Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. 1

MP3 Audio CD. Around the World on a Bicycle is the true story of an extraordinary endeavor successfully undertaken by Thomas Stevens: in April 1884 he set off on a large-wheeled bicycle to circle the globe. He left from San Francisco, then he boarded a steamer to get to England, then to France and through Europe to Asia. Being stopped at the border of Afghanistan, he had to return to board a vessel that took him to Karachi, then to India. From India he continued his journey to Hong Kong, then to Shanghai and Japan, to end his journey in Yokohama after having covered around 13,500 miles by bicycle by the end of 1886.

The first volume of his travel accounts comprises the period from the start of the journey to the time spent in Teheran where he reached just before the beginning of winter and where he spent the cold season before moving on. The route from San Francisco took Stevens through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, then to Utah, Wyoming, Boston and New York.

During this first part of the journey, he covers around 3,700 miles in four months and he is greeted on his way not only by people cheering on the side of the road, but also by members of the local wheelmen associations. He spends the first winter of his journey in New York, writing for local newspapers and magazines, then he moves on when the weather turns milder.

He lands in Liverpool on the 9th of April, 1885, then he continues his journey by ferry to France, where he takes to the road again through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey. He spends some time in Constantinople to do some repair and maintenance on the bicycle, then he pedals on through Anatolia, Armenia and Kurdistan to Teheran in Iran, where he spends the winter as the guest of the Shah.