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Chapter 3

The Loneliness of the Long-distance Cyclist

Arthur Richardson dreamed of becoming the first man to ride a bicycle around Australia. To even entertain the notion took daring: to take the first pedal strokes on that 18,000-kilometre journey would take another level of courage entirely. Arthur made his plans, ignoring the ‘prophets of doom’ and the doubts in his own mind. On Monday 5 June 1899 he rode off into the unknown.

Arthur was not new to this game. Three years earlier he had ridden from his home in Coolgardie on the West Australian goldfields to Adelaide. In doing so, he inscribed his name in the history books as the first man to cycle across the Nullarbor Plain. Perhaps then, and only then, did the idea of riding a full lap of the continent take seed in his imagination. Young and fearless, Arthur already seemed destined for athletic greatness. But he was not alone. Intrepid riders, it seemed, were everywhere.