A Canadian cyclist on post in the flooded Salisbury plain.

After basics in Canada, Cyclists and the rest of Canadian troops bound for the Great War headed to England for advanced training. In the fall of 1914, heavy rains turned camp at Salisbury Plain, England, “into a quagmire.” The “terrible mud” made advanced training difficult for the First Division, with cycling in particular “out of the question most of the time.” Source: Bush, Major Clayton E., and C.S.M. Fred V. Delavigne. “History of the First Divisional Cyclist Company.” In Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion Association, 1914–1918, edited by W.D. Ellis, Toronto: The Association, 1950.