Annie Londonderry, the first woman to bicycle round the world, learnt to ride a cycle a few days before she set off! The trip was set in motion by a wager that required 23-year-old Annie to circle the earth by bicycle in 15 months. On 27 June 1894, the mother-of-three set off from Boston and ended up travelling through Chicago, New York, Paris, Marseilles, Alexandria.
Colombo, Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong, Shanghai and San Francisco, becoming a global celebrity in the process. On 12 September 1895, Annie arrived in Chicago, and collected her US $10,000 prize. Despite criticism that she travelled more “with” a bicycle than “on” one (she travelled by steamship on portions of the journey since the terms of the bet did not specify how many miles she had to ride), her feat was a pioneering one in the history of women’s athletics.
Picture Credit : Google