CHAPTER XVIII
PIONEER RIDES
Nothing has, perhaps, done more to advertise the bicycle and the assistance it provides than the long distance pioneer rides of years ago, when intrepid cyclists set out to cross the Continent of Europe or to make a tour of the world, using a bicycle wherever possible.
Among such notable performances are the late R. L. Jefferson's ride from London to Constantinople; Charles Terront's journey from Petrograd (then St. Petersburg) to Paris; a journalist's tour with two other cyclists round the world, etc., etc.
The writer was personally acquainted with the late R. L. Jefferson, and accompanied him on a 30 mile ride on the Saturday before he left England for Constantinople. Jefferson rode a Rover bicycle and did not encumber himself with a vast amount of luggage, relying on being able to obtain what he wanted as he went along. An account of the performance that was published at the time showed that in many parts of Eastern Europe there were no roads, such as we know them, only cart or mule tracks deep in mud or loose with dust. Jefferson had many adventures on the way, but eventually reached his goal and repeated the performance at a subsequent date, using a small single cylinder Rover motor-car.
Terront's ride from Petrograd to Paris was done in 1893, and accomplished in a few hours more than fourteen days. He travelled through Russia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, and France, and was accompanied
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