A few months ago I read Ernie Old's autobiography "By Bread Alone", published in 1949 when he was 75. Before returning the book to a friend, I scanned some of it including the photo & text on the dust jacket. Here's the text, followed by the cover photo:
"BY BREAD ALONE is the story of a man who is young at 75. It is not only a grand story of amazing cycling exploits, but an absorbing tale of pioneer farming in Victoria's wheat country, a young man's account of his experiences in the South African War, and a family man's story of his war experiences in 1914-18 in Egypt, Gallipoli, and France. Incidentally, in the part dealing with Egypt, his description of the Pyramids is the first we have read which gives a perfectly clear picture of these examples of ancient building.
In the field of cycling, in which Ernie Old is best known, the author has performed some of the most remarkable feats of endurance for a man of his age or, indeed, of any age. Among these achievements the following will be of interest:
1945 (At 71 years of age) Melbourne - Sydney - Melbourne, 1136 miles, 9 days,
1946 Melbourne - Adelaide - Melbourne, 1138 miles, 8 days,
1946 24 hours non-stop, 256 miles,
1947 Melbourne - Brisbane - Sydney. 2500 miles, 23 days.
1948 (At 74 years of age) Melbourne - Adelaide - Darwin - Brisbane - Melbourne, 6000 miles, 56 days.
1948 Melbourne-Perth and return, 4500 miles, 62 days,
1949 Melbourne - Brisbane - Melbourne.
The extraordinary level of physical fitness which Ernie Old maintains is due to temperate living and regular exercise. The portrait on the jacket and the frontispiece to this book show Ernie Old on his 75th birthday, July 13, 1949, a fine figure of a man in perfect health at 75, able to cycle an average of 100 miles a day with the greatest ease."