CYCLIING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8120, 20 September 1904, Page 1

CYCLIING.

Iv WHEEL TALK/4^ | . (Bj-ReVfilfcl ''■■•■ I There is a credit balance of £170 in the ictorian Injured "Racing Cyclists Fund. ' S_he South Australian League of Wheelk.has a membership of 956 and a credit Mice of £170. Bwing to the number of mere boys who ■taeted in the recent Warrnamqool-to-elbourne road race, the Dunlop Tyre Compajny will next year limit the nominas .- tion to- riders who are eighteen years of 4: *ge or Over. The probabilities are that the date of next year's big race will be altered to the end of September, with a riew of jnissing the unsettled weather met with in August every year, wo. of tne New South Wales competiy tors had a hard ride from Sydney to reach '■-}. Warrnambool in time to start in the big yy- 'race..' They left the northern capital on the Friday week before the race, and, ow- . ' A 'Ing to adverse winds and weather, did not wriyeiin Warrnambool until twelve hours before tie time of. starting. These riders, Ay Craw and R. Hird, faced the starter, /bui'were amongst tha fifty-seven riders who did not finish. The Council of the Sydney League has : decided to issue quarterly to the secretaries of the ; League Clubs and inter-State Leagues' a list of the disqualifications imposed throughout Australia, and any club •" ullowing a disqualified rider to compete at * meeting after having been notified will :"•:'-;■• be severely dealt with. . The first list, issued y recently, shows that the Victorian, New Bouth Wales and South Australian Leagues \ha,ve been particularly busy. The ..'. ■ Vie•V s - ■ iorian body had disqualified fourteen riders ■.-•'.*-. tor twelve months. each; the New South •'.*"••■ Wales League eleven riders for periods ;*'. v y"-jrandn^* from six months to three years; , While the South Australian League hae disqualified six men for periods ranging from .three months to twelve months. r- A big cycling handicap recently held in ■-one of the States resulted in 'an. exciting finish between the three placed, men, the Winner being cheered by the gathered thousands as he just srtueezed home his tyre in front of the second man (states an Australian scribe). "Well." said a friend, entliusiMtically shaking bis hand, the same evening, " I suppose you'll takg a trip to Europe A '■' or Am-rica with that prize of £250." The cyclist shook his head sndlv. "I don't think it would take me further than Ballarat,,, he said. "AH I trot out of it was -■: £52 10s." This little Melbourne anecdote gives rise to the question, " H*ow • much Ay money will O'Brien make but of the Syd'•'v;V.';.""'.|iey Thousand, if he ever receives it?" At } present itis in the safe and sticky bands l>f the law courts. . y "Regarding the impoi-tation of for-jcu erac&s to appear on the race track during ''Ihe coming season, information is to hand vfrpm Sydney '(writes "Portis" in the "Ausjii . v lralasiari"fto the effect, tha* the Summer yAy. Nighte .Amusement Committeels cpmpletA . , -log arrangements with Ellegaard, tbe Dany ish champion, for his appearance in these Ay' States, and tie sum mentioned is £20*00-— sn amount equal to that which Major aylor woo-yed. It appears that the -overtures '■-- ' ' 1 ./y A ■■■ ■"■'.-' *'- : '-A ' -.' :

with the dusky rider have been abandoned, though for what reason is not clear. The only explanation which presents itself to me at the moment is that Major Taylor having already appeared' before the Australian pub/lie for two consecutive years it has been thought expedient* to procure fresh blood if the interest ih the sport is to be maintained. Moreover, from all accounts it .eerns certain that Taylor wili be in Australia, whether engaged or not, and this being the case the wisest course has been adopted. It will be interesting to learn what riders will -compose the American contingent, for many have-been named as " intending " to visit us. . After four years' incessant training, and having plaoed all tho Australian amateur records, paced and unpaced, from a quartermile to thirty oniles, to his credit, Arthur Smyth has finally retired from the track (reports a Sydney writer). Included in his list of records are three which stand as the best for Australia, and there is one world's record. For the past two months Smyth has endeavoured to eet a motor to pace him for the mile, and although the three fastest motors in Sydney were tried, they were not rapid enough to give him the pace he want-ed-*-lmin 24sec for the mile; Smyth thought that with proper pace he could have broken lmin 20seofor the distance; The best performance in his long list. of records is hjs thirty miles, in March ,last. WJien he obtained this record he was going for the hour record, but when" ho had covered thirty miles in 48min 26seo tbe motor -met with a mishap and put an end to the ride, in which he would have covered close on to forty miles in th© hour had he been enabled, to finish. Smyth's Speedwell, which he rode this year, war, fitted with 180 in gear, the highest ever ussdi by a paced rider in any part of the worid. Mr Smyth's list is as follows : — Quarter-mile, flying, 23sec ; halfmile, flying, 46 2-ssec; three-quarter-mile, flying, lmin Usee ; one mile, flying, lmin '32 l-ssec ; five miles, flying, 7min 54 2-ssec j ten miles, flying, 15min 53 2-ssec; thirty miles, flying, 48min 26sec ; quarter-mile, standing, 34sec ; -halfrmiki standing^ 57 4-5 sec;, three-quarter-mile, standing, lmin 21 l-ss6c ; and one mile, standing, lmin 45 l-ssec. It is debatable, says the "Lancet." whether the noise of the engine of the average car should be reduced, because of the danger that would follow in the wake of a speedy road vehicle which gave no continuous warning of its approach. A? a matter of if act the noise of the exhaust in motors in a- great safeguard. - A twelve hours' motor-cycle match between Osmont and Anzani, two French motor-cyclists, recently took place on the Pare des Princes track, Paris. Anzani won easily, covering forty-three miles in ,the half day, an average speed of nearly thirtyseven miles an hour, and this despite having to repair a punctured tyre. The long-standing rupture between the National Cyclists' Union and the Irish Cyclists' Association has been healed, and at a conference of representatives of the Englieh, Irish and Scotch TJnion* an agreement was drawn up., whereby all licensed riders of the three countries will be able to compete at any authorised meeting in Great Britain or Ireland. The beginner is apt to use pints of oil where a few drops would suffice. All the frictional pafts of a bicycle require only a film of oil. It is not necessary to deluge them. The difficulty in using the oilcan is in regulating the flow of oil to such a nicety that only the requisite number 'of drops are injected. Sometimes a sufficiency of oil will come out of the oilcan without squeezing it, but, in any case, the bearings and other frictional jiarts require very small doses of lubricant. \ America still has a .tourist who affects the " good, old ordinary " machine ; and on last accounts he was wheeling through Ontario, Canada. He is known as Karl Kron, and (he is said to 'be one of the quaintest of men. On being asked why he retained

