tcs

On December 16th, 1944, American doctor Major Clifford Graves went on a short cycle tour in Eastern Belgium.


Dr. Graves was a combat surgeon supporting the 106th Division and enjoying a quiet pre-Christmas respite in the war tempo when 25 German divisions broke through the lines, beginning what is known today as the Battle of the Bulge.



With the German tanks only miles away, Major Graves unloaded his medical equipment truck and on-boarded as many casualties from the field hospital as possible. By the time he got this organized and sent the truck west on the narrow road, the German tanks had arrived at the far end of the small village where the field hospital was located.



Dr. Graves didn’t want to be captured. What to do? Well, in the year and a half he’d spent in England before D-Day, he’d purchased a derailleur geared touring bicycle and did a little touring in England, Scotland and Wales. He’d surreptitiously crated the bicycle and included it in the medical equipment when they’d deployed to France the previous June. He hurriedly broke the crate apart and assembled his bicycle. By the time he got the tires pumped, the lead Panzer was just a block away. With a farewell to the GIs in the village who had no transportation, he rode out on the main road right in front of the lead German tank and pedaled away.



It was a horrible, cold, wet, desperate cycle tour that day, Dr. Graves at first barely staying ahead of the blitzkrieging Panzers. Graves came under German airborne ground attack, being strafed and at one point bombed. He passed through Malmedy and briefed members of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion about what he knew of the situation behind him. These GIs would be captured and murdered by SS troopers the next morning.



Late in the afternoon Major Graves arrived at Spa, where some sketchy semblance of order had been established in the retreat. Reporting to the temporary HQ, he created as much of a sensation as possible under the chaotic conditions when he explained to command that he’d escaped the German advance on a bicycle. As an orderly defense was thrown together, he was given a medical truck and a driver and told to head south to Bastogne, where heavy fighting was reported and resultant casualties anticipated. Command warned Graves at Spa that German soldiers wearing American uniforms had been captured during the day.



He tossed his bike in the back of the deuce-and-a-half and they headed out in the gathering twilight. Well after dark he and his driver thought they were on the main road to Bastogne, but observed the road they were on was getting narrower, not wider. Major Graves decided they had taken a wrong turn and should backtrack on what had become a tiny country lane, and he told his driver to wait while he scouted ahead on his bicycle for a place they could turn the big truck around without getting stuck. Just up the way, he found a small crossroads. Returning to the truck he informed his driver and led him to the turn-around. As the driver was executing a multi-point turn, Graves spotted by the light of an inexplicably burning farmhouse what he assumed must be an American tank column approaching. He rode his bicycle up to the front tank, waving his handkerchief, pointing and shouting that there was a truck blocking the road just up ahead. The tank hatch popped open and the commander shouted something back.



Graves realized the officer was shouting in German.



He quickly analyzed the situation. He guessed they hadn’t shot him or just run him down with the tank because, due to his bold approach on a bicycle, they had misidentified him as one of the German saboteurs. He shouted back to the tank commander the only German that came to mind: ‘Ja! Ja! Ja! Ja! Ja! Ja!’ With a wave, he turned the bike around and sprinted back down the road. He tossed his bike in the truck and told his driver to head back to secure American territory as fast as they could go.



Dr. Graves survived the day without getting captured and survived the war. In the post-war occupation, he did some more touring on the Continent before returning to America and setting up a surgery practice in La Jolla, California. With the enthusiastic support of other like-minded Americans, he founded the International Bicycle Touring Society and toured throughout North America, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and China.



Decades later, Dr. Graves related his amazing story in Bicycling! and American Wheelman magazines and made it the lead chapter in his autobiography, ‘My Life on Two Wheels’.



More on Dr. Graves:

https://www.bicycleadventureclub.org...ure%20Club.pdf





Take away: Always bring your bicycle. You’ll almost certainly have more fun than if you don’t bring it, and you never know - it could save your life.

shelbyfv

Nice story though copy and paste needs attribution. IIRC he also organized European bike tours for rich kids in California. They would order fancy Rene Herse bikes and "rough it" cruising around post war France.

tcs

???

GeezyRider 

Thanks for sharing this story about Dr. Graves--I enjoyed it very much.

Cougrrcj

Obviously copied from a published article. The source of the article should be included to avoid possible copyright infringements.

tcs

I got $1000 that says I wrote every word in that post myself. How about it, shelbyfv and Cougrrcj, wanna put your money where your mouth is?

What led you to your conclusions without ascertaining any facts - you think I'm not smart enough to string those words together, or you don't think your fellow 50+ers are worth a guy writing something up for their education and entertainment?

Let's say if you can prove I cut and pasted that (shouldn't be hard, since it's 'obvious'), I'll quit this list forever - but if you can't you guys can take your troll show and leave for good?

