The Great Canada Bicycle Tour of 1883 by John Cumming
Next year will mark the 140th anniversary of an amazing group bicycle tour. Organized by the Chicago Bicycle Club, the Great Canada Bicycle Tour attracted 40 “practiced riders” who set out from Windsor on July 2nd, 1883 to bicycle a 640 km route across Southern Ontario.
Planning for the Great Canada Tour was announced in “The Wheelman” magazine in 1882, where the purpose was stated in most inspiring terms …
“For the promotion of bicycling in its most legitimate field, viz., its use as a practical vehicle of transportation through the country where the roads are good, its health-giving e...