The Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, or STP, is back for its 31st year on July 17-18. It is now called the Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. This annual ride is the largest in the Northwest, with over 9,000 riders traveling 200 miles in one or two days. The riders will pedal over rolling rural roads with the half-way point being near Centralia and Chehalis, and this is where the ride really becomes an adventure. Imagine thousands of people looking for a place to sleep and eat for a night. So schools, churches, and other charitable organizations provide indoor spaces for riders to sleep in and food for a fee. Others arrange to camp in parks or fields near the half-way point. Then it’s on to Portland the next morning.
How about taking a bike tour around the world? The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance by David V. Herlihy was published in June. Here’s a sampling from a great book review by M.J. Kelly of Cascade Bicycle Club.
This is the story of Frank Lenz, who transformed that taste of freedom into a cyclist’s dream job come true: covering twenty thousand miles over three continents as a correspondent for Outing magazine.
That was back in 1892. Lenz rolled out from Pittsburgh and traveled the world primarily by bike for two years before disappearing in Turkey. The book also tells the story of fellow early adopters of international bicycle travel, Thomas Allen and William Sachtleben, who set out to learn what happened to Lenz.
What a treat that Mr. Herlihy will be in Seattle, sharing a digital slideshow of photographs Lenz took before his world tour — on an old-fashioned “high-wheeler” no less — and during his travels across the United States, Japan, China, Burma, India and Persia.
Herlihy will share tales and a slide show from The Lost Cyclist on Tuesday, July 20, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.at the Central Library.
Please share a comment about cycling fiction and non-fiction books that you’ve enjoyed!
Leave a Comment