S.C.M.C.C.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19667, 8 December 1933, Page 7

S.C.M.C.C.

(By "REVS.”) 24-HOUR TRIAL. The most popular event of the activity of the S.C.M.C.C. is undoubtedly the 24-hour-trial. The entries in this year's trial exceeded those of last year by a large margin and the club was very pleased to see ten new riders. Promptly at 9.30 p.m. on Friday the first man. incidentally a new entrant and eventually the winner, was given a very hearty send-off on the long ride, by the large crowd assembled. The officials controlling the trial did their Job thoroughly and left nothing undone to make it the success it was. The first stage was to Oamaru. where the riders partook of supper before the run to Palmerston, via the Horse Range. G. King had trouble with his oiling and had to retire at thm onrlv vt n err. While trvinff lr> no-

gotiate the bends on the Horse Range, j. Box had rather a forcible argument with a large clod of earth and collected the road, to the detriment of his front mudguard. He carried on, nevertheless, and completed the course. The water-splash in the Pig Route at 4 a.m. on Saturday caught a few napping while A. Mitchell must have been dreaming of a gold strike when he took the wrong turning at Kveburn and carried serenely on to Naseby. D. Wood was heard to mutter something rather forcible when his engine stalled ten yards from the Ranfurly check, through riding too slowly. ' After a cool run to Middlemarch a halt was called for breakfast. It was j here that F. Triggs and Co., after a short stop at Hyde, made their pres- I ence felt by volunteering (?) as extra | waiters. They were very popular with | the returns of bacon and eggs. | The secret check at Deep Stream | i was a pitfall for the unwary, but from j j -here on until Dunedin was reached | *he going was quite simple. The stop j j and restart test was responsible for I ;l few more marks being dropped as j many of the riders failed to halt dead ; j on the line.

The officials of the motor-cycle section of the Otago Motor Club took the check at Look-Out Point, and from there the riders went to the Club Rooms where they were guests at luncheon. After a two hours’ break, the riders started on the roughest stretch of the trial—the Leith Valley. All went very well until some really good blue metal was encountered, the average depth of which was in the vicinity of six inches. Some riders thought It was nearer six feet by the time they got safely through. S. Boys was asked some rather awkward questions as to where the barbed wire was. for his trousers were rather frayed in place/ when he arrived at Palmerston. The officials unanimously agreed the Leith Valley stretch was “par excellence." When Palmerston was reached A. Morton had something to say concerning the respective merits of his watch After having tea at Oamaru the riders left on the last stage of their Journey and except for some heavy shingle near Waitaki It was uneventful until Tnnaru was reached.

The hardest of bad luck was experienced by J. Martin when he ran out of petrol at Kingsdown. and not through Ills own fault. At 9.30 p.m. to the second, the first man arrived followed by the twenty other riders who were all given a great ovation by the crowd. The hot saveloys and coffee were much appreciated by the riders. Perhaps the greatest enjoyment of j the 24-hour-trial Is the discussion afterwards between the riders as to what they should have done and i where they dropped their marks, but | they always end by saying. “11l be