Some Thoughts on David Herlihy

 

David Herlihy is the author of the books, The Bicycle and The Lost Cyclist and is also the curator of the Fowler Museum Exhibit, Round Trip.  He spoke at the March 25 meeting of the club. Herlihy told the tale of cyclist, Frank Lenz. He became a famous cyclist in the 1890s. Lenz was the original bike photographer, using glass plates, not firm, in his camera. Bikes were for men only in those days. Lenz wanted to go around the world on a bike. He hoped to build a portfolio of photographs of his trip. In 1981, he set out to cover 20,000 miles over three continents as a correspondent for Outing Magazine. His trip started in England, France, and Italy. He went on to take pictures in Greece, Turkey, Persia, Turkmenistan , and part of the Russian Empire. In 1982, Lenz was walking across western China, making it to Burma and on to India. His last photo was taken in Iran. Lenz went missing in 1895 and his body was never found. His mysterious disappearance sparked an international outcry.  In the photo at left are David Helihy (l) and President Jay Saltzman (Photo by Neal Goldman).