Man, you try to honor a brave American soldier on the 75th anniversary of his amazing bicycling feat, and this is the thanks you get.

tcs

BTW, guys, I wrote for public presentations for 20 years. I've written for cycling magazines. I've written seven full-length novels. You'll find some writing I did years ago on Sheldon Brown's web site (he was a fan).

But rest assured this is the last time I waste my talent on the peanut gallery here.

tcs

Here's the link to my old stuff on Sheldon's site:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/shaddox.html

I wrote those funny little sketches and short stories for the amusement and entertainment of my fellow listers and none of them ever immediately, without inquiry and without facts accused me of stealing another author's work and presenting it as my own. They were a different cut of cloth, I suppose.

tcs

Here's a link to my first novel:
https://www.wattpad.com/story/234902...ing-in-glasgow

and here's a link to my 6th novel:
https://www.wattpad.com/story/234220...fferent-puzzle

Together these stories add up to ~350,000 words and I guarantee you'll have time to finish them both before shelbyfv and Cougrrcj can lend the slightest credence to their aspersions.

shelbyfv

Wow, don't think anyone expected to trigger all that! Nevertheless, I checked the links and that is indeed an impressive volume of words. The internet has definitely leveled the playing field for authors. No need for pesky impediments like editors, publishers, critics, sales, etc. Your "bodice buster" genre seems very popular as well. I'm overwhelmed by those when I look for ebooks on my library website.

TiHabanero

As a failed author, I can speak openly about the publishing industry, and my view is that they keep a lot of crap out of print. Stuff that is poorly written, on the level of high school creative writing. I look at what I submitted in the past and cringe to think that I thought this was good work. It was the best I was able to do at the time, but no where near good enough to earn a soft cover let alone a hard cover and marketing money.

The internet has not evened the playing field, it has expanded it, however I do question the quality of work out there and where it is to lead us in the future by determining what is acceptable quality.

Note, I have not read any thing posted by the poster who provided links to his work, and this is not a criticism of said work.

MattTheHat 

A simple apology would have been the correct response.

MattTheHat 

It's funny that you admit to over reacting, but in post #10 you seem to indicate the OP over reacted.

zjrog

I'd read about him ears ago.

Unrelated to that story. I took a bike with me when I was deployed on an Aircraft Carrier. Riding in other countries was usually fun and exciting, Hong Kong on the other hand, was TERRIFYING! Best ride for me was in Hobart Tasmania for a few days. Incredible place and people...

Siu Blue Wind

shelby please leave this thread.

bikemig 

tcs thanks for posting this. It is a neat read.

canklecat

Great story, @tcs, thanks.

And try to shrug off the occasional sniping. It seems to be a seasonal thing. I'm seeing a lot of it recently on BF and most sites and social media post I follow. I suspect the stress of the era rubs off on folks and they tend to become inured to bluntness and neglect nuance of expression.

BlazingPedals

Thanks, TCS.

ultrarider7

Decades later, Dr. Graves related his amazing story in Bicycling! and American Wheelman magazines and made it the lead chapter in his autobiography, ‘My Life on Two Wheels’.



More on Dr. Graves:

https://www.bicycleadventureclub.org...ure%20Club.pdf

I enjoyed your story. You have a way of making it come to life, truly a gift.





Take away: Always bring your bicycle. You’ll almost certainly have more fun than if you don’t bring it, and you never know - it could save your life.[/QUOTE]

Cougrrcj

I have been thinking of a proper response to the OPs lashing out at Shelbyfv and myself for several days. Trying to find the right words. Writing is not my forte.

The OPs initial post is not the sort of writing one normally finds on a message forum. Very polished, professional writing. Without any further explanation or referencing made by the OP, the post could be taken to be a 'cut and paste' from a published writing.

WW2 history is a hobby of mine. I have an entire bookcase dedicated to WW2 history. The initial post would seem to indicate that much research had taken place, some of it being direct quoted conversation of those present at the time. Historical research takes time and effort. I get it.

Plagiarism stinks, and with the advent of instant 'knowledge' thanks to the Internet, many people will cut and paste from a copyrighted piece without citing the reference. By asking for a source, I merely wanted to make sure that the researcher and author get the credit that they deserve. I'm sure the OP would be justifiably outraged if someone were to 'steal' his work and post it somewhere without the proper attribution.

Now that I've explained myself (poorly, because I am not a writer) I hope that if the OP comes back to this thread, he will accept my explanation and my apology. No personal offense was intended.

ironwood

Bicycle Quarterly issue #22 has an article about the AYH bicycle tours organized by Dr. Graves. The Bicycles were not the expensive Rene Herse models but an entry level model. Bicycle touring and hosteling were not simply for "rich kids" in the fifties and early sixties. The first "Let's Go" was subtitled "Europe on 5 dollars a day" as I recall. Europe was cheap for Americans back then, but trans- atlantic transportation was not; I wish I had known about these tours back in the early sixties.

