It took
Annie Londonderry fifteen months to circle the world on a bicycle, an odyssey that started in June,1894, and culminated in September, 1895. This adventurous woman was ready to defy the conventions of her time to
accomplish her goal. She managed to ditch the heavy Victorian clothing
that women were supposed to wear to satisfy the sense of modesty imposed on
them during that time.
This was not a minor deed considering that she was a Jewish immigrant and that antisemitism and other forms of discrimination against minorities were running rampant.
When she was a girl, her family, whose last name was Cohen, migrated from Latvia, which was part of Czarist Russia at that time. Millions of Jews escaped from Russia due to persecution, economic hardship and restrictive antisemitic laws. Annie and her family settled down in Boston.
Three
weeks ago, somebody told me about the first woman who circled the globe on a
bike in 1894, so I looked her up and I found her name. Then I wondered if there
was a book about her experience. In doing my internet search I found Peter
Zheutlin’s book: Around the World on Two Wheels. As soon as I learned
about it, I requested it from my local library.
Peter Zheutlin is her great-grandnephew, but Peter never had a chance to meet her. He first learned about Annie from a stranger, a
historian whose name is Michael Wells. To write Annie’s story Peter researched
her life thoroughly and documented her travels by gleaning information from
multiple media sources such as old newspapers and magazines along with some
family letters and anecdotes he recorded when he contacted Mary, Annie’s granddaughter.
Annie Londonderry had to deal with various challenges and obstacles when she decided
to travel the world on a simple bike. First of all, she had no experience
biking. The prospect of wearing corsets and heavy skirts while on a bike could
have been enough to deter her from riding, but she was intent on doing so.
Her words, published by The Sunday World, introduce
us to her story: “The first idea of this trip came into my head when I heard of
a wager that had been made that no woman could traverse the globe on a wheel. I
accepted the burdensome end of the wager, and determined to win it. The Sunday
World, as usual, was interested in the project. I knew nothing whatever about a
bicycle. I had never ridden one, and there I had agreed to ride one around the
world. Of course, the first thing to do was to get a bicycle and learn to
ride.”
Annie
expected to make money by respectable means during her trip. She did so by
selling silk handkerchiefs, giving talks to share her stories, knowledge and
experience and by selling photographs of herself with her autograph on it.
In those days, a woman riding a bicycle was
considered a “disgraceful spectacle” by some people, but this did not
discourage Annie. Women were starting to ride bicycles and to consider these
devices as a sign of emancipation and freedom.
During
those years, bicycles became popular among women, but there was still
controversy over whether women should or should not ride bicycles. The research on this topic is meticulous and engaging, for it mentions the names
and anecdotes of women who completed long-distance rides. The book also
highlights the fascinating link between the women who advocated for their
right to vote and the use of bicycles. Did you know, for example, that Frances Willard learned to ride a bike at age 51?
Biking and the art of self-promotion
To meet her goals Annie Londonderry relied on
the art of self-promotion, something she was lucky enough to handle well. She
was an avid storyteller, and her capacity to distort reality to make her
stories more engaging was one of her talents. She had a flair for entertaining
audiences across the world, and this helped to sustain herself financially
during her trip. However, her adventure was plagued by several dangers and
threats. In the year 1894, when she was
travelling, China and Japan were at war over the Korean territory. When Annie
visited the region, she was imprisoned for a short period of time. Her reports
reveal descriptions of what she witnessed.
Annie also had to face the fact that there
were people who did not like a woman working to promote herself. Women were not
expected to get involved in such activities. It was viewed with suspicion and derision,
and, as you may know, it was considered petty or even arrogant. It may have
been envy what drove men and women to criticize her bravery and free spirit. In
some places some of these people even doubted her gender because of her
clothing and athletic habits.
Yet what the naysayers said or thought did not
dissuade Annie from pursuing her goal. She was unstoppable. Here’s the route
she followed:
If you
expect to meet a perfect woman in this book, however, you will not find her.
