CYCLING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19036, 3 April 1930, Page 14

CYCLING

BY

“WHEEL."

FIXTURES. April s—Hinds Sports, cash and amateur. April 19—Maheno Sports. April 21—Temuka Sports. April 21—Kowai Sports (Sefton). April 21—Enfield Sports. May 3—Mairehau Sports Club’s Road Race. May 10—Southbrook Road Race. May 17—Clarkeville Road Race. October 4—Oamaru to Christchurch Road Race. There are no cycling events on the programme for the Marshland Sports which are to take place on Easter Saturday. The meeting is being conducted under the rules of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association. The inability to secure a suitable track is responsible for the absence of cycle races. ss Amateur and cash cyclists are having a quiet time at present. Until the Easter fixtures there will not be much doing in connection with cycling. Next Saturday the Hinds Athletic and Cycling Club will hold a road race and a sports meeting. Very few Christchurch riders have nominated for the meeting. In all probability the Christchurch Cycling and Athletic Club will open the road season on Saturday, a quarter mile dash against time on the asphalt at Halswell. The Mairehau Sports Club will commence operations on May 3 with a twenty mile road race. Entries will close with the secretary, Mr J. H. Parsons, or with Mr P. C. Lucas, 131, Worcester Street, ’phone 37-142. :* J. R. Robertson the well known road and track rider, who joined the Samoan police force, has returned to Christchurch owing to the force being disbanded. He looks fit-and well after his training in the North Island and will be racing at Hinds on Saturday next. Up to the present W. W. Crofts has not met with a great deal of success in the North Island, where he has been racing for the past two weeks. He should be prominent before the season is much more advanced. :* :: :* Phil O’Shea competed at Manaia at the big meeting there on March 22. A second place was all he could gain. F. Dawson, who was in camp with the Samoan police force, with J. R. Robertson, has not returned to Christchurch. He has gone to Auckland to join A. C. Ritchie. Mr L. W. M’Neill, of Gamage’s, Ltd, Manchester Street, is organising a “home trainer” competition and exhibition. The competition will commence in his shop on Tuesday night at 7.30 p.m. and will continue on Friday night at 9.15 p.m. Entries are invited from riders to ride the home trainer for fifteen minutes and the rider registering the longest distance in that time will receive a prize. On Monday night representatives of the Canterbury centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association and the North Canterbury Centre of the New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union met to discuss the matter of reorganising each other’s disqualified wins and other matters of interest including the reinstatements and registrations. All present were unanimous in agreeing to the proposals put forward by the chairman, of the meeting, Mr R. Beattie. The suggestions made will be forwarded to the respective centre meetings for approval. 1-2 2-2 E. J. Peek, a young rider of Wellington, has been training on the north road. He is a strongly built rider and will be a keen starter in coming road races. A medal, which was a prize in connection with the Dunlop Derby Road Race, was picked up at Southbridge, and has been handed to Mr P. C. Lucas. It is inscribed: “ 15 miles Handicap, Youths under 18 years, First Prize. C. J. Had ley, 20-11-09.” Anyone knowing the whereabouts of C. J. Hadley, please communicate with P. C. Lucas. At the Melbourne motordrome recently, Hubert Oppcrman defeated R. W. ( Fatty) Lamb in a ten-mile motorpaced race. Opperman gained the verdict by a bare half-length in one of the most exciting races witnessed at the motordrome. The time was 12min ?o ,£5 sec ; Ther . e was an attendance of 12,000. Lamb is anxious for a return match, and is confident, after the experience gained in the race, that he can win. s :-2 :-2 One of the outstanding features of the cycling carnival on the Brisbane Velodrome recently was the brilliant m m m m m m m m m in m m in is ® ® ® m m ©

