CYCLE AND MOTOR NOTES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 58, 4 March 1912, Page 2

CYCLE AND MOTOR NOTES.

The Melbourne six-days’ teams race is just now the chief topic in cycling circles. This event starts at the Melbourne Exhibition track at 1 a.m. on Monday, 19th instant, .and will continue right through the week, finishing up at 1t).5 on Saturday night. Great) interest will centre in the struggle between the Sydney victors, Goulett and Hehir, and the ClarkMcNamara combination. There will probably be about 12 teams start. In the recent Sydney event the winning score was 2085 miles 1680 yards, but on the smaller and better protected track at the Melbourne Exhibition a bigger mileage should result. In conjunction with the six-days’ race a programme of interesting 'cycle cv- , rents will be decided, including the Austral Wheel Race—the one time premier cycling event of Australia. All told £1590 is to bo distributed amongst the riders in prize-money, the sum of £llsO being set apart for the six-days’ race. Apropos of the six-days’ racing events, it is interesting to note that “Pluggor Bill” Martin, who, a few years back, rode with such success on Australasian tracks, won the first big six-days’ race held in America — the event being hold at Madison Square Garden in 1891. In this race —decided on the did high ordinary bicycle—the contestant's’ had to ride 20 hours a day. Seventeeh riders started, Martin winning with a score of 1466 miles. Suite those days “Plugger Bill” won a fortune in Australia on the track, but ho was not as good a financier as a racing man, and ho could not hold the thousnds that ho accumulated in this country. Martin is still in Australia earning a livelihood by travelling around the Riverina district (N.S.W.) selling goods at the different shearing sheds, stations, etc. There is evidently big money to be made by the cracks in the annual New York six days’ l race. In the event won by A. J. dark and Foglor (U.S./A.) last December, Kramer, the American champion, who finishr ed second, received ' the substantial bonus of £6O per day. Clark got £4O; in fact every rider received good appearance money according to his drawing power to the programme. The sum of £3200 was distributed amongst the contestants in appearance money alone. This amount came out at 30 per cent of the gross takings, which was set apart for the contestants, the balance jjeipg for division amongst the Avinnirig teams. Clark arid jFogler’s share only amounted to £IBO. The total takings at the gate for the week amounted, to. £13,180. , Arrangements are..now fairly well advanced in connection with tjuj fo;-th T coming great relay despatch race between cyclists, motor cyclists and carists from Adelaide and Sydney (1149 miles). A representative,*?! the Dunlop Rubber Company., .who are organising this gigantic event, ( leaves Melbourne' this week io motor over the route for the purpose of making de--1 taileu' arrangements for the successful carrying out of /P this .despatch ride. ' As soon as the trip'is completed the names of the despatch bear- ’ \ts for all sections will be. announced. The present intention is that the first military despatch will leave Adelaide at 5 a.m. on Good Friday (April sth) in charge of the first relay df cyclists. Twenty-four hours later the motor cyclists will set out with their despatch, followed by the motor carists, six hours later, that is at 11 a.m. on Easter Saturday. All three despatches will be scheduled to reach Sydney early on Easter Monday morning.

The New South Wales Cyclists’ Union lias decided to take advantage of the fact that E. W. Schneider, the amateur track champion of Australia, is at present in Europe, and to appoint him their official representative in the forthcoming 200 miles road race to bo held around Lake Malar, near Stockholm (Sweden) in connection with the Olympic Games in July. Schneider has proved himself a firstclass track rider during his sojourn in England, and has put up some very meritorious performances, but track and road riding are two different things. Schneider may have the makings of a first-class rider, but it takes time and experience to make a long distance road rider. The N.S.W. crack is going into immediate training, and will no doubt proceed to Stockholm in ample time to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the 200 miles’ course around Lake Malar. A deal will depend on the nature of this course, whether flat or hilly; also the road condition, as to whether track riders will show to advantage. Personally the writer would prefer seeing a rider of the stamp of E. A. Pearson, the well-known N.S.W. long distance road rider representing Australia in the forthcoming race, which from all accounts will be a very severe type of contest. According to the rules of the Malar event, pacing is to be strictly tabooed, but, it is not clear whether one contestant may take pace from another competitor. If every contestant has to ride the whole 200 miles “on his own,” then very strict supervision will be necessary to ensure the carrying out of this stringent condition. If this is .the intention, of the rules, then the Britiqsh representative should provide the winner of this great race, because they have become adepts at tin's class of road racing. The competitors are to be started singly at three minutes’ intervals, the order of starting to bo drawn for. Refreshments will bo provided at different controls by the race committee gratis. There is to be no “one man one machine” rule, for contestants j will be allowed to have spare mach- 1 ines at any of the eleven controls on route. ■ The race will start at 2 i

o’clock on Sunday morning, July :7th. ' Indoor track racing has caught on to suck an extent in the United States that some very fine tracks are in course of erection. In Chicago , £500,000 is to l>e spent in erecting the finest and largest indoor motor cycle track in America; in fact, in the world. Seating accommodation ■will be provided for 35,000 people. The building will also be suitable for exhibition and sporting purposes. The world’s cycle championship for 1912 will be decided in America, this year’s classic events being awarded to the United States by the International Cyclists’ Union. The dates will ,be August 25‘th and 2Sth and September 2nd. The world’s track blue riband events will be decided at Newark, New Jersey.