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210:, telling his own wonderful performances, or like a contemporary Sinbad the Sailor. We found that modern mechanical invention, instead of disenchanting the universe, had really afforded the means of exploring its marvels the more surely. Instead of going round the world with a rifle, for the purpose of killing something â or with a bundle of tracts, in order to convert somebody â this bold youth simply went round the globe to see the people who were on it; and since he always had something to show them as interesting as anything that they could show him, he made his way among all nations."
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Finally ejected from
Afghanistan, Stevens was accompanied back to Persia. Again, he was allowed to speed ahead of his captors so long as he stopped and waited for them occasionally. Eventually, however, the soldiers grew nervous and disassembled his bicycle, strapping the pieces to a packhorse, which
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described him as "a man of medium height, wearing an oversized blue flannel shirt over blue overalls, which were tucked into a pair of leggings at the knee tanned 'as a nut'. A mustache protruded from his face." It said: "A two-year stint in a
Wyoming railroad mill ended when he was run out of town
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Stevens then reported from Russia, sailed the rivers of Europe, and investigated miracles claimed by Indian ascetics. His conclusions that "the stories of travelers, from Marco Polo to the latest witness of Indian miracles ... are quite true" were greeted with scepticism and his career faltered. A
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By the end of
February 1890, I was again in New York. I had been gone fourteen months. I had not 'found Stanley,' as Stanley had found Livingstone in 1871; the circumstances were altogether different. I had, however, gratified a pardonable journalistic ambition in being the first correspondent to
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although its borders were closed to foreigners and its guards had a fierce reputation. Upon entering the country, Stevens was arrested. As guards took him to his place of detainment, he entertained them with a demonstration of his bicycle, pedalling far ahead of them until an officer caught up on
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A small sea of hats is enthusiastically waved aloft; a ripple of applause escaped from 500 English throats as I mount my glistening bicycle; and with the assistance of a few policemen, 25 Liverpool cyclers who have assembled to accompany me out extricate themselves from the crowd, mount, and fall
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reported: "More than one-third of the route followed by Mr. Stevens had to be walked. Eighty-three and a half days of actual travel and twenty days' stoppage for wet weather, etc., made one hundred and three and a half days occupied in reaching Boston, the distance by wagon-road being about 3,700
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Stevens, known as Tom, was born in Castle Street, Berkhamsted, the son of
William and Ann Stevens. His father was a labourer. Thomas had an older sister, Bridget, and younger, Jane. He went to Bourne Charity School, then became an apprentice grocer. His father emigrated to Missouri in 1868 but
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reach him and to give him news of the world, after his long period of
African darkness. That I had done this under most trying conditions, Mr. Stanley fully appreciated; and warmly reciprocated by showing me every courtesy in his power, on the march to the coast, in Zanzibar, and in Egypt.
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returned when his wife became ill and before the rest of the family could also go to
America. Tom went with a half-brother but without his parents and sisters in 1871 and the rest of the family followed two years later. They moved to
461:. Stanley had travelled up the Congo but a year and a half had passed without news. Stevens called it "a grand opportunity; the one chance, mayhap, of a lifetime, to spring into fame on the stage of African exploit. How would
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was excellent wheeling and free from bandits. Much of his description of life in India, however, suffers from being based on the opinions of experts rather than his own observations. Another steamer brought him from
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and went by train to London to arrange his crossing of Europe and to investigate conditions in Asia. He was helped by an interpreter at the
Chinese embassy who discouraged him from riding across Upper Burma and China.
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Go to
Zanzibar. Investigate the state of affairs there. Let us know the truth about the troubles between the Germans and the Arabs. See what is to be seen of the slave trade. Find out all you can about Stanley and
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after it became known that he was importing
British labourers in exchange for part of their salaries. He later found work in a Colorado mine where he came up with the idea of riding a bicycle across the country."
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and southern China. He pedalled to eastern China, encountering great difficulty in asking directions in a language he couldn't pronounce. A Chinese official gave him refuge from rioters who were angry over a
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He rode, wearing a white military helmet through
England, passing through Berkhamsted, where he had been born. He recorded that roads in England were better than in America. He took the ferry from
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of Chicago. He packed his handlebar bag with socks, a spare shirt, a raincoat that doubled as tent and bedroll, and a pocket revolver (described as a "bull-dog revolver", perhaps a
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He returned to Liverpool on 30 April 1885 and on 4 May made a formal start to his ride at Edge Hill church, where several hundred people watched him leave. He wrote:
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miles. He followed the old California trail most of the way across the plains and mountains, astonishing the Indians, and meeting with many strange adventures."
