 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2013) |
 | |
| Author | James Calmar Wilson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Travelogue |
| Set in | Present-day Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea |
| Published | 1936 |
| Publisher | Bobbs-Merrill Company |
| Publication place | USA |
Three-Wheeling Through Africa is an autobiographical book and a best seller written by James Calmar Wilson [1] in 1936 about the first motorcycle trip crossing the continent of Africa. [2]
Contents
James Wilson and Francis Flood were sailing around the coast of Africa as Flood was writing travel articles for his newspaper in the United States. On a lark, Wilson talked Flood into traversing the continent on 5 horse-power single-cylinder Triumph motorcycle. They encounter many trials along the way, often resorting to pushing the bikes where the paths were not suitable as they doggedly pursue a route through jungle and desert from Lagos, Nigeria to the Red Sea. Throughout the book Wilson refers to their adventure as the "Flood-Wilson Trans-African Motorcycle Expedition". Later Lowell Thomas encouraged him to write a book. It includes many encounters with tribal people, poisonous snakes and officers and expatriates from England and France in African colonies and outposts. [3] It was briefly reviewed in the Montreal Gazette in 1936. [1]
Only two years prior had any motor vehicle crossed the continent, that was by automobile. Flood and Wilson chose a route that took them above Lake Chad. Flood and Wilson are noted among long-distance motorcycle riders.