Inspiration
A little remembered epic of human endurance ended on this day in 1887 as Thomas Stevens arrived in San Francisco, ending an around-the-world trek – on a bicycle. He left the city by the bay in the spring of 1884, riding a Columbia Standard bicycle – one of those with a huge front wheel and a tiny back wheel and with no brakes. Stevens pedaled 13,500 miles as he crossed the world’s mountains, deserts and jungles. He wrote a classic book about his adventure, Around the World On a Bicycle , recently republished, and an incentive for today’s bicyclists. Each year, more than 43 million Americans enjoy riding their bicycles. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.
