Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event on Saturday, August 14

As part of BikeFest 2010, we are excited to announce that David Herlihy, author of The Lost Cyclist, a book the New York Times says is “a view from the helmet cam in the days before helmet cams.”  Cyclists and historians alike will enjoy this incredible turn-of-the-century story about a Pittsburgher named Frank Lenz, a renowned high-wheel racer and long-distance tourist who dreamed of cycling around the world. He finally got his chance by recasting himself as a champion of the downsized “safety-bicycle” with inflatable tires, the forerunner of the modern road bike that was about to become wildly popular. In the spring of 1892 he quit his accounting job and took off on his bike as a correspondent for Outing magazine.

Two years into his journey, Lenz disappeared in Turkey during the start of a chain of atrocities that eventually led to the Armenian genocide.  His disappearance initiated a massive hunt for him, which even affected diplomatic relations.  Lenz managed to capture the imagination of the whole country during this interesting time in history when the bicycle was the most advanced form of independent, personal transportation.

Author David Herlihy, who wrote Bicycle: The History, explores what it was like to be an adventurer and traveler in the times before the automobile on the newfangled mechanical device called the bicycle.

Herlihy will be in the South Side on Saturday, August 14 for two events.

David Herlihy, author of The Lost Cyclist, South Side events

Saturday, August 14

5:00pm: Speaking and book signing at Joseph Beth Booksellers, 510 South 27th St, SouthSide Works

6:30pm: Afterparty at the OTB Bicycle Cafe, 2518 East Carson St.  There will be drink and food specials and prize give-aways including books, OTB gift certificates, East End Brewing Company Big Hop cycling jerseys and more!

Not a member of BikePGH? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership