CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 993, 18 March 1909, Page 12

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

A Few Motor Maxims.—A car skidding is as much the fault of the driver as of the road; calmness means safety. agitat on disaster.—The road does not belong to the “god in the car”; it is public.—The man at the wheel is best left to himself. —It is often better to stop your car than to run risks; two minutes longer often saves t me. —In descending a hill have regard for those coming up.—Petrol is always in-flammable-—While the summer s here be gentle with the dust.—The left hand side of the road is the best. —An eye kept on the roadway is a great help at all times. —Best not to think a journey ended until it is finished.— To play the part of the “hog” w 11 certainly breed contempt; a careful driver is always appreciated.

Writing of the charm of chassisdriving, and the life and springiness of the incomplete car—engine and frame with a temporary kind of seat —an English motorist asserts that, after trying the same car with and without the body proper, that all clutches are undersized for body carryi ig. Without this added we'ght the engine seems ever cool and brisk; the speed increases rapidly, and the picking up iwonderful. The engine appears to take more spark, while the car re-

quires less start.ng effort, and also less stopping. This sense of control is truly exhilarating. Yet speed is not the charm- The ideal for pleasure is a.i average 25 miles an hour. The mach„ne has the build of a weighteal tier, and. for the nonce, is being allowed to run light; a racehorse by temperament, but condemned, in the ordinary run of its business to drag a dray. In chassis driv ng there is a lightness, almost a prance, in the irame itself. One can almost imagine that the chassis is enjoying the respite from the enslaving carriage work and meant to make the most of it. Coachbuilders, however, are born without compassion; they never realise when a chassis is being overloaded, or when the heart and life is being dragged out of the engine. They just piie on weight, and take no thought of weakened frames and loaded tyres.

It is stated that after Alarch. 1909, the motor-car will be the offic al vehicle at Washington. U.S.A., when two cars are to be placed at the White House for President Taft’s use.

J. Salvana, the well-known Australian road rider, has published a handbook entitled, “ Secrets of Road Cycling." He gives interesting advice to cyclists as follows:—“Much depends on the bicycle itself. A cheap one as a rule proves a disappointment. Leg and arm length should be taken into account when purchasing a machine, as a proper adjustment of both makes for more effective pedalling, greater ease in steering, and obviates a cramped action or awkward seat. Avoid the mistake of having too narrow a handle-bar, an evil which leads to cramping of the chest and consequent discomfort and exhaustion. Shoes without nails are ideal cycling footwear. Learn to pedal properly. When the leg is fully extended it should be possible by extending the toes to slip the foot under the pedal. The proper place in the revolution of the pedal to apply the full pressure of the foot is from top to bottom: behind that pressure should be the whole strength of the calf, thigh, and body. If you try to continue to press or really drag the pedal round the remainder of the revolution, you waste strength and energy. The other foot, while still (held firmly to the opposite pedal, by a sort of lift of the foot, helps to pull the rest of the revolution, each foot, of course, performing the same action alternately' "