CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2896, 15 September 1909, Page 59

CYCLING AND MO T OR N OTES

BY DEMON.

The Timaru to Cliristehureb Road Race, to hz run this year on Saturday, October 30, under the auspices of the Ne»v Zealand League of Wheelmen, is endowed with £200 prize-money, made up of cash, bicycles, and tyres. Th© money is to be^ distributed as follows: — Firs' prize, £40; second, £26 (bicycle and cheque for £6 6s) ; third, £20 (bicycle) ; fourth, £15 15s j (bicycle) ; fifth, £5 5a (gold medal) ; sixth, £2 2e (tropiiy) Fastest time, £22 2s (bicycle and £2 %) ; second ditto, £20 (Bicycle). Fastest North Island rider (not winning any othiir special prize), £20 (bicycle); fastest South Island ditto, £20 (bicycle). Fastest unplaced rider (not winning any other special prize), £5 5s (cup). Certificates of merit will be awarded to all competitors completing tho 112' miles in cix hours and a-half or under. The raco will be run under the rules of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen. Competitors on scratch leave fiinaru at 9.30 a.m. sharp. Only road racing and roadster tyres are allowed, ai:<? any competitor accepting pace from any person other than contestants will be <H:>rjualincd No competitor shall receive or accept from any parson or firm any priza or i\?waivj other than that ■shown on t!.e official programme Footpath riding will disqualify; contestants must ride the machine they start on throughout the raco (all cycles will b* sealed at Tnn-aru to prevent changing) ; all tosiipetitors mas 1 be registered; ixho-rtking on co-.tun.es will not be allowed. Entries clcy.>- with the secretary League of New Zeafcim! Wheelmen (Mr F. L. Murray), Chriss-church, on Saturday, October 2, at 9 p.m.; entry fee, ss ; acceptance, 2s 6cf. Handicaps will bs declared on October 9. 1 and acceptances close on October 18, at 9 p. in I learn that two well-known Dunedin bu^in'-ss men— Messrs D. Haynes and W. I Dj.w^on — have placed oi tiers at Home for i motor cars, the machine in each in-taKL-e | l>"ingr a Ddimler, fitted with the Knight i valvolc-ss engine. < Mr Arthur Wimpenny is at pre-ent [ on a br.^ino.s trip to Ashburton, proclaiming the good qualities of the Vulcan car. The New Zealand Cup meeting in Nove-nber will probably -~p quite a contingent of cars on the read from Dunedin to Chrisfcchurch. Pe\crßl 'ocnl car-oivneri intend making the trip, and some of the li re cars aro aheaclv engaged. After all. it ia not much more expensive than train I fare. A \k -k'.s hire costs about £23. moie 'or le=s, according: to the amount of running which works out at £7 per pa^enjrer for four passengers, and saves train fare, cab hire, etc., in the Catherhal City. ! Mr H. E. LeCren lc-ft for the north ov Monday in his 16 horae-p~v.er Buick 1 learn that Mess=r-> Cooke, ITowlison and Co have taken ove<- the local agency for the "Silent Siddeley." ; A well-known local motoi car agent \vlio lias «onv3 ki.ow ledge of th& subject informs raj tbiit ths London hotsl waiter a<Ms n coi ic 'dcrab!e. sum to the aiiiount ho usually rcc?ivo^- :ti (:jk l<y acrid? as a tout for motoi car <mi.=. In the ccuifs of his ' tlailv duties, ">!'ouM a. waiter overhear one of the boirtler I—prc^ujnablv1 — prc^ujnablv a -visitor from overseas — e\pr< ss \n=, intonrio'i of purchasing a. car while ai Home, he at once communicat^s the fact to his particular car asfcnt. Tha visitor is shortly aft^r waited upon by a prominent tj^mh-r of th/» car company, who intimates the pleasure it will give him to take the visitor for a drive round the city, in the course of which, it- is