the steed of twenty years ago, Kron said that he may the better view the soenery, and be on a level above the hedges. He tours for the sake of exercise, fresh air, and scenery, but when in the hurry at home (New York) he uses the safety bicycle. Bobby Waltham, the crack American pace follower, who had hardly returned from a successful tour on the Continent .when he was seriously injured in a mix-up while racing at Boston, showed the marvellous recuperative powers of the welltrained rider in that he was not only -out and about again in a. few weeks, but toward» the end of July he. competed in a five and a ten-mile event, winning the former in 7min 6 2-sgcc and the latter in 13min 55 4-sse'c. . The final stage of the Tour de- France, an unpaced annual road event, in *ix distinct stages,* ended on July ,24 on the Velodrome dv Pare des Princes in favour of Maurice Garin — the famous rider's second victory in the race. Pothier, who was second' last year, occupied a similar position -on' this o ccas i° n > while another Garin, brother of the victor, was tbird. The whole of the route was 2388 kilometres, or. in round figures, 1492 English milee, and the winner's time for the six stages was 93hrs 6min 24 2-s«c. Owners and drivers of big cars will appreciate (says a contemporary) the.advantages and the saving of time which a pat-, •nit motor wheel, recently placed on the English market, will confer. Most .of th* big cars, when out on an extended journey, carry a spare tube and cover, but this patent is a wheel complete— rim, tube and tyre— which, if a puncture or blow-out is experienced, may be* clamped' to the rim carrying, the damaged tyre, and tho journey resumed in much less time than it would take to repair, the tyre. It is known as the Stepney patent motor wheel. 1 The foremost of the world's sprinters contested tho German "Derby" at Cologne on July 24, among the number being Rutt, Ellegaard, Arend, Mayer, Bader, Jacquelin, Otto Meyers and Ivor Lawson. Ellegaard and Mayer were put out by a collision, and those qualifying for th© decider, whjch was competed for in three heats, were Meyers, Lawson, Bader and Rutt, who finished on points in the order named. Meyers also won th© Lohr Memorial Scratch Bace, of 1 mile 428 yds, at . tho same meeting, Rutt finishing second, Jacquelin third and Lawson fourth. In the Lyons — Marseilles stage of the Tour do France some exciting incidents were recorded. Near the town of St Eti enne some persons bearing spite against tho competitors had strewn the road with nails and broken bottles. One rider, a Belgian, named Knops, fell, and was cut somewhat severely. At another point of the road the leading competitors were fired at with revolvers, but luckily none of the shots took effect. An attempt was made at St Etienne control station to mob Maurice Garin ' one. of. the rider*, but he was rescued by threo or four of his friends, armed with revolvers. .A. W. Hunt, on the Crystal Palace track on July 20; broke Chirm's British amateur record for twenty-five miles, which had held good since September . 15, 1900. Records from 11 to 25 miles were broken. The times were i— ll miles, 21min 53 4-5 sec; 12 miles, 23min 57 3-ssec ; 13 miles, 25min 58 2-ssec ; 14 miles, 27min 58 4-5 sec ; 15 miles, 30min 4 4-ssec ; 16 miles, 32min 4 4-ssec ; 17 miles, 34min 3 2-ssecj 18 miles, 36min 5 2-ssec • 19 miles, 38min 5 2-ssec ; 20 miles, 40min 6sec ; 21 miles, 42min 6 l-ssecj 22 miles, 44min 6 2-ssec; 23 miles, 46min lOsec ; 24 miles, 48min 13se.c ; 25 miles, 50min 15sec I am asked to decide the following question (writes C. H. Larette in the " Athletic News"): Which wheel causes side slips' My view is that if the steering wheel will only keep up, no matter how the driver waggles about, you will not come down. In the days of large smooth tyres I solutioned a piece of webbing into which a lot of the stuff had been previously rubbed, that preserves, it from rotting, *on to the steering tyre, and found it excellent. Again, you may* sive yourself when your back wheel slips, but you are perfectly helples-s when once the steerer starts going. I therefore Bay that the real danger come? from the steerer, \or front wheel. Tt seenis' wonderful how they find money in France for cycle contests (writes C. H. Larette iv the ." Athletic News ''). Maurice Garin, who-jwon the Tour de France, received £239. \ while Pothier, who was second, got £I§6 for his trouble. The distance was 1492 j miles, and the average riding of the winrier abont 15£ miles "an hour. He had less than four miles to the good of Pothier, so a ptincture might have altered the result. We /could not, I think, get £25 toa-ether in thi? country were anyone to buy or organise V road race of this descrip-. tion. The French race; the expenses of which must, have run into close on four figures, was. promoted by the Parisian journal "L' Auto." \ •-. The British Entire Xjtiianpionships were de'ciilecl at Newcastle on Jnlv 23. H. D. Bn-rk (England) won the mile in 2min 45 3-ssec ; ,- J. S. Beiiyor (Enylarid) the quar-ter-mile, in 31 4-ssec ; and D. Flynn (Scotland) the five miles in 39min 49 4-ssec. On the following Saturday the N.CXT. championships were decided at Barrow-in-Fur-ness. Syd Jenkins (holder) won the quar-.tfifc-mije and one-mile professional chantpipnships in 32 3-ssec and'2min 17 l-ssec respectively. Titeyrijve-inile professional was/declared "no ■face," as the time-limit was 1 exceeded. A splendid race in the fivemile amateur resulted ,in Leon Meredith bejnar declared the winner, with A. L. B*ed second;' Time— l4min :i5-j;ec. A. E. Wills arm*»i 0 d the .wntt-fitfe mile amateur chamI piorwltfp from Meredith (holder) by a wheel iin 1& ,9inu_ 20 2-ssec. v ''■■:■ Writing t>f; punctures lefwis me to punc-ture-preventers, and a-s I halve failed to buy one whiphr was anything lfike what I re- ' quired I triod «a *Xs&vaißm> Jiwwttks. p.

