Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-09-17
Continent Tour
Two Ontario Cyclists Taking
the Roosevelt Trail-Will
Cover 1000 Miles


Portland, Me-, 7. B. Windross ano
his 17-year-old son. Raymond Win
droSs, called at the CaledOnan Office
Thursday morning to register witt
the secretary of the Commercial
Club as part of their program or
then 1000 mile tour of the Roosevelt
Trail from Portland to Portland
They are from Sarnia, Ontario, anG
are making the trip in the interests
of the Sarna Chamber of Commerce
and expect to eat their turkey or
Thanksgiving day in the city Of Port
land on the Columbia River. Mr.
Windross waI formerly editor of the
Canadian Observer at Sarnia and is
taking a three months vacation fol
this interesting trip.
They had their first adventure at
Island Pond where they arrived by
train Saturday on their way to Port
land. The United States immigration
officer refused to admit them into the
United States without passports
though Mr.. Windross had a letter
from the Sarnia Chamber of Com
merce and the American consul at
that city stating the object of the
trip. Both father and son were taken
off the train and locked up in de-
tention room. After the train for
Portland had left the otficious inspec-
tor came around and was then gra-
cious enough to. examine Mr.. Win
dross' papers and let the two out of
their prison. This delay caused then,
over "a hours wait at Island Pond
and changed their whole schedule.
They left Portland, Me-, at 1888
p. M, Monday and.at the end of the
day reached Casco, where they spent
the night. 1t is their plan to travel
eight hours each day and stop at the
end of that time wherever they may
be, avoiding hotels as far as possible
on account of the expense. Their sec
ond nights stop was at North Con-
way. They came through the Craw-
ford Notch Wednesday and the days
run ended at Waterford where they
slept in barn just across the Con-
necticut river. They left before
noon Thursday for Montpelier and
expect to reach that city by night.
So far their speedometers have reg
istcred 161 miles. They are travel
ing on Cleveland bicycles, made in
Canada, and equipped with Dunlop
tires. So far they have averaged 81
miles day and if the average should
drop to 40 miles a day they would
reach the Pacific coast in three
months schedule. They are travel
ing light, carrying only soldiers kit
bags on their wheels. The found
the roads in Maine abominable, but
fine in New Hampshire. So far they
have only run 10 miles in Vermont,
but found good roads and plenty of
hills.
While the Sarnia Chamber of Com
merce is backing the father and son
in this trip because the enterprising
city of Sarnia is at the western gate
way of the Roosevelt trail, Mr..
Windross expects to more than pay
expenses by his newspaper work.
One of the Portland, Me-, papers and
several western papers have already
contracted for his stories and both
the manufacturers of the Cleveland
bicycle and the Dunlop tires will buy
his story at the end of the trip. Mr..
Windross has a camera with him and
if the sun ever shines again, as he
confidently expects it will, he plans
to take many views for Canadian
pictorial newspaper syndicate.
The Roosevelt trail, which Mr..
Windross and his son are the first to
follow from start to finish, extends
from Portland, Me-, to Portland, Ore.
and covers about 1000 miles. Its
route from Portland to st. Johnsbury
has already been covered by the par
ty and through the rest of the state
the trail follows the regular highway
to Burlington, via Montpelier.
Thence it goes through northern
New York to Sarnia. Following up
the western side of Lake Huron it
skirts through northern Michigan to
Mackinaw straits to Duluth. From
the latter city it skirts through
northern Dakota and Montana to
Spokane, Wash. Then it sweeps
southwark to Walla Walla and