CYCLING

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VII, Issue 352, 22 April 1897, Page 2

CYCLING

[By

Rim.]

Auckland, October 27th, 1896. To the Proprietors, Sporting Review, Auckland. Dear Sirs, —I have pleasure in advising you that the Sporting Review has been appointed the Official Organ of the Auckland Cycle Club. Yours faithfully, J. P. HOWDEN, Sports Secretary.

A Southern writer says next season will be the busiest ever known in the annals of New Zealand cycling, so far as racing is concerned. English and American cycling papers now devote considerable space to Australian wheeling items. In a recent issue the English Cyclist enlarges upon the merit of Richardson’s trans-continental ride from Coolgardie to Adelaide. The ride is considered one of the most remarkable ever accomplished in Australia, and a Rover light roadster was ridden throughout without mishap. It would be suicidal for a man to undertake a journey of this description on an inferior mount. Ken Lewis has temporarily retired from racing. The New Zealand Cyclists Touring Club membership has reached close on 800. In the Bordeaux to Paris race - this year motor cars will be used for pacing purposes. In 1895 there were only ninety professional bicycle racing men in the United States. Now there are 1973. I hear that endeavours are being made by a visitor to Auckland with the local Cash Club for Lesna, the French rider, now in Sydney, to ride here. The idea would be to promote a meeting to be held in about three or four weeks time, with the above-named rider as the principal attraction. The Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cycle Club, at a meeting held after we had gone to press last week, decided not to send Reynolds Home. This was partly due to the difficulty in Reynolds arranging his business satisfactorily during his absence, and the lateness of the hour, which, as I remarked some time ago, would be all too scant for a sound preparation. Miss Harwood, the English professional cycliste has thrown out a challenge to race any other lady rider a distance of 25 miles. This has been accepted by the French wheelwoman, MissMarced Vautro. Tom Linton is back in Paris training on the winter track. Asked his opinion of young Champion, la prodige Francais, he remarked that the “little Frenchy” was a second Michael, and that he had arranged a match with him, wherein the hour record was likely to suffer. Tom is having five electric tandems built by the Gladiator people, and says he feels sure he can, with their assistance, put in 33 miles for the hour on the Catford track. H. Thompson and A. Donn who were recently suspended by the New Zealand Cyclists Alliance for being paced by cash riders when attempting to lower records have been warned and the suspension removed. The Paris Felo says:— “Three cyclists had a spin along the Nile, when one of them, who was in front, suddenly fell over an obstacle which lay across the road, and which turned out to be a crocodile. The cyclists at once jumped from their machines, one of which rolled against the animal, which, opening its enormous jaws, closed them over the back wheel. Suddenly a loud explosion was caused by the puncturing of the tyre, which so frightened the crocodile that it swiftly disappeared in the river, leaving three astonished cyclists and a punctured tyre behind it.” Surely no one could doubt the accuracy of this ? Now that Reynolds is not going to England, the colonial competitors at the Glasgow (World’s) Championships in July next will consist of 0. H. Jones (New Zealand), W. L. Kerr (New South Wales), and B. Goodson (Queensland).

We have paid a visit to the new Show Rooms opened at 8, Wellesley Street East by Messrs Baker and Baker, as agents for the Collier Two-Speed Bicycles and the Hollis Bicycles, and must say we are much impressed with the appearance of both makes of machines. The great boom in the Two-Speed Gear should at once make them popular in the hilly district of Auckland, and to many riders who cannot afford to pay for this extra luxury, the Hollis Machines are the best and cheapest ever shown in the colony. When the last American mail left John S. Johnson was laying so seriously ill at Minneapolis that he was not expected to live. A week or two back an application was made to the Taranaki County Council for permission to run a motor car on the County roads, but the councillors feeling dubious about granting it have adjourned the matter. Dr. George Herschell, an eminent specialist in diseases of the heart, gives it as his opinion, that a high gear with a proportionately long crank is less exhausting than a low gear and its consequent fast pedalling; the doctor is himself an ardent cyclist, therefore he is in a position to quote as an authority This is rather a sticker to the theorists who assert that the increase in gear, so noticeable during the last twelve months, has been a great factor in producing heart disease, and it is now generally admitted amongst those who have tried high gears —that is, from 80 to 104— that under ordinary circumstances the high gear is less fatiguing in a speed contest than one from 70 to 76 would be. Next season, we are told, some of the English cracks intend to ride gears up to 120, but the fact must not be overlooked that to get the best results from these extra high gears there are two things absolutely necessary, the first is the length of crank required. Eighty to 84 should have not less than 7in, which should be increased as the gear rises. The second consideration to be looked to is weight of machine. It is hardly possible to get a feather weight racer, say 201 b or 211 b, rigid enough to stand the strain of a high gear, and the consequence is a loss of power. A machine with 80 gear is light enough at 231 b. As the gear increases so also should the weight of machine. Some of the world’s best riders use racing machines up to 261 b weight. Three British wheelmen, Messrs. Fraser, Lunn, and Lowe, who are riding round the world, were in India when the last mail left. These gentlemen are writing up their experiences for several leading English and American papers, and in the principal cities of India they delivered lectures. Thev have had some thrilling adventures. The Madras Mail of March 16 says : ‘ ‘ From Calcutta they go probably to Burma, then to China, Japan, Australia, across America from San Francisco to New York, and then by steamer to Southampton for London. Mr. Fraser, the leader of the party, says : 1 We had a rough and perilous journey from Teheran. In the first 300 miles the tracks were hard and cycleable, afterwards they were rocky. For long distances riding was impossible. We were frequently stoned Food was scarce. The accommodation in Chapparkhanahs was horrible. On the mountains of Kolikush we were lost in the snow. We plodded on till we fell from faintness and abandoned our machines to look for the road. Wolves were about. We spent all the night among the snow. We reached Dehbid nearly dead, after being ' twenty hours without food. Another night we encountered bears. Persia is a hopeless and uninteresting land.” A startling invention has just come to light in England. It is called the “Eureka” driving wheel for cycles and motor cars. The inventor explains that it is a cycle on rollers, with the earth as a plane, and that a mile a minute can be accomplished with this cycle. It is geared to 250 in, but is propelled as easily as a 60in gear. The machine is frictionless, and the heavier the rider the faster it goes. So popular has cycling become in Germany, that an enterprising individual has hit upon a plan for enabling cyclists to pursue wheeling on the ice. The front wheel of the bicycle is taken off. the front bars are lengthened, and a long sledge runner is fastened at the lower ends. The rear wheel is covered with a band, in which are fixed iron points to avoid slipping. On hard snow roads it is said that about the usual speed can be

maintained, but on smooth ice the machine attains great speed with slight effort by the rider. A like machine is now in use in Canada.