’CYCLING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXII, Issue XVIII, 6 May 1899, Page 612

’CYCLING.

In all probability the Gisborne Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club will apply for affiliation with the N.Z. Cyclists’ Alliance. At the last meeting of the N.Z.A.A.A., the secretary of the Gisborne Club wrote stating that the club had been affiliated with the League of Wheelmen for some time, but none of its members would compete in cash races. All the members of the club were amateurs under the Association’s definition. The club had held no cycle races, and had been compelled to join the League in order to retain command of amateur sport. It was resolved to write to the club suggesting affiliation with the Cyclists’ Alliance, and to send a copy of the letter to the Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club. ‘Bill’ Martin, the well-known American cyclist, has returned to Australia. At present he thinks of visiting Queensland, but in the meantime he has issued a challenge to race Walne over one, three, and five miles, the last two distances to be paced. Martin wants six weeks to train, as he considers himself green after coming off the voyage. The ‘lndian Cyclist’ is responsible for the following:—An amusing accident to a Chinese cyclist is reported. A festive Chinese, in gay apparel, was spinning along on his ‘bike,’ when his

feet suddenly caught the handles, and a retrograde movement brought him flat on the ground. On investigation, his much cherished queue was found to have caught on the hub of the wheel and was neatly wound up. It evidently won’t do to form a bicycle corps out of the Chinese regiment to be raised at Weihaiwei. The most thrilling race on record, were it possible to be organised, would be that of bicycle versus racehorse, trotter, skater, runner, racing ‘eight,’ and walker. In such a race the bicycle would, of course, figure at scratch, and over a mile course would have to give the following handicap allowances, the starts being allotted according to the records of each class, and the idea being to get a general dead heat:—Bicycle, scratch; racehorse (Bobadil), 30yds; trotter, 381 yds; skater, 653yds; runner, 1054yds; racing ‘eight,’ 1127yds; and walker, 1294yds. Although giving away these tremendous starts, the bicycle would be right u,p on the tape, and, providing all the contestants were in ‘record’ form, the judge would not be able to separate them.

The London daily papers are beginning to realise that the ‘man on the wheel’ is an important person to cater for. and the ‘Referee’ and the ‘Telegraph’ have begun to publish at the week end telegrams about the condition of the roads and the state of the weather in the districts around about London. Thus: ‘Harrow: Roads nice and hard, surface very fair; weather frosty.’ ‘Dorking: Roads very favourable, though rather dusty; weather appears to be unsettled.’' ‘Croydon: In a few places the steam roller is at work: every promise of settled weather.’ No doubt eventually we shall have wind and weather forecasts especially for the wheeling world. A municipal body in Ireland was recently responsible for the following lucid notice:—‘From the beginning of dark, every vehicle must carry a lighted lamp. Darkness begins when the street lamps are lighted.’ Lord Salisbury has been ordered tricycle exercise, and ‘trikes’ about Hatfield now, although he has not yet been out of ‘the open door.’ Cycling exercise, too, has been prescribed for Mr Chamberlain as a cure for the gout which plagues him from time to time. There will be more ‘wheels within wheels’ in the Ministry than ever. A new means of getting to the North Pole has just been devised in New York. The Lenz ice cycle is expected to leave the swiftest railway engine far behind. Given smooth ice, a fair wind and free pedals, and a good start, something very like perpetual motion ought to be achieved, unless the ice be thin, when ‘the rest is si-Lenz.’

Mr R. L. Jefferson is a good deal more veracious that De Rougemont, and his account in the ‘Wide World Magazine’ of his ride to Khiva is distinctly readable. This and Mr Foster Fraser’s book should appeal to all Imperial cyclists. Mr Jefferson, by the way, denies that he intends to ride from the Cape to Cairo.

Plucky Platt-Betts seems to be riding as strongly as ever again, and it is rumoured that he will probably be engaged to ride a Chambers’ cycle this season. If he has all the pace of yore he will he one of the Dunlop Company’s principal riders, together with Palmer, Chase, Chinn, Green, and Gascoyne.

To cyclists who have recently added photography to their hobbies, with a view to securing snapshots of the rural scenery while enjoying the fascinations of the wheel, the following description of how to secure the camera to the wheel will, no doubt, afford interesting reading:—lf it be of small size—say a quarter-plate—it is undoubtedly the best plan to sling is across the back with suitable straps, which will prevent its moving about; but a large camera is best carried on a carrier extending from the saddle over the back wheel. There it is quite out of the way, though one must remember to raise his leg up higher when dismounting. The tripod is best fastened along the top tube of the machine between the legs. Cycle polo has properly ‘caught on’ in Victoria: so much so that a Cycle I’olo Association has been formed by those interested, and the popular game will now be fostered by the Association. Altogether some thirty - three clubs have been nsked for their support, and in most cases it has been willingly extended, so that this exciting pastime promises to boom during the approaching season. The Dunlop Company, who were the first to intro-

duce the game into Australia, have arranged to re-publish a further supply of their book of polo rules, and will be pleased to supply, gratis, a copy to anyone interested in the game. Few persons have an adequate idea of the important part which the fabric plays in the operation of the pneumatic tyre. Speed and life owe their existence to it, and. as the fabric is, so will these virtues be, Strength must be there, also lightness, but neither of these is, alone, sufficient to ensure life. The finest fabric now used for tyre manufacturing is the ‘Dunlop Flexifort,’ a material that is beautifully made, combining as it does all the essential qualities of a good fabric. The Dunlop Company hold the sole rights of the Flexifort fabric, with which all Dunlop covers are lined, hence the resiliency and durability of the Dunlop cover. The question of the effect of climate upon pace is one of great interest. At present the world’s records are chiefly held by America; and it is remarkable that all these have been accomplished on American tracks. For a long while J. W, Stock’s 32 miles 1086 yards in the hour was considered absolutely unsurpassable. Platt-Betts at his very best attempted to improve upon it, but failed; and where Plat-Betts failed who should hope to succeed? After a considerable lapse of time the news came from America that Taylor, the French middle-distance crack, had accomplished over 33 miles in the hour in competition, and scarcely had wonder at this performance subsided when the cable announced that Harry Elkes, until recently a comparatively unknown rider, had ridden 34 miles 1229 yards in the same time. Allowing for the excellence of American pacing combinations, and the fastness of American tracks, it would seem that the peculiar rarity of the American atmosphere is responsible for these performances. At least, this is the opinion of many English riders who were in America at the time these records were made.