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after 3,700 miles on wagon trails, railways, canal towpaths and public roads, to complete the first transcontinental bicycle ride on 4 August 1884.
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to Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. En route, he was greeted by members of local bicycle clubs, most prominently the president of a chapter of the
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417:. His itinerary accounts "DISTANCE ACTUALLY WHEELED, ABOUT 13,500 MILES". Stevens returned by steamer to San Francisco, in January 1887.
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drilled new holes and stretched new spokes. Some spokes remained subpar, though sufficient to complete the thousands of miles yet ahead.
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he rested among people who had heard of America, refitted with spare spokes, tires and other parts and a better pistol (a .38-calibre
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later laid upon the larger wheel, breaking many spokes, the most severe damage the penny-farthing experienced upon the trip. Afghan
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485:. Spare no expense in carrying out the main object of the enterprise, but at the same time don't throw money away recklessly.
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Stevens returned to England around 1895 and married Frances Barnes (nÊe Nation), widowed mother of the actresses
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imported from England. A fine horse was kept in the garden aside his quarters that he might enjoy looking at.
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Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who heard Stevens speak at the Massachusetts Bicycle Club, said: "He seemed like
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236:. He landed there 10 days later, on 9 April 1885. He left his bicycle in the underground storerooms of the
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In parts of England he was mistaken for General Wolseley, who had made a name for himself in "the East".
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detailing his experiences and later collected those experiences into a two-volume book of 1,000 pages,
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895:"Lippincott's monthly magazine : a popular journal of g eneral literature. v.49 Jan.-June 1892"
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Stanley had found the explorer David Livingstone and greeted him with "Livingstone, I presume?"
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Stevens passed the winter in New York and contributed sketches of his transcontinental trip to
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Burlingame, Edward Livermore; Bridges, Robert; Dashiell, Alfred; Logan, Harlan (1890).
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Stevens, Thomas (1890), Scouting for Stanley, Cassell Publishing, New York City, p. 288
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projects. The price of an original has been estimated at between US$ 300 and US$ 400.
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Stevens, Thomas (1890), Scouting for Stanley, Cassell Publishing, New York City, p. 2
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Stevens, Thomas (1890), Scouting for Stanley, Cassell Publishing, New York City, p. 1
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Stevens left New York by ship on 5 January 1889. His instructions, he said, were:
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into line two abreast; and merrily we wheel down Edge-lane and out of Liverpool.
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in Africa, investigated the claims of Indian ascetics and became manager of the
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Across Europe with a Petroleum Launch (From the German Ocean to the Black Sea)
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A drawn depiction of Thomas Stevens in Japan, from the book about his travels
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434:, which is available in a single-volume paperback and publicly available at
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He was kept in a villa where he was fed well and given new boots, soap and
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Stevens led a six-month expedition, writing for the newspaper of climbing
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asked Thomas in 1888 to join its search in East Africa for the explorer
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and hunting big game. He found Stanley's camp in a race with the rival
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planned tour of London with his Indian photographs fell through.
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In 1884 he acquired a black-enameled Columbia 50-inch 'Standard'
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and then to San Francisco, where he learned to ride a bicycle.
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1028:"Around the World on a Bicycle. From San Francisco to Teheran"
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newspaper. Along the way, Stevens sent a series of letters to
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by bicycle. He rode a large-wheeled Ordinary, also known as a
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Genini, Ronald. "California's Circumcyclist Extraordinaire",
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Stevens, Thomas (1888), Around the World on a Bicycle, cited
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horse and had him wait for the on-foot soldiers to catch up.
89:(24 December 1854 â 24 January 1935) was the first person to
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557:, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1887
97:, from April 1884 to December 1886. He later searched for
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945:"Babes of the Empire: an alphabet for young England"
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Stevens' travels through Japan were reported in the
441:The Pope Company preserved Stevens's bicycle until
264:to cross to France and continued through Germany;
335:Having been refused permission to travel through
1123:Deaths from bladder cancer in the United Kingdom
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971:, 5, No. 3 (May/June 1987), 22â27. Cited in
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162:with nickel-plated wheels, built by the
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587:, Lippincott's Magazine (V49) May, 1892
409:. From the coast he took a steamer to
1148:English emigrants to the United States
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339:, he set off on 10 March 1886 through
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575:, Scribner's Magazine, September 1890
563:, St Nicholas Magazine September 1888
375:He took a Russian steamer across the
569:, St Nicholas Magazine February 1890
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319:, where he waited out the winter in
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503:Scouting for Stanley in East Africa
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1163:Burials at East Finchley Cemetery
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599:, London: William Heinemann, 1902
253:It began raining within minutes.
