There have been some impressive ’round the world bike treks in recent years. One of the granddaddies of that type of expedition is Dan Buettner, who has pedaled from the Bering Strait to Tierra del Fuego, from the Mediterranean to Cape Hope, and from Europe across Russia to the Sea of Japan.

You might be tempted to think this sort of expedition is a relatively new phenomenon, but you’d be wrong. As long as there have been bikes people have tried to ride them all the way around the planet.

The first woman to circumnavigate the globe on two wheels  by was Nelly Bly, in 1894. (See clarification in the comments!) And five months later, Annie Cohen Kopchovsky repeated the feat on a bicycle — and she made money doing it by advertising a New Hampshire bottled water company called “Londonderry.”

A new book by Annie’s great great nephew Peter Zheutlin details the wacky Victorian hijinks. According to a story in the Jerusalem Report,

Kopchovsky’s story shows that the bicycle was a symbol of personal as well as political power. Women of the time took to the bicycle as a means of independent living and travel, a way of finding a life beyond the expected roles of mother and wife. For early feminists, the bicycle was an important tool for reinventing themselves. The famous suffragist Susan B. Anthony said that “bicycling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.”

 

This newly found emancipation was challenged by myths. Some thought that riding a bicycle could sexually stimulate a woman or compromise virginity. But Annie Londonderry paid no attention to these ridiculous notions. With virtually no prior physical training, she set off from Boston to Manhattan on that June day on her unwieldy 42-pound Columbia bicycle, constantly mindful of not getting her skirts caught in the spokes of the gigantic front wheel.

By the time an exhausted Kopchovsky reached Chicago a couple of months later, it was clear that she could not continue her journey on the Columbia bicycle in her uncomfortable, confining clothing. Ever resourceful, she found a sponsor in Sterling Bicycles, which provided her with a 20-pound men’s racing model. It was the first of Kopchovsky’s gender-bending antics – the most notable of which were the practical bloomers – or long baggy pants – and the man’s jacket she eventually wore on the road. In response to Kopchovsky’s wardrobe change, one newspaper described her as one of the “neutered beings, single women without a husband or children [who] constitute a third sex.” In truth, Kopchovsky was one of the leaders in liberating women from the constraints of their corsets and their ascribed gender roles.

Hooray for the ladies and their bikes!

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: A snowbike race up at Shawnee Peak in Bridgton, Maine.

For a $30 entry fee, you get to race mountain-cross style, four riders per heat.

And bear this in mind: the world record for speed on a mountain bike was set on a snow slope in Peru late last summer.

Photo (cc) by Mundobiker, http://flickr.com/photos/mundobiker/

For five years people have been coming to Macon, GA to appreciate Ronnie Thomson, and I’ve been wondering for five years what it is about Ronnie that makes peeps so appreciative. It can’t be just seatposts and stems.

It was with that in mind that I planned my trip to the 5th Annual Ronnie Thomson Appreciation Day, a one-day mountain bike festival combining factory tours, a short endurance race, and party.

Usually held in honor of Ronnie’s birthday, this year would be different. Ronnie passed away just a few days before the event. May he rest in peace.

Ronnie must be in a better place. I think he went to heaven and got a position in the weather department, turning the knobs that open the clouds. That Saturday was some of the rainiest, shittiest weather I’ve had the displeasure of standing around in. Here I thought heading south from Pittsburgh in January would bring me warmth, but no.

Many of the fun events were cancelled, the rain fly had blown off my tent, and my schwag was wet. All shaping up to be a real dismal time.

But no. What is it about mountain bikers getting together that’s so life giving? Good friends, good food and good drink, that’s the stuff that matters, and this was all reinforced by the situation at hand. In the morning we all stood with Ronnie’s family for a moment of silence, followed by much talk about his legacy. But that’s another story. There was a race to be run.

The 4:20 race sponsored by Sweetwater Beer. Yep, wet as it was we advocates turned our heads and let ‘em run. 29 people started in the rain, and while the race was supposed to last four hours and 20 minutes, it became a test of who could stay out the longest—20 of the riders only finished one lap.

One rider who went the whole distance was Kari Lindner (Sorella Cycling). She won the women’s event with six laps. Rachel Neidert coming after four laps for 2nd, and Nanrita O’Dea (Vassago and 559 Performance) coming in after three. Didn’t pay much attention to the men’s event.

With the race out of the way it was time to celebrate around the space heater. And that we did. Many fine libations were to be had, including fine Bourbon, 18 year-old rum, Hot Damn! Cinnamon schnapps and moonshine to top it all off.

Here’s to Ronnie Thomson, and all my new friends in Georgia. —Maurice

Link Dump:

Dirt Rag World Tour 2008
Dirt Rag Gallery: Ronnie Thomson Appreciation Day
www.sorba.org
www.museumofaviation.org
www.georgiamusic.org

Owing to flats, or broken chains, or just sitting around and telling tall stories, my group dirt ride sometimes turns into an accidental night ride. I always envy the one or two guys with the foresight to bring a light — at least a blinky or two — for the road return.

There have been a lot of advances in the world of bicycle lighting in the last few years, ranging from the $1000 Big Betty headlight to the $10 Knog.

Now an Australian company has invented a new lighting solution: portable turn lights that you strap on your wrists. Make your normal handsignals, indicating the direction of your turn, and the lights activate and blink automatically. Just $20! Nifty!

If you’re working today, it’s a good time to guilt your boss by asking why you don’t get this important holiday off. And I personally give you permission to take a few moments to indulge in some topical slacking.

Ever heard of the Major Taylor Association? It’s named for a world-champion African American cyclist who dominated the track at the turn of the last century.
Today, the Association continues to celebrate Taylor’s legacy. You can read all about this fascinating man and the people he continues to inspire right here.

The rise and fall and rise of Floyd Landis continues.

Today, the National Ultra-Endurance series announced that Mr. Landis has agreed to ride the series of eight 100-mile offroad races. Last year, he raced to podium finishes in the Leadville 100 and the Shenandoah 100.

Presumably, a former Tour de France rider who’s accustomed to riding 3,000 miles in three weeks — and who cut his teeth on a mountain bike — will be a formidable competitor, no matter what your opinion of him.

Um, just curious: Does the NUE test racers for banned substances?

Co-organizer Garth Prosser told Cyclingnews, “No, we don’t have that kind of money. This is old school mountain biking. We could make more money by recycling the beer cans from after the race than from organizing the race.”

Which certainly argues strongly in favor of just throwing a party instead of a dirt race, but we all know they go together like shorts and knee-warmers.