On July 31, 1908, Edward Popple set off on a 700-mile bicycle trip through the Basque regions of France and Spain. Popple rode a heavy, single-speed bicycle, often on sandy tracks or steep mountain roads, having adventures all along the way.

On July 31, 2008, Popple's grandsons James and Rob White set out to replicate their grandfather's journey. Riding 24-speed bikes on mostly paved roads, the brothers retraced Popple's path as closely as possible, having their own adventures along the way.

Read more about the White brothers' trip.

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The Charm of Travel note cards

The Charm of Travel

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by Edward Popple
with an Introduction by James White

107 pages with full-color illustrations
book $33.32; e-book $7.00

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It's August, 1908. Two friends--Edward Popple and Crawford Plenderleith--leave London to spend their holiday cycling through southwest France and northern Spain, carrying "a change of underwear and sufficient materials for a year's sketching." In their heavy tweeds and woollen stockings, they endure the summer heat and unrideable roads. They encounter travelling performers and an author in self-exile. They're harrassed by dogs and get lost in an underground cave system. And, it seems, they're perpetually thinking about food.

In this hitherto unpublished account written of the trip, Popple wryly chronicles their experiences and adventures, which he illustrates with his own delightful watercolors and drawings.