ON THE WHEEL

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume X, Issue 491, 21 December 1899, Page 6

ON THE WHEEL

I By

Cyolos.

Three large American factories have combined, in order to save working expenses. The output of the new factory is estimated at from 60,000 to 100,000 machines per annum. The proposal to lay a cycle path from Adelaide to Glenelg is receiving strong support in the South Australian centre.

F. W. Chinn won both the One-mile and Ten-mile London Centre Championships for 1899. At a special meeting of the Wellington Amateur Athletic Club, held last week, it was decided “ That this club, although in sympathy with the New Zealand Cyclists’ Alliance, could not see its way clear to hold a combined championship meeting. The Melbourne A.N.A. committee is hiring out motor tandems for sports meetings. The committee has a motorpaced race on. the programme for its big carnival, to be held at the Exhibition Buildings next January. W. C. Jackson, who is riding in splendid form this season, won the Wheel Race (two miles) and the Ten-mile Scratch Race at the Melbourne United Friendly Societies’ Sports. It was shown by figures made public by the formation of the American Bicycle Company that the average profit on each machine during the years 1897, 1898, and 1899 were £1 6s 6d, £l, and 19s respectively. Tom Cooper, who takes the position of American champion for 1899, with 49 points, is said to have become independently rich through - his winnings in the past. He has strived to gain the coveted title for years past, but never until now has he reached the goal of his ambition. It is stated that “ Major” Taylor has rejected an offer to go to France to race, under a guarantee of prize winnings to the amount of £3OOO. His reason for refusing is that he would not race on Sunday, as the contract required. A meeting of the North Canterbury Centre of the League of N.Z. Wheelmen was held on November 28. The foliowig gentlemen being present: —Messrs F. T. Pannell (chairman), G. King, E. Collins, H. Thompson, G. Biltcliff, Kennedy, H. Wilkinson, W. Burns, T. Clarkson and A. Donaldson. The following permits were granted :—Ashburton Sports Association, December 16 ; Oxford Cycling Club; St Andrew’s Caledonian Society, Kaiapoi, December 18. The following were appointed a’ touring branch in connection with the Centre : —Messrs F. D. Kesteven, T. Clarkson, H. Thompson, W. Burns and H. Wilkinson. The Cheviot Cycling Club was affiliated. The club recommended the appointment of Mr F. D. Kesteven as its delegate. It was decided to ask the club to select another delegate, as Mr Kesteven already filled the office of secretary to the League. A special permit was granted to the club to hold sports on Boxing Day, Correspondence was received from the League Council concerning reinstatements and the granting of licenses. A report was received from Mr C. H. Cotton, chief consul of the Centre, on the recent meeting at Lancaster Park of the Oannterbury Athletic and Cycling Club. .Reference was made to the accidents caused by ovelcrowding. Mr T. R. Hogg was appointed sub-consul at Leeston and Mr D. McDonnell at Ashburton. Permission

was granted to the Oxford Club to change the date of its race meeting from December 23 to December 28, but it was resolved to inform the club that unless amateur events were placed on its programme the permit would be cancelled® The action of the Permit Committee in granting a permit to the Ashburton Sports Association for December, when Alliance events were also on the progrmme, was confirmed. The St Andrew’s Caledonian Society, Kaiapoi, asked leave to have its permit for December 18 cancelled, as it intended to hold a meeting later on - instead. The application was granted. A novel competition is to be held in connection with one of the big English cycle shows, the object of which is to provide practical tests of the efficiency of brakes. These may be either hand or back-pedal applied. The machines upon which the tests are to be made are to be fitted with free wheels, and the scheme of the contest is that each cyclist shall have fitted his own particular rim-brake, and each man will start at intervals from the summit of a fairly steep hill. His machine will run free, and at a given signal he will apply his brake. The judges will then see how long it takes each brake to pull the machine up “dead” and the distance traversed after the brake application. No competitor will know when the signal to “pull up” will be given so that he cannot in any way be prepared for it. The conditions of the contest seem fair enough, but whether they will be accepted by the public and the trade aa conclusive is another matter. The measure of brake power is dependent upon the velocity attained, and the velocity dependent Upon the momentum. A heavy rider will, all else being equal,, travel down hill faster, and consequently require a more powerful brake'Strain to pull him up than in the case of a lightweight. J ' A correspondent to the Melbourne “ Cycling News” puts forth a peculiar theory, in answer to a query as to why riding in the evening seems easier than riding in the daytime :—I, als an old trainer of athletes, would propagate the following theory that might be of interest to your readers:—At the hour of your birth, owing to atmospheric gravitation or like causes, all the faculties are at their zenith, and if you find out the precise hour you became a burden on this terrestrial hemisphere you will find at that time you feel far stronger and more jubilant than at any other period of the day. If I was challenged to a match and allowed to fix my own time I should unhesitatingly choose between 11 p.m. and midnight, as it was at that hour 1 was born. This theory is not intended as b joke, but is given in all seriousness, and if any of your readers will carefully note his condition as he approaches the hour, he will find that there is more in this theory than anyone would give credit for.—Yours faithfully,—R. Onians. The Otago Cycling Club held their monthly meeting on December 4 when the following gentlemen were present :■ — Messrs Myers (president), Begg, Cole, Jago, Alloo, Townsend, Brown, Finnegan, Courtis, and Moller. It was unanimously resolved that the annual sports meeting be held on January 27, 1900, and that the following events constitute the programme :—Amateur events: One-mile and Two-mile Bicycle Handicaps. Open handicaps : Running, 220yds and Halfmile Handicaps. Cash events : Halfmile, One-mile, Three-mile Championship of Otago, Otago wheel Race of two miles, One-mile Volunteer Race. In all, £ l 0Q ; is given. Mr 8. McLean was elected to fill the position of committeeman, vacant through Mr F. J. Townsend being elected hon. treasurer. A large amount of routine business was transacted, and several new members were elected. The world’s amateur champion milei, T. Summersgill, is said to have retired from the track. Tierney is in good form at present, and deserved better luck than ho had at Selwyn. He won one race on the club’s, programme..

