Untitled

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 59

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

BY DEMOS. *->•— In consequence of the recklessness of oycUst9 and motor c^olleta in the mors crowded parte' pi Pruioes street, and tba many acidente th*.t iiave resuited thetefrom, the General Committee wili recommend to ibe City Ommoll that cyoli*te tmo TOOtos 40EOUit| Itf «Bfluc*}li j?£ohibito<J f rort )r Jdifli

in Princes street between Dowling street and Brown-Ewing's corner. If this drastic remedy is carried, no doubt the local Police Court will be very busy for a few months to come. I warned both cyclists and motor cyolists some months ago as to what would Jikely be the upshot of the reckless riding m these parts of Princes street. If. the recommendation does become law it is to be hoped the riders who err in this direction will receive exemolary punishments at the hends of the presiding magistrate before whom they may appear. The, motor gymkhana and floral fete got off or. Saturday under the auspices of the Otago Motor Association and the Early Settlers Association proved 1 a most interesting function. Practically the whole of the lcoa! motor car-owners took part :n: n the sports, and the cars ranged from 6 h.p. (o 56 h.p. The exhibitions of driving given by the amateur drivers was, in a • number of Instances, of a high standard, ' and in the Turk's head competition, Mr T. Sinclair, in his Talbot, gave a splendidexhibition of steering. The steering race through upright posts was perhaps *he most severe test undertaken by the drivers, most of whom managed to get throjigh on the forward run, but when it came to working on th« reverse several of the cars — or rather the posts — came to grief. Two of t guse of tht driYeri, however, managed to

complete the forward and reverse course j without lniahap, and coneidering the oharpf turns "to be negotiated 1 and that time taken, to complete the distance counted, the winners in the two steerine classes — Si M'Loan (Be Dion), G. Olark (Buick), 0. .T.i , Fox (Humber), and S- R. Stedman (D»r* racq) — arc deserving of praise for their per- ,' formanoe3. The futile attempt 3of several I of th 3 drivers to drop a potato in each tin- ' passed when catering round the ring at a fast pace in the Potato Race proved most amusing, and this was a good item in the[ day'd sport. The race termed "Avoiding; Danger Steering " was hardly a convincing^ test, as the attendants in eaoh oar had tOL stand up and hurl «, dummy in -front of the machine, and the driver had to "dodge'* 1 ' the obstacle. * In a great number of cases, however, the dummy— as if endowed' witli iife— dodged the car,, the bounce on the^ dummy striking the ground throwing it ou( of the course of the oncoming motor. StilF,' in many instances the oars answered the\ steering-wheel in great style, "and figure 87fj were exeouted by the drivers with greatl; oelerity. Several other items also helped tot sustain the interest of the large number oftj ' spectators, who waited 1 patiently to the end 1 to see the piece de resistance — the , two- 1 ' mile motor car race. This event, however^ proved somewhat disappointing, as oni, /■ three oars out of the large number enter eci for the race faced the starter. Geoff Clark, in hi 315 h.p. Buick.. was first away when the pisto! fired, and the advantage thus gained enabled him to keep ahead of T« Sinclair, in his Talbot, while the De Diora was left a long way in the rear. In thelast lap the Buick came away fror.i tha Talbot, and finished a good bit in front. The time for the distance — 4min lOsoc— . was very good, and quite fast enough for, the cars on the corners, in the first round, especially, the machines skidding out somewhat dangerously. Mr P. R. Sargood, who won thai sash and bow-tying^ competition, and) finished well up in the other events, entered into the sports with great zest, and drovtf his Argyll in a very creditable manriet* indeed. Mr Acton- Adams (Humber), Mr Ti Sinclair (Talbot), and Dr Fulton (Rover) 1 also gave good exhibitions at the steering) wheel. — —Of the other drivers, Sir Jamed Mills's chauffeur, Mr Carr, in his big Daimler, gave a splendid exhibition, and though^, he failed to greatly distinguish, himself aq a prize-winner, his evolutions in the Daimy !«r excited general admiration. G. Clark. S. R. Stedman, and T>. Hutton also showed) that they were quite at home at the steering wheel of a motor car. Mr E. E. Stark had rather bad luctt in the best-decorated motor car event. H« had gjone to great trouble to make hie 15 h.p. Vulcan a regular bower of flowers, but) did not arrive on the ground till after the judging of this event had taken place. Otherwise Mr Stark's car must have easily, secured first place. Some of the drivers gave the mechanism of their machines pretty severe testa on Saturday, and on several occasions when the reverse was being put in the cars gave forth audible protests at the Usage they wera being subjected to. However, it was apparent that the type of cars- taking part i« the sportp were built of high-grade material,and they each and all stood up to their work in first-class style. - — The Otago Motor Association official* gained a great deal of experience on Saturday in the running of future motor gymkanas. Towards the olose of Saturday's sports the events began to drag, and the different offioiaJs seemed to lose control somewhat of the proceedings. However, taking- into consideration the fact that this was the first big prymkana undertaken by the local association they got it off in a. most praiseworthy manner. Light- weight motor cvclcs are now 1 , becoming very popifar. Messrs Cooke, Howlison, and Go. report that the p?.sfi month has cleared out their last shipment/ of F.N.'s. while two orders are awaiting the arrival of the next shipment, in ft fortnight's time. 1 Dv Will, of . Rangiora, an old Otago cyclist, was through Dunedin about a week ago ii- hi.; 8 h.p. Rover, garaging «t Messrs Cooka, Howlison. and 1 Co. The doctor say.ft he has been getting splendid work from his. little car. The Rover Company are at the present time selling a 6 h.p. car in England' at a cost of a little over lOOgs. Racing/ the engine while the car iftt \ stationary is a fairly common practice. ttl&<. l

