ADVENTUROUS CYCLIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 3804, 8 February 1927, Page 71

ADVENTUROUS CYCLIST.

JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD. SYDNEY. January 21. Unconcernedly there pedalled his way 7 into Sydney 7 this week a cyclist who had more than half fulfilled his ambition of travelling round the world on a push bicycle. He was Emmanuel Kotulsky, a young Latvian, who left Riga 586 days ago, and has since visited more than 20 countries. Kotulsky, who is 32 years of age, was a Rusian citizen before the war, during which he was an aeroplane pilot. After the war he decided to become a journalist, and it was partly to qualify for that profession, allied to an unquenchable spirit of adventure, that prompted him to set out on his long and arduous journey. Clothed in a Boy Scout uniform, now faded by the suns of many lands, and with one arm thickly adorned with the insignias of different nations, Kotulsky presented a slim, boyish figure, and one wondered whence came the reserves of stamina and strength necessary 7 to endure the hardships and fatigue arising from the journey of such a nature. Tangible proof of Kotulsky’s wanderings is given in the form of two volumes in which are written signatures of people with whom he has come in contact in al' the countries he has visited. Beginning with the President and Premier of the Latvian republic, wishing him success on his enterprise, the books contain greetings and announcements in a hundred-

and-onc forms and languages, and handwriting in a thousand-and-one styles. The latter range from the bold scrawl of an Englishman to the incomprehensible symbols of Japanese and Chinese. When Kotulsky 7 returns to Latvia, one of the books will go into the republic’s archives; the other will remain the adventurer s own treasmured possession. Kotulsky left Riga on June 14, 1925. He passed through Latvia, Lithunia, Dantzie, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Jugo-Slavia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Aden, India, Burmah, Siam, French Indo-China, China, Japan, and Macao. Thence he shipped to the Philippines, whence he came by a Japanese steamer to Thursday Island, and then Townsville. He landed at the latter port five weeks ago, and has since been wendin his way southward. From Sydney, Kotulsky proposes to take a steamer to South America, finding his. way 7 by’ his trusty bicycle to North America, and then by steamer to Europe. Kotulsky has maintained a route he planned before leaving Latvia, and he estimates that if he is successful in returning to his native land his journey will have taken him to over 40 countries and a distance of 40,000 miles. About two-thirds of that have been covered. This “ night of the wheel ” has maintained himself during his journeyings by the sale of a small card bearing his photograph and giving details of his enterprise. He has travelled with light luggage, of which the least dispensible is a camera. He has sent home more than 2000 snapshots, as well as articles to the press. He expects to reach Latvia about the middle of next year*