Synopses & Reviews
In 1887 a twenty-one-year-old newspaperman named George Nellis (1865and#8211;1948) rode a bicycle from Herkimer, New York, to San Francisco in seventy-two days, surpassing the transcontinental bicycle record by several weeks. He averagedand#160;fifty miles a day pedalling a fifty-two-inch, high-wheeled Columbia Expert "ordinary" bicycle with a tubular steel frame and hard rubber tires, and he lost twenty-three pounds in the process.
He bicycled ever westward through sleepy villages, farmlands, and growing cities of the rapidly changing nation and trekked across uninhabited stretches of prairies and mountains that marked its shrinking frontier. Following his daily ten-hour rides, Nellis sat down and wrote letters about his adventures to his hometown newspapers and a national cycling magazine to finance his cross-country journey.
Nellis's epic journey over dirt paths, muddy roads, and occasional railroad ties was plagued by terrible weather, frightening experiences, and odd encounters; yet it was also enriched by breathtaking natural wonders and the generous spirit of many people he met. He nearly drowned in a flash flood, was chased by a furious bull, killed a coyote that accosted him one night, fell victim to mirages in Utah's Great Salt Desert, narrowly missed a tremendous fire that wiped out half of a California town only hours after he had left, and witnessed a horrifying accident on a train track. Nellis also managed to meet the legendary baseball player A. G. Spalding in Chicago, take in professional baseball games in Detroit and Chicago, participate in several bicycle races in Omaha, attend an opera in Cheyenne, Wyoming, enjoy a circus, and eat over two dozen bananas in one sitting in Osceola, Indiana.
Drawing on Nellis's letters and media coverage of the trip, Kevin J. Hayes recreates in compelling detail this amazing trip and the many ordinary and extraordinary faces of late-nineteenth-century America that were once revealed to a young bicyclist.
Review
"This is the story of a young man relentlessly chasing a dream across the country, battling headwinds, storms, and poor roads. It poses the challenge of possibility to the still-young. For those with more years, it reminds us of roads we've been down before, and those yet to cross."—Bloomsbury Review
Review
"This is an enjoyable book about a little known aspect of US history."and#8212;Choice
Review
"This was adventure before there were airplanes or fast automobiles, when cycling was still considered the ultimate in dangerous pursuits. Perhaps this sparkling account will give Nellis, unknown outside cycling circles, some of the lasting recognition he so richly deserves."—Booklist
Review
"An enjoyable retelling of George Nellis's transcontinental bicycle journey in the late 19th century, smartly plaited with excerpts from his letters home and articles written for a cycling magazine. . . . Hayes adds invaluable historical footnotes to the places Nellis cycles through." —Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A remarkable story." and#8212;Doug Nufer, Rain Taxi Review of Books
Review
"An entertaining, informative, and well-written romp across late-nineteenth-century America."—Alan Boye, author of The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska
Review
Praise for Kevin J. Hayesandrsquo;s An American Cycling Odyssey, 1887and#160;andldquo;This is the story of a young man relentlessly chasing a dream across the country, battling headwinds, storms, and poor roads. It poses the challenge of possibility to the still-young. For those with more years, it reminds us of roads weandrsquo;ve been down before, and those yet to cross.andquot;andmdash;Bloomsbury Reviewand#160;andldquo;This was adventure before there were airplanes or fast automobiles, when cycling was still considered the ultimate in dangerous pursuits. Perhaps this sparkling account will give Nellis, unknown outside cycling circles, some of the lasting recognition he so richly deserves.andrdquo;andmdash;Booklistand#160;andldquo;[A] gripping narrative of how a young man doggedly overcame every obstacle to achieve his difficult goal. . . . An engaging account of this amazing trip.andrdquo;andmdash;Tucson Citizen
Synopsis
Cyclotourism has recently risen to prominence with growing national media coverage and thousands of participants taking to Americaandrsquo;s roadways on two wheels and under their own pedal power.
But the concept is not new. More than a century ago, George B. Thayer took his own first andldquo;century,andrdquo; or one-hundred-mile bicycle ride. The Two-Wheeled World of George B. Thayer brings to life the experience of late nineteenth-century cycling through the heartfelt story of this important cycling pioneer.
In 1886, just two years after his first century, Thayer rode his high wheeler across the United States, traveling from his home in Connecticut to California and back. Thayer took an indirect route without any intent to set speed records, but his trip was full of adventure nonetheless. Thayer loved going downhill, his legs over the handlebars, risking life and limb atop the large wheel on often rough and muddy roads. With aplomb and humor, he dealt with the countless other hazards he encountered, including dogs, mule teams, and wild hogs. Even bad weather and poor sleeping conditions could not keep Thayer down.
After his epic tour across the United States, Thayer had the urge to cycle abroad and eventually toured England, Germany, Belgium, and Canada on his bike. His later travels were in part aided by his hometown of Hartford, Connecticut, which was the epicenter of American bicycle manufacturing in the late 1890s. In addition to telling Thayerandrsquo;s cycling story, Kevin J. Hayes brings to life the culture of cycling and its rise at the end of the nineteenth century, when bikes became more affordable and the nationandrsquo;s riding craze took off.
About the Author
Kevin J. Hayes is a professor of English at the University of Central Oklahoma. His numerous books include Melville's Folk Roots and Itinerant Observations in America.