WHEEL TALK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7678, 11 April 1903, Page 6

WHEEL TALK.

>(By ROVER.) On March 18 C. E. Burton won the final ! heat of the Mile Handicap at the Melbourne Tramway Sports Club. AH. that Sutherland says anent the incompetence of Sydney race officials and a good deal more is published' by the Sydney " Sporbsman." There is a growing feeling in Australia in favour of mile as against two-mile handicaps as the chief evemifc of a. meeting. This years' world's championships are to bo decided at- Copenhagen on August 16, £0 and 23. It i9 suggested that Australia 'should be represented. I have pleasure in acknowledging receipt from Mr M. J. Lynskey of a complimentary ticket for the Ashburton Club's meeting on <

—— — ■—■■—— — — ■■ ■ — ■ Easter Monday. I trust the gathering will be a success. W. Turnbull, the amateur rider, who repTesanted New South Wales in thfe New Zealaind championships at Lancaster Park a few years . back, has left Sydney for a. tour round the world. I 'hear that the Star Cycle Company, of Christchurch, is preparing to erect new buildings in High Street, which will constitute the most imposing establishment yet devoted to the cycle trade" in Christchurch. According to the new rules of the New Zealand League Council three members, Messrs H. S. Batcheior, A. S. Donaldson and A. Dickson, have forfeited their seats through being absent for three consecutive meetings without obtaining leave of absence. ! The wet weather of last week should j act as a hint to cyclists to get their machines in order for the winter. If properly equipped with mudguards and the plated parts vaselined, there is no reason why cycles should not be ridden through- j out the whole of the winter. I The first cycle track in the North Island ] has recently been completed at Birkdale, a short distance outside Auckland. Three hundred cyclists took part in the opening ceremony. The track i3 three miles long, and is formed of ashes well rolled. The cost was £70. The past fortnight has been spent by Martin touring the West Coast of this island. The veteran is acting wisely in taking things eaisy for a bit. He is not likely to compete at the Christchurch Cycling Club's meeting on Good Friday, the club having refused to pay the amount of appearance money he demanded. The New Zealand League is at present in a very peculiar position, and as I wrote a few weeks back an entire re-organisation is necessary if it is to make even a pretence of controlling cycle racing in the "colony. I understand that a few local enthusiasts have started on a campaign, which is to be carried on during the present off season, with a view to restcring to tlie League its former prestige as a governing body. In the interests of sport it is to be loped their efforts will be successful. " Fcrtis '.' writes, thus in the " Australasian." : — The fini'sh. of these rioh handicap races, suoh as tihe Austral amd A.N. A. Wheel Races and th'e Sydney Th.ousa.ud, seem to resolve themselves into 'team races — one division, of raqeirs against the o'tJier. Whtif'heir this is l/og-itimalte sport is a ques Ition so frequently asked, bu!t, so far, nob satisfactorily answered, thaiv the best reply, 2Jes'ha.ps, is the gjreattiy increasing- interest evinced iu the rosulitis of these contests. It was an open secrelt that the final of the " Thousand " handicap lay -between Hopper and Walker, and the interest being thus concentrated was mare intense. The betting on the day of the race was 6 to 4 Walker a.nd 2 to 1 Hopper, but- as the men we.ro going to their mnrk.«, " even money Hopper" was demanded. Someithing had occurred whioh, probably, will never be known. The circumstances connected with the reinstatement of Draffin, Irwin and Davis by the New Zealand League show that the Auckland Centre forwarded the application's mentioned with a recom-mentLation that they should be granted. The applications were not, however, accompanied by the particulars which the League rules insist must be forwarded, and the Council very properly wrote to the Auckland Centre pointing this out. In the meantime the Centre without informing the Council oi its action, and in defiance of all rules and precedents, granted the riders what is termed a " provisional permit," and gave them pei--mission to compete at the -local club's sports. Paragraphs appeared' in northern papers stating that if the League Council refused the applications the Centre would probably secede. During a pretty lengthy connection with sport I have never yet come across a wise in which a governing bodv lias been approached by a sub-body in such an utterly unjustifiable manner as was the League Council by the Auckland Centre in the present instance. Addressing the company which assembled to celebrate the opening of the Birkdale cycle track, Mr Witheford, M.H.R. for Auckland City, remarked upon the rapidity with which the bicycle had taken its place among the necessities of modern life, and proceeded to point out that if everybody lived in the city alongside of their work they would not want bicycles. Ib was because of the strong desire which now existed to live- in some of the beautiful suburbs that the great value of the bicycle was so universally felt. The tendency of the age was to secure land away from the crowded cities, plant orchards and gardens, keep poultry, and thus establish an industry which, when their days at tlie factory or the office were over, would afford them an independence in their old age. " The want of a banked track in the city ia very largely responsible for the general