In the heady days prior to 1892 when the
high wheel bicycle was the king of the dirt road, ten men crossed
America entirely or primarily by this form of transportation. These
crossings were not significant in shaping American history for the
continent had already been spanned by wagons, the telegraph, and the
railroad. It is not surprising that the Chicago Daily News of July 5,
1884 expressed the following view of cyclist Stevens' arrival from San
Francisco. "When it takes a bicyclist seventy-two days to wheel from San
Francisco to Chicago we are inclined to the opinion that he has more
time on his hands than wit in his head. This man's experience does not
demonstrate that the bicycle has any advantage over a first-class ox
team on such a trip."
Following the completion of Stevens' ride to the Atlantic even the
Bicycling World of January 2, 1885 commented, "beyond the slight
notoriety he gained and the reported prospect of an account of his trip
to appear in book form, his trip possesses no significance whatever,
although it developed the suspected fact that there are great stretches
of country where the cycle must for years to come be at a discount."
While the press was correct in the view that crossing the continent by
bicycle was a step backward in terms of transportation technology, the
critics failed to appreciate the appeal of such a journey to some riders
and to a large segment of the newspaper reading public. For
adventuresome riders this was an opportunity to test their hardiness and
endurance, to break the routine of rather ordinary lives, and to gain
some fame and possible material benefit.
Many newspapers were ready to capitalize on reports of these rides where
the rider/correspondent was the story, as had been the case in Stanley's
search of Livingstone in the 1870s and as would be the case with Nellie
Bly's world tour in the 1890s. These stories sold papers and books to a
public that enjoyed tales describing the actions and accomplishments of
daring individuals in an age of industrialization that was subordinating
the individual to the organization.
There was considerable variation in the coverage accorded the ten high
wheel riders. Some men such as a Mr. Gray were almost unknown even in
their day and only the "Lindbergh" of transcontinental cycling, Thomas
Stevens, is remembered in modern wheelmen circles. There has been little
attention given to other cyclists, in part, because the folk hero status
accorded Stevens has overshadowed others. Another factor that has skewed
our understanding of the past is that American cycling periodicals from
1880-1892 are difficult to access.
Sufficient information has been obtained, however, to provide the
following brief descriptions of the ten high wheel riders and their
journeys from sea to shining sea. Click on a name below to display
a detailed narrative. |
Thomas Stevens - 1884
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George B. Thayer - 1886
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Frank E. Weaver - 1890
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Frederick E. Van Meerbeke - 1886
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George W. Nellis, Jr. - 1887
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Dexter M. and S. Walter Rogers - 1890
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Stephen G. Spier - 1886
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Charles Theron Gray - 1887
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Nelson A. Bradt - 1891
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Sources
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Primary sources used have been cited in each narrative. Two important books
related to the topic are available in reprinted editions:
Karl Kron (Lyman Hotchkiss Bagg) Ten Thousand Miles on a Bicycle.
New York: Emil Rosenblatt, 1982 and
Thomas Stevens, Around the World On a Bicycle. (A facsimile of the
original two-volume edition with a new introduction by Thomas Pauly)
Stackpole Books, 2001.
The account of transcontinental riders presented in this article is
based in part on important research done by John L. Weiss in bicycle
periodicals and in microfilm copies of West Coast newspapers. The
latter source is of great importance since all except Stevens' ride
ended on the Pacific Coast. Michael Wells has supplied helpful
information on Frank E. Weaver and Nelson A. Bradt. Data has also
been obtained from microfilmed East Coast newspapers, from census
records, from county and township material, and from the descendents
of three riders.
Research on a topic as large and complex as that addressed in this
paper is a work in progress, for more information on the men and
their rides will emerge and we may come to have new perspectives on
their adventures. A version of this article appeared in the May 2002
(#60) issue of the Wheelmen magazine. Readers are invited to
share information and views on the topic with the author. Contact
Charles Meinert
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