Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World
Annie Londonderry had never ridden a bike. She was a mother of three and a hard-working salesperson for newspaper ads. “When Annie heard that two rich businessmen were going to pay ten thousand dollars to the first woman who pedaled around the word, she knew she had to try.” That was a lot of money in 1894.
The rules were clear: “Speak only English, accept no donations, earn $5000 while traveling. Win $10,000 if you return in 15 months or less.” Annie signed up for two bicycle lessons to learn how to ride. The quotations appear to be written in her own handwriting. “Two lessons sufficed for the learning and then I announced my readiness to start.”
Annie left Boston with only one change of underwear in her pocket. She wore a corset and long skirts. It took her 90 days to reach Chicago. There she changed into bloomers. The stylized art is whimsical and fun, with people with long flat noses and skinny arm and legs and many animals (cows, dogs, cats, horses, bears, foxes, rabbits, coyotes). The palette is earthy pastels, and the words pedal, balance, steer are repeatedly incorporated into the art along streets and roadways. Famous landmarks dot the map-like double-paged spreads (Statue of Liberty, Massachusetts State House, Eiffel Tower, and Egyptian Pyramids).
One sentence that was unclear until read a second and third time was “Instead of pedaling west to San Francisco, she’d head back east and travel by steamship across the Atlantic Ocean to France.” The contraction was what was confusing since the next sentence has her setting out for New York City. The muted black type on a pale green background didn’t help the contraction stand out, either.
Annie earned money on the ship giving talks about her travels. She encountered problems, like thieves, French-speaking policemen, and her bicycle being confiscated (a big word for a picture book). Annie rode through France with an American flag tied to her bike. After Annie faced another attempted robbery, the French people started riding with her to keep her safe. Then she rode across parts of Africa and Asia, taking steamships when needed. The details are lacking for this part of the story. She ends up on a boat to San Francisco and needs to ride to Chicago to complete the contest.
Annie sold photos of herself to help raise the $5,000 to complete the contest. She had to cross the desert. This double-page spread emphasizes how hard her journey was with the words pedal, balance, and steer back into the art. She beat the deadline by 14 days.
The back of the book includes an Author’s Note, a history of the bicycle, and a timeline of women’s suffrage, bicycle milestones, Annie’s Journey, and a bibliography, plus three photo credits from Peter Zheutlin, Annie’s great-grand nephew. His website about Annie is www.annielondonderry.com
The last two sentences sum up the book’s purpose, to show that: “Annie Cohen Kopchovsky Londonderry had stepped up on her bike and stepped out of the role society envisioned for her. In her own words, she was a new woman.”