needless to say, the good qualities of the machine are thoroughly expatiated upon', and an endeavour made to plaae a car. This ' little device often leads to the visitor purchasing the car, the vendor thus ostensibly doing the courtesies to a traveller from overseas and also adding to his firm's sales, and the waiter receiving a very welcome commission for the part he has played in. the transaction Speaking at a smoke concert given by th© Automobile Association of Victoria, Kis Excellency the "Governor, Sir Thomas Gibson-CaTmiehael, said lie noticed jiiat the automobile Siad firmly established itself here, and had progressed remarkably during the past year. Lice many other motorists, his early experiences of the car were trying indeed. They never knew when- starting on a run whether the car would bring them home again. Thej found horses were still very useful — handy in hauling bade the car, and sometimes in taking it awfcy again. And when, ..« few years ago, the motorist desired to sell his car — and at that time some remarkably rapid changes of owners were mad« — tire true reason for the sale was that if the owner was not "broke" the ear was ! -It is reported that Francis Birtles, the Australian overlander, will start on another trip across Australia shortly. He is leaving for Fremantle, where "he will start on a ride across Australia, terminating at Sydney. Birtles will, it is said, take his time on thi6 trip, and will do -a. good deal of prospecting on the way. The growth of the English motor car business in this part of the world can bo gathered from the following figures, which represent the exports of British manufactured cans to Australia and New Zealand for a period covering the last four years. In 1935 the figures were: £*2,532 into the Commonwealth and £20,720 into New Zealand. In 1906 the respective figures were £89,281 and £62,453 ; in 1907, £168,706 and £123,428; whilst xp 1903 they had grown to £181,740 in Australia, New Zealand's imports dropping back So £117,731. As probably 75 pei cent, more foreign-made oars have been imported into Australasia during tht period mentioned, tho above figures will convey a fair idea of the growing popularly o* the motor oar in these colonies. A fine motor cycle ride has just. been recorded in England, an amuteui named J. B. Hart-Davies riding from LandV End to John o' Groats (the two extreme points of England and Scotland), a distance of 867 miles, in the exee£dingly fast time of 33hr 22min, equal to an average spaed of 26 irniles per hour. The machine used was a 5i h.p. Triumph. Why do some motorists entertain such extraordinary objection t< the 10milo limits enforced in certain towns and villages? asks a London writer. It is really difficult to understand. In praGtice not the slightest serious inconvenience is enitailed. It is merely a case of slowing down for a few minutes, which really involves no hardship whatever. Doubtless, if all drivers were onsiderate, such restrictions would be unnecessary. Doubtless, toe, it would frequently be possible to exceed the prescribed' speed without the slightest risk to any one. Unfortunately, however, all drivers are not- considerate, and &e> one and all are restricted. Why, however, the practice should be accounted such an intolerable grievance I (sa3 - s an Australian writer) am utterly at a loss to understand. Here, for instance, is "Owen John, 7 ' in the Autocar, who often writes quite sensibly, foaming at the mouth on the subject: — "Every 10-milo limit post drives motorists away to spend their money in places where such fooleries do not exist, and some day. perhaps, those responsible for them will realise their pound-foolishness." — ; — One of the most interesting- exhibits at the Victoriajn Agricultural Show was Gaunt's "Cycloplane," an invention that attracted considerable interest at the Olympia Show, London, and has since resulted in much newspaper controversy in England. The "Cycloplane" which has bean imported by the Dunlop Rubber Co., i* an aeroplane which is fitted umbrellalike to ■ cycle, the inventor. ilaim (backed ! up by numerous cycling experts) being' j that the contrivance makes cycling easier. ! by lifting a certaip proportion of the rider's weight off the tyres, thus assisting propulsion and eliminating road shocks. Tho_ plane, which is constructed of lu'orht laminated wood. l-Bin thick, weighs only 131b, is "A" shaped with the cross lin>-> well down, the length being about sft tin, and supported by a "D" shaped metal tube. The plane is operated by a screw wheel, anid can be tilted by tho ridor to any degree according to the direction of the wind. When cycling at 12 inil^s an houi into a 12 mile<* an hour wind, the lift of the plan 3is equal to about* 4 stone, ju~t !>&a\injf sufficient "road adhesion" for driving. For sailing with the wind, the piano is tilted' at tho stern end, whilst for riding into the wind the nose i? lifted, j tlw wind being carried d-jwn |>ast the ' nder's back, thus preventing the vacuum j that niak->=; rirlina: into a head wind such j hard work. With a fre^> wheel &n<\ a { strc'iitr, fa\ourable wind 25 miles an hour j has been coasted on fair roads with only ' half the ordinary vibration. The whole apparatus is boautifullv made, and when unclinp"d off the machine can be folded up like a b..ok and «o occupy little space when not in us». The "Cycloplane" is a link between cycling a.n<? flying-. The DunInp Co. intend to place thr> machine in ! th? hands of wrll-known Melbourne cyclists for evpr-rimental purposes o:i tho road. A cyclist who went for a spin on the Otamita road, near Gore, on Pvznday and left his machine in the tusiocks has had cause to remember his experience. During- his teinporarv absence from the locality someone set fire to the tussocks in the vicinity, with the result that the bicvc'.o was damajrorl beyond ropair. Another machine which was resting apainst the fence close at hand escaped injury. MOTOR POSTAL VANS A BIG SUCCESS. In referring to the motor postal vans, which have been runjiinpr m Victoria for son.etime, the Australasian states : — "The motor-vans in use by the postal authorities in Melbourne are proving grea.t economisers of time in several directions. They were first utilised to expedite the clearing of receiving pillars, and now, as an extension of the decentralisation scheme adopted by the department, the motors are being used to convey mail matter from the G.P.O. to suburban offices for local delivery. By means of this rapid transport to the several suburbs letters are now being delivered from half-an-hour to qua

