Additional Information
Special Achievements
- 1931 - First person to ride a bicycle from Melbourne to Adelaide and return (both directions).
- Aged 19 years, Doreen rode her bicycle from Melbourne to Adelaide (607 miles) in 4 days, 21 hours. The final 171 miles was over the formidable Coorong Desert and on to Adelaide. Two weeks later, she rode back to Melbourne in 3 days, 23 hours, 56 minutes. She became the first person to ride both directions, a record which stands today.
Additional Information
- Woman cyclist 1920s and 1930s.
- Made cycling history by riding alone from Melbourne to Adelaide.
Resources
Link - WOMEN in CYCLING 1930s: Doreen Middleton and Navy Cycles
The Cycling Scrap Book
Link - GIRL CYCLIST'S RECORDS. CLAIM FOR BICYCLE.
Trove: Argus (Melbourne, Vic.: 1848 - 1957), Friday 18 December 1931, page 10
Link - Woman Cyclists' Journey
Trove: Advertiser and Register (Adelaide, SA: 1931), Wednesday 3 June 1931, page 6
References
- (1971, September). Doreen Rode into Record Books. Bowls News and Views, 31.
Image - Doreen Middleton
Doreen Middleton, Essendon, Victoria, the pluckiest of girl cyclists, who rode from Melbourne to Adelaide in 4 days 20 1/2 hours (607 miles), covering nearly 130 miles and on the final day being on the saddle 22 hours.
Photo provided by, and used with permission of, Leon Sims
Image - Doreen Middleton
Doreen Middleton's amazing performance a few weeks ago, in breaking the record from Melbourne to Adelaide and Adelaide to Melbourne (described in our July issue), will be long remembered in the history of Australian cycling as a complete victory of mind over matter in the face of tremendous odds.
Photo provided by, and used with permission of, Leon Sims
Image - Doreen Was Dauntless
Photo provided by, and used with permission of, Leon Sims