1103:19th-century British journalists
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995:Works by or about Thomas Stevens
975:, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring, 1988).
535:in London. He died in London of
238:London and North Western Railway
174:, Stevens travelled through the
1108:19th-century English memoirists
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860:"Around the World on a Bicycle"
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789:"Globetrot on a penny-farthing"
561:Wild Pea-Fowls in British India
550:His publications also include:
149:Steven's route around the world
1079: (archived 1 January 2005)
1044:"ROUND THE WORLD ON A BICYCLE"
920:"Outing. v.20 (Apr-Sept 1892)"
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573:African River and Lake Systems
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117:Drawing of Stevens riding his
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1118:Deaths from cancer in England
763:, UK, 11 September 1946, p. 6
701:, UK, 11 September 1946, p. 6
641:Langley, Jim (6 April 1997).
620:
555:Around The World on a Bicycle
432:Around the World on a Bicycle
787:Evans, Mary (8 April 1968).
483:Emin Pasha Relief expedition
7:
1010:(public domain audiobooks)
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579:Through Russia on a Mustang
531:. He became manager of the
465:look in the libraries with
180:League of American Wheelmen
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164:Pope Manufacturing Company
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1073:Bicycle Museum of America
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168:British Bull Dog revolver
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1068:Weekend Edition Saturday
1056:â Bike China Adventures]
973:Journal of Sport History
323:as a guest of the Shah,
1168:Ultra-distance cyclists
1128:People from Berkhamsted
1019:"Thomas Stevens â 1884"
1004:Works by Thomas Stevens
986:Works by Thomas Stevens
881:Charles Scribner's Sons
747:27 January 2011 at the
730:29 January 2011 at the
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176:Sierra Nevada Mountains
541:St Marylebone Cemetery
449:The search for Stanley
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1158:English male cyclists
1133:Male touring cyclists
1050:brief, 30 August 1884
1033:12 March 2017 at the
537:cancer of the bladder
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679:18 July 2011 at the
610:Frank Lenz (cyclist)
459:Henry Morton Stanley
99:Henry Morton Stanley
1138:Cycling journalists
876:Scribner's Magazine
597:Babes of the Empire
467:I Found Livingstone
407:war with the French
862:. Inernet Archive.
793:Sports Illustrated
539:and was buried at
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297:Smith & Wesson
151:
123:
1054:Maps and Pictures
990:Project Gutenberg
643:"Bicycle Stories"
567:Some Asiatic Dogs
519:Return to England
491:Mount Kilimanjaro
427:Harper's Magazine
134:Adventure Cyclist
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645:. Jimlangley.net
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505:. It concluded:
393:Grand Trunk Road
226:cycling magazine
184:Laramie, Wyoming
141:Around the World
91:circle the globe
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54:24 December 1854
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495:New York Herald
463:I Found Stanley
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436:digital library
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795:. Garry Valk
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71:(1935-01-24)
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1098:1935 deaths
1093:1854 births
761:The Bicycle
699:The Bicycle
422:Jijishinpou
341:Afghanistan
331:Afghanistan
208:Jules Verne
188:Mississippi
105:in London.
58:Berkhamsted
1087:Categories
1060:Discussion
949:nla.gov.au
924:HathiTrust
899:HathiTrust
649:7 February
621:References
547:, London.
479:Emin Pasha
172:Sacramento
50:1854-12-24
954:21 August
929:21 August
904:21 August
585:Bicycling
402:Hong Kong
357:gunsmiths
309:Kurdistan
234:Liverpool
79:, England
60:, England
1048:Harper's
1031:Archived
1008:LibriVox
799:28 March
745:Archived
728:Archived
677:Archived
604:See also
415:Yokohama
398:Calcutta
349:biscuits
301:Anatolia
282:Bulgaria
274:Slavonia
258:Newhaven
199:Harper's
1075:at the
997:at the
377:Caspian
337:Siberia
321:Teheran
305:Armenia
286:Rumelia
270:Hungary
266:Austria
154:America
121:bicycle
109:Origins
499:memoir
385:Batoum
278:Serbia
262:Dieppe
221:Outing
214:Europe
192:Boston
128:Denver
77:London
525:Irene
411:Japan
389:India
956:2019
931:2019
906:2019
801:2020
651:2014
527:and
453:The
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317:Iran
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