■jrhile the motorist may be frequently adTised not to do so, the exact nature of the disadvantage is not uniformly understood. In the first place, running the engine at a greater speed than that for which it was Resigned involves straining it excessively, owing to the inertia of the parts and the tremendous vibration it occasions. More ihan this, however, excessive speed of revolution involves additional wear, and may jbe compared to a certain amount of extra jwe. Thus, if the normal speed of the engine ie 1000 revolu Lions per ••niniite, acjpelerating it to 1200 revolutions means that uuy crank-shaft must turn over no fewer tt»an 12,000 times more in the course of ivn hour than it would do tt the norma.' **te of Bpeed. This is equivalent to ~*2 minutes '" of extra running at the normal ;rute. Hence, with even this moderate acceleration continued uniformly, it may be Bsrid ihaA for every five hours of running the motor parts receive an amount of wear equivalent to that of six hours under more neariy standard conditions. In this way it is very easy to account for the compara.tively short life of many motor engines. — — The Dunlop Rubber Company has received a cable message from the New York Herald, stating that the contestants in the (jreat motor race round the world are SIM \iodard (30 horse-power Motobloo), Pons fILS liorse-oower SLyure-MaudinL St. Chaf-j

fray (30 horse-power De Dion) — the French contingent; Sirtori (Italian, 28-40 horsepower Zuet), Mase (German, 40 horse-power Proto), and Roberta (American, 60 horsepower Thomas). Much disappointment was expressed by the absence of Prince Borghese's name from the list. MM. Godard and Pons were contestants in the Pekin to Paris race, and, on the face of it, it seems that the first-named is the best qualified to undertake such a task as the one under notice. — — From a purely touring point of view, most motorists will a«ree that tyres are now the only source of trouble and vexatious worry (says a Home paper). Several firms appear to recognise this point, for one or two tyre nianufactuTere now go bo far as to guarantee their tyres for a certain number of miles. The troubles arising from tyres,- however, are not altogether due to the manufactured article, but in many instances are owing to carelessness and reckless driving, and especially is this true of the paid chauffeur. Tyres are a very expensive article, and should be well looked after, even the slightest fault being at once remedied Again, too many drivers turn corners at too acute an angle, and this is not beneficial from the standpoint of the tyre. j No settlement has been arrived at in I connection with the dispute between the 1

pany are increasing their stock of motor omnibuses, and h*ve just purchased 14 double-deck vehicles, with a view to improving their omnibus services. The enterprise of the railway companies has been very successful. — — One feature in connection with the the Melbourne saucer track, and which the riders were not slow to recognise, is that the man in the lead at the bell is invariably the winner (Bays i: Fortis" in the Australasian). Therefore, before this point is reached there are frequently seme totigh struggles for the coveted position, for unless a man i& very fast in his sprint, or is comparatively fresh, he has little hope of rounding the leader. Yet this is not_the only difficulty. There are very few^of the racers •who can, in sprinting against another, hold a stoaight course — one parallel to the track — and the slightest deflection of the wheels while moving at top speed is magnified ten-fold, which means a lose of yards, and possibly the race. At each succeeding meetincr the riders are showing improvement, and save for a few flutters caused "by a new hand on the track, the circuits are negotiated with commendable evenness. — — "Drunk while in charge of a motor 'bus" was the offence for which Thomas Greetham, of Acton, England, was recently sent to prison for a month by a Olerkenwell police magistrate, who said* "I won't treat this as an ordinary case of drunkenness. You were responsible for the management of a terrible machine, and it was imperative that you should be sober. You will not only go to prison, but your license will be revoked also. I shall always in similar cases send drunken motor drivers to prison." It has been sa. : d frequently enough that the digestive organs are interfered with in the performance of their functions if the subject continues physical effort, but there must be some exceptions, judging from what the participants in the New York six-day race consumed in the way of edibles during the contest. Rutt and Stoll, the -winners, averaged per da- <61b of the very best cut sirloin, 71b of chops, five chickens, and during the week they disposed of a 101b bag of rice, several pounds of oatmeal, a dozen pots of marmalade, and six dozen eggs. Fogler and Moran between them ate six chickens, 61b of steak, and 61b of chops a day, and several bunches of celery. Their drink consisted of several bottles of Bass's ale per day, while during the week they disposed of 18 pints of champagne. Neither took eggs, except as an ingredient in sherry flips ; distilled water was handy as a. standby. The principal engine trouble likely to be experienced by the cars taking part in the round-the-world motor car race will be the freezing of water in the water cooling system adopted on most of the standard petrol cars (the cylinders having jackets in which water is kept circulating by the a.id of a meohanic&lly driven pump). Should the water freeze — and 1 even the adopting of anti-freezing mixtures will hardly prevent this — then cracked pipes md jackets must ensue. A Sydney writer refers as follows to the present position of cycling in Australia : "There appears to be a general revival in professional cycling now, and if the Federal Cycling Council meets. in the winter it will be able to put matters on a good footing so far as the various leagues are concerned for the anticipated revival of interest in professional racing which many of the leading promoters think will eventuate in the next season. The amount of interest 3eing taken in the saucer track at Melbourne lugurs well for jhe eport if will see that the racing is of a hi<7h order and more novelties are introduced." 1 am indebted to the Birmingham Post for some interesting figures respecting the returns of last season's cycle trading. Fourteen firms have increased their aggrespafp- profits over those of 1906 by about 6100,000. while on the other hand thirteen joirraanies' figures show £50,000 less. The •esult is thue on the right s : de by £50.000. Enis favoitrable balance is due to the ;n-:rease; n:rease in thf t)rofits of two firms, Plumbers, 848.000, and Dunlops, £35.000, and in both ;he motor plays an important part. The aest known companies which have more han held their ovm a^e Rovers. Premiers, Elaleighs, Triumphs, Lucas, and Alldavs. "m the other side th eeTP&test. fnlling off is ;nat of Rudge Whitworth. wh>'ch has gone lovrn nearly £19.000. while New Hudeons ire clown about £7000. Centaurs nearly 39000, EnfieMs £5000. Swifts and Brooks "rh about £4000, and Bowden Brake about 33000.