Teddy Reynolds is said to be riding in great form at present. In England an association has been formed, styled the Roads Record Association. They will only recognise unpaced records.

L. M. Jackson, who was recently disqualified for one month for not trying in his heat at the E.M.B. Club’s Meeting, has been allowed to ride by the Appeal Board.

The days of free entry and appearance money are evidently past and gone, and all racing men are now placed on the same footing ; judging from the decision of the Freemantle Club and Union in refusing, free entry to Healy, Portia, and others. JiX Beauchamp won the Melbourne Bicycle Club’s Plate at the Austral Meeting in 3min 32secs. Cochrane was a length away second, while Cole was two lengths behind third.

A cycling match for £lOO, over three distances—one, five, and ten miles—was recently run in England between H. Brown and C. H. Jones, the latter winning the match by capturing the two shorter distance events. Jones figured in the papers as “the well-known Australian, rider”, but colonials do not know him. According to an English cycling paper, Major Taylor is coming to Australia at an early date. If Taylor comes to the colonies, he will be a great draw card for the various meetings at which he rides. The annual race meeting of the Christchurch Cycling Club was held at Lancaster Park on Saturday and Monday last. The events proved very interesting and were keenly contested. The results were as under: — Half - mile Bicycle Handicap : H. L. Williams 1, Chalmers 2, Willis 3. Won by a wheel, after a great race. Time, Imin 3-ssec. New Zealand Wheel Pace, two miles: First heat —G. Body 1, C. C. Derrett 2, C. C. Willis 3. Time, 4inin 30sec. Second heat—E. Reynolds 1, R. J. Cooke 2, J. E. Power 3. Reynolds won by three lengths, in 4min 39 4-ssec. Third heat : —W. H. Paget 1, R. Campbell 2, W. Tierney 3. Time, 4min 33 4-ssec. Fourth heat —Bennett 1, J. C. Chalmers 2, A. W. Humphreys 3. Won by two lengths, in 4min 37 3-ssec. Final—G. Body, Christchurch, 310yds, 1; W. H. Paget, 295yds, 2; W. Tierney, 30yds, 3 ; N. J. Cooke, 130yds, 4. Won easily, in 4min 31 sec. Provincial Scratch Race : Reynolds 1, Bennett 2, Barker 3. Won

easily by three-quarters of a lap. Time, llmin 35 3-ssec. Anniversary Handicap, one mile: E. Reynolds, scr, 1 ; J. Chalmers, scr, 2; A. Hueston, 65yds, 3. The Pursuit Race was won by the North Island team—Reynolds, Chalmers, Tierney, Bennett. J. Chalmers, in his heat in the Half-mile Handicap, won. from scratch in Imin 1 2-ssec, thus establishing a fresh N.Z. record. The Austral Wheel Race was won by P. Beauchamp, 150yds, Matthews 120yds, being second, and Thorne, 200yds, third. Beauchamp won by t two lengths, in 4min 29 4-ssec.