Pittsburgh Cyclist in history

Thanks for the review.

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-----Original Message-----
From: Ernest Schimmerling <eschimme@gmail.com>
Sender: acaracing@googlegroups.com
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:22:58
To: Allegheny Cycling Association<acaracing@googlegroups.com>
Reply-To: eschimme@gmail.com
Subject: [ACA Google Group] Just thought you might be interested

There is a book out (published in 2010) about Frank Lenz, a Pittsburgh
cyclist who attempted to ride around the world in 1892 on "safety"
bicycle with inflatable tires, which had just been introduced. He
sent back notes and photographs as he traveled. Lenz headed west and
made it as far as Turkey before disappearing in 1894. Another
American cyclist, William Sachtleben, who had already been around the
world in the other direction, went to Turkey to investigate what had
happened.

Starting in the 1880s, Lenz was a member of the Allegheny Cycle Club.
He raced in and around Pittsburgh and toured thousands of miles on an
"ordinary" high-wheel bicycle on some of the same roads we ride on.

The book seems to be based on diaries these cyclists kept on their
various trips, as well as newspaper articles. It provides details and
photographs that I find curious and surprising. (I'm only half way
done reading the book; the writing style is just so-so passable but
the story holds its own so far IMHO.)

The book is on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Cyclist-Adventurer-Mysterious-Disappearance/dp/0547195575

(There are also soft cover and iPad versions.)

There is a Wikipedia entry on Frank Lenz at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lenz_(cyclist)