We’re continuing our theme week on 5 Fearless Females! Our 4th fearless female is Annie Londonderry, the first woman to bicycle around the world.
The trip was supposedly the result of a wager that would award Annie $10,000 if she could ride a bicycle around the globe in 15 months. Annie wasn’t an experienced cyclist by any means. In fact, the first time she rode a bicycle was just a few days before her trip. She was also a married woman and a mother to 3 young children. But she accepted the challenge anyway, and set off on the first leg of her journey on June 27, 1894, cycling from Boston to Chicago.
Sponsorships were extremely important to make her trip a success. Her bike had a placard attached to the rear wheel that advertised Londonderry Lithia Spring Water Company, which the company paid her $100 for. She also agreed to go by “Annie Londonderry” during her trip as part of the deal. She sold many more sponsorships to finance her trip along the way, selling advertising space on herself and her bike, hanging ribbons and signs that advertised everything from bicycle tires to perfume. She also had paid speaking engagements during her travels, gave cycling demonstrations, and sold promotional products and souvenirs.
She started out on a heavy 42-pound bike, wearing a long skirt, corset, and high collar, as was typical for women of the day. When she got to Chicago, she had list 20 pounds and was beginning to rethink the adventure. But before she left town, she met with Sterling Cycle Works, which offered to sponsor her, and also have her a much lighter and faster bike to ride. She also changed from wearing a dress to bloomers, and ultimately wore a men’s riding suit during her trip.
She rode to New York City, where she caught a boat to France. She cycled through that country and later Alexandria, Colombo, Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, taking a steamship when necessary. She arrived back in Chicago in September 1985, with two weeks to spare, and collected her $10,000 prize. Learn more here.