4506 1111

was supposcd to be an ordinary straightaway handicap, was condemned, among other things, to ncgotiate cight or nine immense holes, about a yard 1 diameter, and of a sufficient depth decently to bury a New- foundland dog in; to bump off a grass- cdge four or five inches high on to shingly gravel, and up again a httle farther on: to make frequent ducks to avoid the fate of Absalom, where the track ran Dbelow overhanging trees; n one place to plunge boldly among foliage where a small tree on one side reached out affectionately towards another op- posite; in another to avoid utter jamming and smashing up with other competitors where the track suddenly narrowed ; and generally to look out for the casual brick, the msidious gully, and the fortuitous dead branch, as well as, perchance, the occasional legs of some urchin projecting from under the ropes, where he sat lowly and hugged a post. All this in the straight stretches, the corners, of which there were many, being of angles which scemed to preclude any possibility of getting past them except by the process of dismounting and carry- ing the machine round. So that, when a hole, several bricks, a gravel-bump, a dead branch, and a boy’s legs all oc- curred at a bad corner, where tree branches hung low, the rider had small leisure for meditation. On such a track as this little artifice 1s required to pre-

pare for an obstacle race, and perhaps the district may afford other and larger natural features, available as obstacles

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THROUGH THE STREAM.

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MAGAZINI.

After a miscellancous burst-ofl — such a burst- off as only a country meeting could show

a o wide ditch or strcam may be en- countcred, which must be waded knee or

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OVER THIE STEPS.

waist high, while the bicycle 15 carried over- head.

Indeed, the man who can best carry his machine has a very great advantage in con- tests of this kind. A bicychist wading through much slimy water and carrying his bicycle anyhow, on his head or shoulder, 1s m itsclf A spectacle always certain to generate mirth among a village crowd ; but when he stumbles

on thce uneven

bottom and goes

undcr with a ~—+ mighty f{lop, bag

. -, % and baggage, or

Co when he sticks 1n the mud, great is the joy of Willum and Jarge. A high hedge, especially onc with a ditch on thefurther side, is another good obstacle native to such a ficld as a