riding of Jack Fitzgerald, the former Victorian, who equalled the 440yds world’s record of 28sec (for a standing start). The world’s quarter-mile record of 23 4-ssec, held jointly by Willie Falck-Hansen (Denmark) and Ivor Lawson (U.S.A.), was reduced by a fifth of a second by Hansen. The record did not stand for long, as Matt. Engel (Germany), who had the assistance of motor pace, got wound up and registered 23 1-osec. Engel also won the five miles scratch race in 9min 47sec, wonderfully fast time. Christchurch to Dunedin Record. In view of J. W. Jordan’s proposed attempt to lower the unpaced record from Dunedin to Christchurch, the following account of Alf Birch’s successful motor-paced * attempt from Christchurch to Dunedin, taken from the “ Lyttelton Times ” of September 28, 1910, is of interest:— Alfred Birch, a cyclist well-known in connection with road events in Canterbury, made a successful attempt yesterday upon the paced cycling record between Christchurch and Dunedin. He completed the journey in 12 hours 57 minutes and established new records for three of the shorter stages of the distance. The previous official record for the distance was that made by A. Humm on January 27, 1909, of 14 hours 1 minute, which was 4 hours 19 minutes better than that of the previous recordholder, A. C. Calder, who covered the distance on March 1, 1899, in 18 hours 20 minutes. J. Arnst rode the distance in 12 hours 21 minutes on April 14, 1909, but the ride is not officially recognised, as it was not observed by an official of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen.

Birch started from the Christchurch Post Office at six o’clock, under conditions which were highly favourable. There was a very light breeze blowing from the 'north-west and he rode to Timaru in an almost dead calm. As on his previous attempt a few days ago, Birch was paced by a team of three motor-cycles and supported by a motorcar with refreshments. Included in the passengers in the car was an official of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen, who acted as timekeeper. Rakaia, 36 miles, was reached at 7.34; Ashburton, 53 miles, at 8.19; Rangitata, 78 miles, at 9.26; Geraldine, 89 miles, at 9.51; Temuka, 99 miles, at 10.16; Timaru, 112 miles, at 10.43 J a.m.

The previous record to Timaru was 4 hours 50 minutes, established by J. Arnst during the early part of ” last year. Birch rode to Timaru at an average speed of 23 miles per hour. The journey to Timaru was made without the slightest mishap, cyclist, pacers and supporting car all making non-stop runs.

Birch stopped at Timaru for eighteen minutes. He made Otaio (127 miles) at 11.4». Studholme Junction (136 miles) was reached at 12.16 p.m. and Oamaru at 1.42 p.m., without stopping. So far Birch had maintained an average speed of 214 miles per hour for 166 miles. He was ahead of Arnst’s Christchurch to Dunedin unofficial record bv eighteen minutes having covered the distance to Oamaru in 7 hours 42 minutes.

Maheno (170 miles) was reached at 2.21. Between Maheno and Hampden the roads were found to be bad, and the eleven miles occupied forty-nine minutes, while from Hampden to Kartigi the pace had to be slackened for the same reason. Kartigi (194 miles) was reached at 3.35 p.m. and from there to Palmerston South the road -was bad all the way. Palmerston (205 miles) was reached at 4.17 p.m., after a hard struggle over practically thirty miies of bad roads. The nine miles between Palmerston and Waikouaiti were covered in thirty-one minutes, leaving 1 hour 33 minutes in which to cover the remaining twenty-seven miles of the journey in drder to beat the unofficial record. Birch, however taken a good deal out of himself by attempting to maintain the pace or. the bad roads, and the journey from Waikouaiti to Dunedin occupied him 2 hours 9 minutes, the southern capital being reached at 6.57 p.m,, making the total time for the journey 12 hours 57 minutes, and constituting a new official" record for the distance. 241 miles. Considering the exceptionally hot pace set over the first half of the journey, the rough nature of a large portion of the route, and the large number of water races which have to be crossed, the ride must be recognised as an extremely creditable performance. The result of Birch’s fine ride is that he now holds the official records between Christchurch and Timaru (4 hours 43* minutes) and Christchurch and OairfJ™ (7 hours 42 minutes) as well as the Christchurch-Dunedin record while the unofficial records made by T. Arnst for the three shorter distances were also beaten. The time from Christ-, church to Timaru is sensationally fast m view of the fact that no fewer than wat ? r race s have to be crossed between the two centres.