ; a-ii=tant spcrefcary, Mr Arthur Carnegie. Th.p Hon. Secrelary (Mr G Nel-on) was voted an honci-a-ium of five guineas for his iv-r -erviccs to the <)v)y.