
Annie Londonderry
The First Woman to Bicycle Around the World
Annie Londonderry
The First Woman to Bicycle Around the World

Meet Annie
The World’s First
International Female Sports Star
A Jewish Mother from Boston

One Woman
One Bicycle
One Unforgettable Journey
Annie Cohen Kopchovsky’s (a/k/a Annie Londonderry) bike ride between 1894 and 1895 was, the New York World declared, “the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman.” The married mother of three children under the age of six was attempting to become the first woman to ride around the world by bicycle. The name “Londonderry” came from the first of several corporate sponsors of her journey, The Londonderry Lithia Spring Water Company of Nashua, New Hampshire. Though she is often heralded as the first woman to circle the world on a bicycle, there is much more to Annie’s story than meets the eye!




Featured Books
SPIN: A Novel
By Peter Zheutlin
“Spin is a thrilling story that will keep the reader breathless until the end. This mostly true story begins with a bored housewife and mother in the 1890’s who takes a wager to circle the world on a bicycle. The reader gets to ride along with Annie as she meets the most famous people of the day and finds love and adventure in every long mile. This tale will stay with you long after Annie’s last ride.” — The Southern Bookseller Review
Who was Annie Londonderry? She captured the popular imagination with her daring ‘round the world trip on two wheels. It was, declared the New York World in October of 1895, “the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman.”
But beyond the headlines, Londonderry was really Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, a young, Jewish mother of three small children, who climbed onto a 42-pound Columbia bicycle and pedaled away into history.
Reportedly set in motion by a wager between two wealthy Boston merchants, the bet required Annie not only to circle the earth by bicycle in 15 months, but to earn $5,000 en route, as well. This was no mere test of a woman’s physical endurance and mental fortitude; it was a test of a woman’s ability to fend for herself in the world.
Often attired in a man’s riding suit, Annie turned every Victorian notion of female propriety on its head. Not only did she abandon, temporarily, her role of wife and mother (scandalous in the 1890s), she earned her way selling photographs of herself, appearing as an attraction in stores, and by turning herself into a mobile billboard. Annie didn’t run away to join the circus; she became the circus, a colorful spectacle on wheels.
In Spin, Peter Zheutlin, a descendent of Annie’s, probes the inner life and seeming boundless courage of this outlandish, brash, and charismatic woman. In a time when women could not vote and few worked outside the home, Annie was a master of public relations, a consummate self-promoter, and a skillful creator of her own myth. Yet, for more than a century her remarkable story was lost to history. Spin brings this remarkable heroine and her marvelous, stranger-than-fiction story is vividly to life for a new generation.
“From the travails of pedaling a 42-pound bicycle over shoddy roads to the adjustments Annie made to her riding costume and her enterprising approach toward financing her journey, Spin gives an account of Annie’s travels fizzing with admiration for her moxie. Zheutlin, one of Annie’s descendants, adeptly handles her propensity to make up stories to drum up publicity, creating an adventure that grapples with a remarkable woman’s secrets and shortcomings.” — Booklist
“What a fresh and fun basis for a work of historical fiction: A sensational 15-month around-the-world cycling journey by Annie Cohen Kopchovksy, a young Boston mother motivated by the lure of a $10,000 prize — and, no less, the chance to escape the drudgery of motherhood.” — The Jerusalem Post Magazine
“Peter Zheutlin’s fictionalized account of his relative’s life [is] dazzling, mysterious and all-around fascinating.” — Amherst Magazine
“We sooo enjoyed SPIN! The title didn’t really prepare us for the complexity and the humor of the prose.” — The Ladies of Autumnwood of Grand Island, New York Book Club
NOTE FOR BOOK CLUBS! Thanks to the Book Club Cookbook’s Galley Match program, about a dozen book clubs around the country read advanced copies of Spin. To read what they had to say click here! I am happy to join you by video chat or by phone for all or part of your discussion of Spin. Just use the Contact link above. And click here to see the Reader’s Guide!” — Peter Zheutlin
Around the World on Two Wheels
Annie Londonderry’s Extraordinary Ride
By Peter Zheutlin
Praise for:
Around the World on Two Wheels
Annie Londonderry’s Extraordinary Ride
~ The Jerusalem Report
“Well researched and written…this reclaimed true story illuminates family life, journalism, advertising, and recreation of that transitional era [the 1890s]. As for Annie, she was a remarkable woman and well worth getting to know.”
~ Booklist
“[A] lively portrayal of the cycling culture in the United States and France during the late 1800s and a well-researched depiction of cycling’s role in the women’s movement of Susan B. Anthony’s heyday.”
~ The Oregonian
“[An] extraordinary story…Zheutlin zestfully unfolds the story of his relative, Annie Kopchovsky.“
~ Jewish Book World
“A wonderful telling of one of the most intriguing, offbeat, and until now, lost chapters in the history of cycling.”
~ David Herlihy, author, Bicycle: The History
“Cyclists, women, and anyone who loves adventure should give hearty thanks to Peter Zheutlin for shining light on the astounding – and sometimes outright astonishing – story of Annie Londonderry.”
~ Stephen Madden, editor-in-chief, Bicycling Magazine
Around the World on Two Wheels has been translated into Italian, Korean, and German.



More Books by Peter Zheutlin
Please visit my author web site for more information: www.peterzheutlin.com
The Dog Went Over
The Mountain
By Peter Zheutlin