She was not a perfect human being—and nobody is, as far as I know--and why is
perfection expected from women while men get celebrated for their
accomplishments while getting away with everything?
Annie
did accomplish her biking goal, and her great-grandnephew was excited to
research her experience and share it. The information, however, is limited. I
found the book to be a bit disorganized at times and some parts were a bit
tedious, but I am thankful for Peter Zheutlin’s book. It made me reflect on
various topics and it inspired me to learn about history.
Annie and her family secrets
Annie Londonderry was married and had three
little kids when she launched into her odyssey. However, she kept this
information hidden from the public lest she be judged and rejected for
leaving her family behind.
I was surprised to learn that Annie did not
like to be a mother, but then I realized that in those days women were expected
to become mothers even if they were not motivated to be mothers. Then I
wondered if they had the freedom to make a choice over whether to become
mothers. I wondered whether contraception was even available. I did not even
know if it existed.
I researched this topic and was shocked to learn that in the United States of America contraceptives were banned in the 1870s and the ban lasted until the 1960s. Also, abortion was criminalized in every state in the 1880s. The Comstock Act was proposed by Anthony Comstock, a fanatic religious man who hated women. The Comstock Bill was passed by Congress in 1873. The Comstock Act did not allow the promotion of contraceptive methods and it banned the transport of contraceptives by mail or other common carriers. You can read more about it here.
The United States of America was the only Western nation criminalizing birth control at that time.Therefore, many women were simply forced to become mothers because of their circumstances. Now we, as women, have the freedom to choose whether we want to have children or not, so we relish the experience of being mothers. I had never thought about this before until I reflected on the life story of Annie Londonderry, the woman who cycled the world for the first time in history.
Annie
and her husband did not like parenting their children. I was baffled to learn
that they sent them to Catholic boarding schools, where the kids faced
stressful situations that affected their lives as adults. The emotional distance from their parents along with the harsh
treatment in those school years left their psychological scars for life.
This book
inspired me to learn more about the time period and opened my mind to
understand that mothering may not have been a pleasant experience for many
women in the past. I immersed myself in this book thinking that I would simply learn
about a woman traveling the world on a bike, but I ended up researching
subjects I would never have researched otherwise, like the use of
contraceptives in the 1800s. Such is the magic of books.
Riding through time takes us back to the
present
It was
distressing to learn how religious fanaticism in the United States of America curtailed
the rights of women. I am surprised that these historical topics are not
discussed openly today. When I reflect upon this matter, I suddenly become
aware of the ways in which a set of ridiculous rules were imposed to violate
the rights of women to body autonomy. The right to body autonomy is a human
right and it should be treated as such. No religion should be allowed to
infringe upon this basic right. We are now in the twenty first century, and
we are still confronting the creepiness of men and women who are proud of empowering men who are entitled to violate women and publicly say so.
Conclusion
Annie’s
biking adventure opened her life to new experiences and afforded her the
freedom she craved for during a time that constrained the lives of women in
multiple ways. When I reflect on Annie’s life story, I conclude that in some
ways Annie was the product of her times, but in others she resisted the oppression
of her gender.
It is
hard to believe that it is the year 2025 and we are still seeing that so many people still believe women are inferior to men, even when they are qualified and have a background of honesty and hard work… and it is disturbing to see that men are rewarded for bad behaviors.
As I read about Annie, however, I feel
thankful that I don’t need to wear those ridiculous bloomers when I ride my own
bike. I appreciate my freedom to choose comfortable leggings to go cycling. Unsurprisingly, the twenty first century still has people questioning the right of women to wear leggings. Yes,
seriously, I am not making it up: you can learn about this here.
Oh, well. Stay tuned, because the bigots are
feeling empowered.
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check
my writing on the following books:
Running for Good by Fiona Oakes
Bicycling
with Butterflies by Sara Dykman
Enjoy
your reading adventures, and thank you for visiting My Writing Life Blog:
Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration.
