In 1884, Thomas Stevens left San Francisco on a Columbia high-wheeler with the outrageous goal of becoming the first man to ride a bicycle across the United States. Once he reached Boston, he decided to continue on around the world, so he sailed to London for the ride across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. With only a sparse bundle of supplies, he persevered through wild country and rough weather, recording his three-year odyssey in this classic of 19th-century adventure and travel writing. Engravings. Map.