for years, but the U.S. government intensi- recalled the relief that swept over him as he
fied its efforts after the wheelmen person- departed Kurdistan for Constantinople and
ally lobbied President William McKinley in then headed home:
January 1900. “I felt as if I were riding out of the ‘val-
The sultan finally agreed to the U.S. ley of death,’” he wrote. “Every mile west-
demands after the Americans refused to ward brought me in contact with a higher
sell him a warship until the matter was civilization, and only those who have lived
resolved. The Turks finally paid $7,500 to among barbarians can conceive what a
Lenz’s grieving mother, who had begged pleasure it was for me to recognize each
him not to go on the trip, nearly eight years new object which I had not seen for many
after her only child’s disappearance. months.”
Lenz’s disappearance prompted a debate
in the cycling community over the merits of Bicycle historian David Herlihy’s The Lost
round-the-world tours. A columnist for the around the globe, although she is sus- Cyclist: The Untold Story of Frank Lenz’s
popular cycling journal Bearings derided pected of making liberal use of trains and Ill-Fated Around-the-World Journey, will
such trips as dangerous stunts and the rid- steamers during her journey. be published May 2009 by rBooks.co.uk.
ers as mere imitators of Thomas Stevens, As late as 1904, a German cyclist reported
the first to circle the globe. being denied entry into Asia Minor because Geof Koss has spent many hours research-
But other thrill seekers followed Lenz’s of the “Lenz affair.” The government “did ing the long-forgotten story of Frank Lenz
Share the road. Lenz, seen holding his enourmous pith helmet, often encountered camels along the Grand Trunk Road.
lead, even after the details of his brutal not want to take any more risks of that kind. in the various libraries and federal archives
murder became known. Just weeks after So we went on without the passports.” This of Washington, DC. He’s also partially
Illinois, had traveled through Kurdistan with the following morning as he crossed a river Kurd had already escaped from prison and Sachtleben sailed to Europe to search for was after Bedouins had already killed one of retraced, on a mountain bike, the first leg of
college classmate Thomas Allen during their several miles outside of town. According fled, never to be seen again. Two of the Lenz, a Chicago man and his wife started his traveling companions. Lenz’s round-the-world trip from Pittsburgh
own round-the-world bicycle trip complet- to Sachtleben’s account, one of the Kurds Armenians died in prison while they were an around-the-world attempt, following Sachtleben, who personally witnessed to Washington, a 300-plus-mile journey
ed in 1892. The 29-year-old Sachtleben was slashed Lenz on the hand with a sword. waiting to be tried, and the others also fled in part Lenz’s ill-fated route. And Annie several horrific slaughters during the year that can now be made completely off-road.
still hungry for adventure and sailed for Bleeding, Lenz begged for his life, even after posting bail. Londonderry, a housewife from Boston, he spent investigating Lenz’s fate, was only He writes about environmental issues in
Europe in March 1895. It had been nearly offering to convert to Islam, but he was The American public felt cheated, and soon became the first woman to cycle too happy to leave the troubled region. he Congress.
ten months since Lenz had disappeared. killed and buried in the riverbank. Lenz’s story became a rallying cry for
Upon arriving in Turkey, Sachtleben Further, Sachtleben learned that the League of American Wheelmen, then
29th Annual
forged papers to gain entrance to Kurdistan. the Turks had covered up the crime. emerging as a powerful lobby for improved
he immediately traveled to Erzeroum, Confronted with the evidence, the Turks roads. The group and their congressional
Lenz’s last known destination, and with brought charges against the Kurd, but allies sought an indemnity for Lenz’s griev-
the help of a friendly missionary and an to Sachtleben’s dismay, they also charged ing mother, charging that the Turks had
Florida Bicycle Safari
Armenian merchant, began to piece togeth- innocent Armenians who had aided his failed to protect Lenz upon his arrival in
er Lenz’s last days. investigation. he returned to the United the country and had failed to investigate
3 or 6 day supported bicycling tour
he learned that a notorious Kurdish States bitter over his failure to recover his disappearance in good faith.
chief had ordered Lenz robbed and mur- Lenz’s body for his grieving mother. The U.S. State Department acquiesced
dered after the cyclist had inadvertently After a lengthy series of trials and appeals, and formally sought $40,000 from the
in rural and scenic North Florida
insulted him during a chance encounter in the Kurdish chief and the Armenians were Turks, who resisted, arguing the killers had
a small village. The bandits ambushed Lenz convicted of Lenz’s murder; however, the already been convicted. The request lagged
April 18 – 23, 2009
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32 adventure cyclist january 2009 adventurecycling.org adventure cyclist january 2009 adventurecycling.org 33
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