H. Larette in the "Athletic News"). I laced a band of leather, about an inch wide, on eaoh of the back forks, and in each I inserted one end of a- band of metal shaped to the exact curve of the tyre with as little clearance as possible. Thus, if any puncturing substance be picked up by the tyre it does not reach the air tube at* once ; it will be forced out by the metal band. It would, however, be very awkward to fix when a rim brake is attached to the back forks, but in such a case it co-uld be attached to the stays: Even the old-fashioned preA-cntative, a "piece of wire or catgut stretched between thetforks, so as to just clear the tyre, is better than nothing at all. Prevention is always better than cure. It may be laid down an as axiom that to properly enjoy any pastime that pa&ime must be taken seriously; tho same rule applies to one's work or profession, of course, but there are many people who think that an amusement indulged in in earnest is robbed of half its pleasure. To most, however, the mere dabbling m cricket or "oif, or even ping-pong, is unsatisfying, and°these are not- content unless they can play their own particular game really well. The dilettanti in cycling, especially, cannot get much fun out of the sport— for through the casualness of their riding th«v are never in condition for hill-work, of which, half one's riding generally consists, and they are never sure of their machines, from the fact that they seldom- trouble to overhaul them. Tlie 'feeling of fitness that results from regular and steady riding, and of security due to knowledge of the condition Of one's machine, double the pleasures of cycling and the man who lay* up his ma-chinT-or weeks at a time does not know what he loses. Frank Kramer, known to the cycling world as the " Cycling Wonder ," was defeated in the opening bicycle meet at the Stadium, St Louis, on August 2. when . Fenn came home a winner of the one-third mile circuit championship event by more than two wheel lengths. Kramer was second and Menus Bedell third. Moyd Krebs. was the other starter in the final. The Australian rider, F. H. Scheps, was among the competitors in this event, but he failed f-o qualify in his heat. The time of the final heat was 45 2-ssec. On the second day of the. meeting Kramer, when looking all over a winner of the one-mile professional championship, suffered a tyre explosion, and Fenn secured his second victory. Scheps again competed unsuccessfully. On the third day Kramer, who lias been champion of the N.C.A. circuit for the past three years, annexed the title again on August 5 when he won the two-thirds mile grand circuit championship, being, according to an American scribe, •' presented with the race by his partner, W. Fenn. The race demonstrated that Fenn is Kramer's superior, despite the fact that Kramer is the champion. In the final heat Fenn could have romped honie a winner, as, although Kramer was 'riding his best, Fenn caught him without, effort forty yards from the tape, passing him a few inches and then purposely failing back, so that Kramer mi gift* win."