] hour earlier than previously. Sir John j- Quick, the Postmaster-General, has given instructions that other suburbs are to be similarly treated, and the probability ir that there will be a great increase in the number of motor-vans at no distant date.'* ' TERRIBLE MOTOR ACCIDENT. A terrible cetaatrope took place on the cycle track in ' the Botanical Gardens at Berlin on July.l^, during the hour motor-, paced race, in which, Ryser and Stol were* amongst the competitors. Ryser was been® paced by Borchert vnd anothei rider an! a motor tandem — * huge horse-powered\ engine. Just ashe was passed by Stol, it skidded', and was driven against the' barrier, behind "which was a dense] crowd of spectators. • The machine andj riders flew over the barriei. Immediately! the petrol tank caught fire, and the spec-, tators &nd riders were uiveloped in flames. Several spectators were burned to death, while many others were injured.. One lady was pinned underneath the blazing tandem. The spectacle was something awful, while the firemen who rushed to the ecene wore, temporarily powerless by, the absence of proper appliances for putting out the flames, water, of course, being? useless. Ityser and Stol were both severely injured, and also the pacemakers, BQrchert, Kaerser and Porte. The track had only just been built, «ndi is constructed of wood, like the Buffalo Velodrome of. Paris. It presents a very fast, but treachery ous appearance. The terrible calamity will do an amount of harm tc motoring, and no doubt retard the progress 'of the . sport in Germany. The fact is brought home to us what *. risk these men run -with their cumbersome engines- and cycles in the pursuit of sensational leasure. At the moment there was very few tracks oapable of taking the speeds which can be attained by even. - ordinary motor cycles, yet in tj»&ir anxiety to gain notoriety some men axe prepared! to take risks by riding on tracks quit* unsuitable for the speed of their cycles. WIDTH OF TREAD. This is a subject which does not re- ' ceive the consideration it ought from many makers (says a Home writer). The narrowest width of a crank axle, so r.a to keep the pull of the chain direct, should be fully 4£in, but this distance is far too wide between the feet of the average .na« to enable him to "walk" with any comfort. Yet it is almost impossible to have - a really effective oil-bath gear-case fitted! to a machine that has a tread of much les« than 6in. It is this" as much as anything which has made me abjure the " gear case, although I think that weight and windage also handicap the rider to son» extent. The wider the tread the* greater tile strain on the tendons of the leg. SPEED IN CYCLE ROAD RACES. A comparison of the speeds averaged lit several long-distance road races will, now that the road-racing season, is nere, prove interesting and instructive. The following table gives the fastest times recorded in the various- races, and requires no other explanation : —

CYCLE ROAD RACE. CHRISTCHURCH, September 8. The New Zealand League of Wheelmen has issued the prize-list for the Timaru* Christchurch Road Race on Oetobsr 30« The total is £200. The first prize is £40, second £26, third £20, fourth £15, fiftib £5, and sixtn- £2. Special prizes include: Fastest tiiue, £22; second fastest, £20; . fastest North and South Island rider, each £20; fastest unplaced rider, £5. Th< entries close on October 2.

Race. I* is T3 o So5s Rider. Tiniaru to Christchurch .. Warruailibool to Melbourne Goulburn to Syoncy Beverley to Perth Bathurst to Sydney .'. *..' nobart to Launceston . . — 112 H. M. S. 6 17 16 18 — Aiehrtens 165 7 40 10] 21J T. Larcomb* 131 : 11C 6 35 36 8 1 33 20 ID T. Larconibe \V. J. H«thet 133U 7 30 45 18 O. Horder iuJ a 52 51 1 '7 E. Hard man