CN telegraph messengers Paul Lalonde (centre), 18, and Ivan Morin, 17, pedaled their bicycles from Montreal to Toronto in 38 hours in September, 1938. That's 347 miles in a day and a half, along the old highway.
Their mission was to deliver a letter from Montreal Mayor Fernand Rinfret to this wax figure of M.H.W. Waters, general manager of the Canadian National Exhibition (left). A train would have been faster, of course, but who the hell's in any hurry to get to Toronto? What we wonder is: were these guys paid to ride back?
"who the hell's in any hurry to get to Toronto"... so true!
ReplyDeletei'm definitely in a hurry to get out!
If anyone is interested, I actually found a group that bikes from Toronto to Montreal every July. http://bikerally.org/
They got around 300 people this year!