I Olympic' Games Committee and the French ■ athletic bodies. As a matter of fact, the- " I breach is widening, for the French Cycling 1 Union and other organisations have issued notices prohibiting the members from enter- | ing for any of the events to be decided at the Stadium in July. Even if the differences with the Olympic Committee were , adjusted, there would still remain the amateur definition difficulty. Cyclists who raoe in France as amabeurs arc allowed to receive travelling expenses, tyres, etc., and, - the services of a ti'ainer. English cyclists . who are known to accept travelling or other expenses are promptly declared professionals. — — The question of the French union's definition of an amateur is to come up for discussion at the annual congress of the Union Cycliste Internationale this month, the National Cyclists' Union of England having given notice of a proposal making the adoption of an amateur definition similar to that in vogue in England. A lively debate is predicted. In looking through the condensed summary of the principal motor races and competitions which were held during 1907, and which are set out in the new edition of the Daily Mail year book, with exhaustive statistics of the chief technical trials, hill-olimbs, races, and records held in England during that year. British manufacturers and motorists generally will be gratij fied to note that British cars were very successful compared with their foreign rivals. The most successful French, car was ; the Darracq. which obtained three first j places; the Mercedes, a German car, has seven firsts to its credit, whilst the most j 6ccoessful British cars were the Napier and j Daimler, the Napier having been first 19 times and the Daimler twice. It is well known that Great Britain is by far the largest and most important market for motor ears in the world, and it is for this reason that all the leading makers send cars to take part in the principal British races and competitions. The latest production of the Napier Company to compete the foreign vehicle is a 10 horse-power motor cab — the taximeter motor — of which thousands are now in use in the principal cities of the world. Some good racing was witnessed in a 24 hours' race at Boston, which was won by the Iver Lawson-Moran team (Moran was one of the team which finished second in the New York six-days' race). The dis- i tanoe covered was 461 miles one lap — an everage of 19.2 miles per hour. N. M. Andersen, the Dane, who was in Auetralia with Ellegaard several years ago. also competed, his team being sixth, with 460 miles nine lap 6. Further American advice is to the effect that Chapman, manager of the Salt L<ake saucer, is building another track in that, city, to be covered on all sides with glace, and furnished with cushioned seats, of the opera-house type. Chapman says he has also prevailed upon Major Taylor to appear. Races will be run all through the j winter, steam heat being installed. Bicycling VTorld states that whatever • of belittlement may b© said of the annual American six-days' race, the event not only . attracts an enormous crowd and stirs its , enthusiasm to a high pitch, but it gives the > bicycle more publicity than all other of the I year's events put together. — — A steam car syndicate in England hope to have a car ready for Brooklands racing this year. It is said that Mr Charles Jarrott will drive the car. •The precise attitude of the English motor trade towards the proposed race for 26 horse-power oars, in the Isle of Man this year, has not yet been made known, but from various indications it would seem probable that opinion is generally in favour of holding it. The race, if held, will be the nearest approach to the real road racing, t as they have it on the Continent, that they | have had in England. j — — English railway companies are more and more recognising the value of motor cars and omnibuses for linking up different parts of their systems and bringing the tourist in touch with ' picturesque districts. - Many beauty spots on the coast and inland, to which the railway has not penetrated, are now becoming 1 favourite resorts, owing to the easy means of communication and the pleasant excursions provided by motor vehicles. The Great Western Railway Com-