Tour de Oz, Bret Harris, HarperSport, $29.99

Before the car, the bicycle was supreme as a mechanical mode of transport. Across Australia, hardy souls known as “overlanders” set out to prove its value by criss-crossing the continent, vying with each other to complete a journey in the quickest time. Arthur Richardson joined them in 1896 by riding from Perth to Adelaide in just 31 days. Then he thought: Why not circumnavigate the continent? His idea caught the public imagination and three other riders — Donald McKay and brothers Frank and Alex White — joined the fray. In 1899, Arthur set out to travel clockwise from Perth while the others left Melbourne, going anticlockwise. Harris’s research is exemplary – the storytelling less so – and this is a fascinating tale.