Women Rule the Waves

Take to the surf with valiant French 'hydro-cyclist' Aimee Pfanner, as she gamely pedals from Calais to Dover.

Who says bikes can't swim? Intrepid 22-year-old Aimee Pfanner was a cross-channel sensation in 1929, valiantly pedalling her way from Calais to Dover on a 'hydro-cycle' - something like a bicycle affixed to water skis - in just nine and a half hours. This is production material for a newsreel story, and though we don't have the finished version, what survives thrillingly conveys her daring feat.