A captivating account of the first South to North crossing of the Australian continent on a bicycle, in 1897. "Then the bicycle, loaded now for the expedition, was lifted downstairs; I shook hands with the landlady, told her I might not be back for t ... Read more

A captivating account of the first South to North crossing of the Australian continent on a bicycle, in 1897. "Then the bicycle, loaded now for the expedition, was lifted downstairs; I shook hands with the landlady, told her I might not be back for tea and not to keep it waiting, and quietly pedalled away…" This is how, without any sponsor, and almost no one knowing about his plan, that Jerome Murif departed from Adelaide with the firm intent to reach Port Darwin, more than 3,000 km (1,900 miles) away, and be the first to cross the Australian continent by bicycle from South to North. He did so with very little food and gear, and at a time when roads were non-existent, on a bicycle that didn't have gears or brakes. Far from the speed record attempts, Murif did his crossing at a leisurely pace, even taking time to tour the Alice Springs region on the way. This account of his journey, first published in 1897, is based heavily on his own diary; it is full of humor and captivating from the first word to the last. Less