A note in the newspaper Diário dos Campos, dated August 23, 1923, reads as follows: "Today, at six o'clock in the morning, they left this city on a motorbike bound for Antonina, the young Ricardo Wagner and Afonso Lange." Few thought this was the record of an unprecedented feat in Brazil.

Using a Harley-Davidson 16-F and an Indian Scout, the two adventurous youngsters from Ponta Grossa, Parana, embarked on a 200-kilometer journey from their hometown, through Curitiba and ending at Antonia - to then redo the entire stretch on the way back.

What appears to be nothing so threatening today in the 1920s was a real odyssey: the lack of paved roads and road structure made everything extremely difficult. The slow speeds also contributed to the trip lasting four days: two outward, two back.

Dirt Roads and the "Stone River"

Afonso Lange gave a report to the Rotary Club of Ponta Grossa in the 1980s giving more details of how the whole adventure went. He said that, with the inauguration of the Paraná railway, the roads that linked the municipalities of Paraná were "abandoned", with nonexistent maintenance.

In addition, the "wagons" were frequent presence on the roads of the time. With loads up to 1.5 tons and being pulled by up to 10 animals, they made the floor uneven - an invitation to fall.

Anyway, on the morning of August 23, 1923, the Afonso and Ricardo set off on their motorcycles towards Curitiba. The two agreed to keep a certain distance from each other to avoid the dust that was raised by the extensive "sands". It was in one of these, inclusive, that Ricardo took a tumble, but nothing serious.

Afonso and Ricardo on their respective motorcycles, ready for the trip

After the village of Palmeira, they reached the worst stretch of adventure: the "river of stones", a road made of loose stones that prevented a faster pace of travel due to the extremely rugged and unstable terrain.

The tumble in the water and the arrival in Curitiba

If that wasn't enough, when he arrived at the Papagaios River, Ricardo ended up falling with his motorcycle in the water with the engine running. Afonso jumped to help his friend and also get the motorcycle out of there. According to Lange, it was the biggest accident of the whole tour and put the whole adventure in jeopardy, but they were persistent, fixed the bike and went on.

With everything back in line, the two paranaenses continued towards the capital, which already had much better roads in its surroundings. Afonso and Ricardo spent the night in a hotel, and at 6 am the next day, they set their motorcycles on the road again, heading for the iconic Estrada da Graciosa, a famous tropeiro stretch that linked Curitiba to the Paraná coast.

Lange walked quietly down the mountain, stopping to wait for Ricardo while sipping some bananas. The problem was that his mate would not arrive, so he decided to check what had happened - to do this, had to climb much of the stretch again, finding that Ricardo had run out of gas.

Caution, Afonso was carrying a gallon of fuel and saved the trip once again.

Finally: Antonina - But Not Trouble Free

The whole adventure resulted in a tasty lunch in the city of Antonina. The stay, however, was brief, as the two decided to return to Curitiba during the afternoon of the same day. The return was without great emotions, as the pair arrived in the capital during the night, returning to Ponta Grossa the following day.

Upon waking, however, a storm fell upon the city. The way was to put the bikes in a wagon and take them to the Curitiba train to return by train. If you think the adventure is over, Afonso explains that the bad luck wasn't over: the locomotive that carried both Lange and Wagner derailed.

Still, there was hope: as the president of the state's wife was present on the same train, it was not long before traffic was restored. The friends also had the opportunity to leave the railway station in Ponta Grossa and return home on top of the motorcycles, ending the first major motorcycle trip on record in Brazil.