Pioneering women

[DebW]

Annie "Londonderry" Kopchovsky become the first woman ever to travel the world on a bicycle in 1895 at age 23. Supposedly, the ride was in response to a wager by two wealthy Boston clubmen. Traveling with only a change of clothes and a pearl-handled revolver, Londonderry earned her way, in part, by turning her bicycle and her body into a mobile billboard, carrying advertising banners and ribbons through the streets of cities around the world. Thus adorned and riding a men's bicycle and a man's riding suit, Annie was a remarkable sight to Victorian eyes. Her globetrotting adventure became the talk of the world and was a harbinger of the modern women?s liberation movement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Londonderry

http://www.larchmontgazette.com/2006/articles/20060831bikenbloomers.html

[pooks]

Fabulous! Thanks for sharing that -- what a woman!

[margo49]

Brilliant links!
The English Suffragettes were often on bicycles too.

[RoadRaven]

Thanks for this info - I am going to post on on my club's forum
The club is heavily male-dominated, so a few female profiles there will be useful
:)

[Python]

Fascinating. How on earth did they ever manage to get on those Penny Farthings, let alone ride the thing:eek:

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow! I love that! Never heard of her before. Here is another good site about her, with photos:
http://www.annielondonderry.com/