Jim from Boston

An American cycle tours in Europe, 16 December 1944

Quote:

Originally Posted by shelbyfv

Nice story though copy and paste needs attribution.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcs

???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cougrrcj

Obviously copied from a published article. The source of the article should be included to avoid possible copyright infringements.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcs

I got $1000 that says I wrote every word in that post myself. How about it, shelbyfv and Cougrrcj, wanna put your money where your mouth is?

What led you to your conclusions without ascertaining any facts - you think I'm not smart enough to string those words together, or you don't think your fellow 50+ers are worth a guy writing something up for their education and entertainment?

Let's say if you can prove I cut and pasted that (shouldn't be hard, since it's 'obvious'), I'll quit this list forever - but if you can't you guys can take your troll show and leave for good?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Siu Blue Wind

shelby please leave this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cougrrcj

I have been thinking of a proper response to the OPs lashing out at Shelbyfv and myself for several days. Trying to find the right words. Writing is not my forte.

The OPs initial post is not the sort of writing one normally finds on a message forum. Very polished, professional writing. Without any further explanation or referencing made by the OP, the post could be taken to be a 'cut and paste' from a published writing.

Plagiarism stinks, and with the advent of instant 'knowledge' thanks to the Internet, many people will cut and paste from a copyrighted piece without citing the reference. .

By asking for a source, I merely wanted to make sure that the researcher and author get the credit that they deserve. I'm sure the OP would be justifiably outraged if someone were to 'steal' his work and post it somewhere without the proper attribution.

Now that I've explained myself (poorly, because I am not a writer) I hope that if the OP comes back to this thread, he will accept my explanation and my apology. No personal offense was intended.

I enjoyed reading the OP story, indeed well written and I glossed over the subsequent brouhaha, until I read the last post by @Cougrrcj. I thought you expressed yourself well and no apology for your writing needed. I was once advised about presentations, don’t apologize; it can be distracting and evidential, and may not even be necessary.

I write many professional reports with significant medical and/or legal consequences, and I spend a lot of time polishing others writing. I read academic journals with precisely styled citations, and even add some formal citations to my reports. Indeed there is an citation service that counts the times that an article is cited as evidence of its importance.

Frankly though, on Bike Forums I really don’t expect such academic rigor, and I read it for the prima facie content.

However within the world of Bike Forums IMO a unique feature is the use of quote boxes (especially as citations) to link to other posts.My signature line has since been changed, to liken my nested quotes to a "panel discussion on a topic, with me as moderator and a participant, each of us speaking in turn."

FWIW

Jim from Boston

˄˄˄˄

Furthermore IMO, a quotation of a subscriber, even if I disagree is a more complimentary kudo, than just a LIKE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

…By nesting quote boxes, I indicate to the quoted subscriber(s) that I have read the post(s), reflected on the content, and extracted meaningful point(s), that I worked into a quote chain

Quote:

Originally Posted by wphamilton

At last I'm enshrined in a Jim from Boston quote chain, feels like the big time! Thank you.

As opposed to:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

I've LIKED about [187] posts since the feature was introduced. Sometimes I follow with a reply explaining my commendation..

If I LIKE a post because it is witty, I assume the writer knows I got the joke. e.g.

Quote:

Originally Posted by indyfabz

+1. I didn't see anyone during this 25 mile MUP ride that started pre-dawn. I did, however, see a giant porcupine. He wasn't on a leash and didn't wave.

Quote:

Originally Posted by livedarklions

If I'm on a MUP before 8 a.m. on the weekends pretty much anywhere, there's sparse traffic on it. Before 7 a.m., just a very few joggers and cyclists, and virtually no one dawdling.

Had a porcupine and a couple of deer encounters on a MUP last fall. All quite pleasant, but they did seem confused when I told them I'd be passing on the left.

Cougrrcj

Hey now... I'm a Luddite. As in the Joe Walsh song states - 'I'm an analog man in a digital world'.

Hey, only got a 'smart phone' three years ago because my 85+-year old mother out in Phoenix didn't have internet access or a printer to print a boarding pass. All of this multi-quote stuff is waaaay above my head.

ironwood

The story of Dr; Graves is interesting. He was one of the few cycling advocates during the dark ages of american cycling. Another advocate, on the East Coast, was also medical doctor, Paul Dudley White, one the leading American cardiologists of the fifties; They knew something that most Americans of the time didn't. Sadly, there are a lot of our fellow citizens who still haven't got the message.