CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVIII, Issue 1053, 12 May 1910, Page 12

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

LADY CYCLIST’S RIDE. MELBOURNE TO SYDNEY. “Mary will back out when it comes to the finish!” So said the friends of Miss Mary E. Moriarty as they discussed her announced intention of cycling from Melbourne to Sydney. But she did not back out. On the contrary, on April 6, at 11.30 a.m., Miss Moriarty arrived at the Sydney G.P-O. quite fresh, after covering the 572 miles’ trip. It was not a record-breaking effort; just a quiet ride; and it extended over eleven days. But Miss Moriarty is probably the first lady to make the trip. It was her way of taking a holiday.

“They thought I would back down,” she said. “But I’d quite made up my mind. I knew I could do it, because I had tested myself. Before deciding on the trip I rode from Melbourne to MjOrnington and back one Sunday. That is thirty-nine miles each way, and once I rode from Melbourne to .Warrnambool and back in four days, and that is 169 miles each way. So I said, “If I can do that I can do Sydney.” And here I am. They said, “You don’t know who might stick you up going all that way by yourself”; but every old sundowner I met said “Good afternoon” or “Good evening,” and everyone was very respectful. Of course I carried a revolver; but it wasn’t loaded.” the last words were spoken in a whisper, and in a tone which seemed to indicate that the revolver was, in Miss Moriarty’s opinion, a much likelier source of danger than the terrors of a lonely road. Miss Moriarty said she enjoyed the trip, and only had two accidentsOnce as she came down the Money Money Hill, four miles from Coolac, she lost the grip on the free-wheel brake. “I got quite excited when I found it was getting away, find I started pressing hard on the wrong foot. The bike bolted fifty yards, and hit the bridge at the bottom, and I fell on my face in the sand.” The front forks were broken and a tyre punctured, and Miss Moriarty spent three hours repairing the damage. Later on a blacksmith took it in handThe next mishap was on the dreaded Razorbank. She had just started

•down the hill when the crown of the front forks worked loose. “ The handles began to wobble,” she said, ‘‘and the bike was getting away. So ; a bit. but if I hadn’t let go L would have gone right over the mountain. “I came all the way by myself, and carried a basket with a few clothes, weighing about 151 b. I stayed at Ihe towns I passed through each night, and had mealts on the way. There was no difficulty in finding the way; not a scrap. Mr. Sydney Day had given me a map. and whenever I was in doubt about the route J just took out the map.”—“Sydney Morning Herald.”