’CYCLING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXI, Issue X, 3 September 1898, Page 304

’CYCLING.

Cycles have for years past been used by news agents for distributing’ newspapers, etc., in the big’ cities, but they are now being' widely used by provincial newspaper proprietors, who find the cycle a long way cheaper medium for delivering newspapers than the old time horse delivery. No carefully dressed woman would think of cycling in the same corsets as those she walks in. since it is absolutely necessary that the bust should be as unconstrained as possible. Parisians wear corsets cut on this principle when awheel, and although large hips are the result, this is in accordance with the dictates of fashion. For once it is in accordance with comfort also.

Says the London Daily Mail: ‘Commercial circles in Birmingham are looking forward to a disastrous reaction from the cycling boom, which attained its zenith a year or two ago. Already the depreciation in capital invested in cycles amd accessories within the last twelve months is estimated to represent at least £ 10.000,000. The workers have already had a foretaste of the impending collapse. During the hey-dey of the boom the Birmingham trade alone found employment for 14.000 or 15,000 men. Night shifts were in operation in most of the factories. and at one period of extreme pressure the hands toiled for sixteen bom’s at a stretch. The backwash of events has changed all that. Fully two-thirds of the 14,000 or 15,000 have had to be dismissed, and this number will receive a heavy addition if the. anticipated crash conies. Coventry is also suffering, ami in Nottingham the dismissals have been on a wholesale scale. The intelligent worker if interrogated attributes his misfortune to over capitalization, leading to ruthless retrenchment at the. behest of shareholders hungering for dividends. On this point it may be mentioned that one heavily capitalized concern stated in its prospectus that it had sufficient orders to keep all its hands going for two years. Within four months the men were working’ on short, time, and a. month later the factory was being closed for practically six weeks. Birmingham opinion inclines to the belief that the high priced machine is doomed, and that what the prospective wheelman of today wants is a cycle which will reach him at twelve or thirteen guineas at the most.’

Bicycle racing seems, by the nature of things, destim’d to pass through the history of trotting horse racing, and eventually to class with it, if. indeed, it does imt fall beneath it. Some men who own fast trotting horses can get more pleasure in driving them over the road themselves than by hiring drivers to send them over a track in competition with others. Accidents happen so frequently from the faulty condition of front forks that it is well to pause ami consider this vital part of the wheel. The trouble is not always in the construction; in fact, it seldom is. The trouble lies in the adjustment which should be so perfect as to prevent any ‘play’ in the lower bearing. If the. adjustment is imperfect. there will lie a wear liable to cause serious accident. (irrniiin anti English uompanirs, says mi American journal, are trying’ to convince people that a high-grade wheel cannot be made for less than

the old time prices, and the curious part of the matter is that many believe the re|>orts to lie so.

Cycle races on the. Home trainer are now catching on at Home. The Melbourne ‘Sportsman’ states that this form of racing has been :ulopted with success at several of the London Music Halls, where exciting contests took place nightly between half a dozen com |H‘ti tors. Additional interest is added by a panoramic view of one of the London tracks, which forms a. suitable back ground, and helps to make the contest a most realistic one. One of the ‘flying brigade’ appointed by the Melbourne police authorities to capture erring cyclists has come to grief whilst cruising round looking for scorchers. The consta.ble came into collision with a large Newfoundland dog. and received a severe fall and shaking. A bad time is now promised to the owner of the dog. Perhaps good may accrue from this accident, a.nd some action be taken by the police to keep people from allowing their dogs to stray round the streets to the imminent danger of all cyclists. It has been generally supposed that there is little or no chance of a bicycle being struck by lightning, but an English doctor recently had a rude awakening by having his machine struck whilst riding, the bicycle being completely shattered. The rider had a miraculous escape from death, he escaping with a severe shaking. The police patrol are haivng a high old time in running down scorchers round Melbourne just now. Every week sees batches of offenders before the city court, the majority of whom are fined from 10/ to 20/ each. From appearances the. treasury promises to receive a nice amount from the present crusade on scorchers. The presiding magistrate now threatens to double the fine, with an option of 48 hours. This should speedily put a stop to scorching in popular thoroughfares. Other capitals should please note. They have a remedy now at hand to put down an evil that brings the sport into disrepute. An interesting match between a. cyclist and a pedestrian took place at the. Brisbane Amateur race meeting. The N.S.W. crack, Charlie New, met ami defeated J. Barton, a pedestrian of Brisbane, over 100 yards. The race was from a standing start, with the wind behind. New winning by two yards in 9 3-sth sec.