1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Hey everybody. Tracy here with news about some live appearances 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: we have coming up. Saturday, July seven, I will be 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: at History Camp Boston, where I will be part of 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: the History Podcaster panel. And then the next day, Sunday, 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: July eight, at two pm, Holly and I both will 6 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: be doing a live podcast at Adams National Historical Park 7 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: in Quincy, Massachusetts, where our show will be John Quincy 8 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: and Luisa Catherine Adams Abroad. This is an outdoor show 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: and it will happen rain or shine, and we're coming 10 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: back to Convention Days in Seneca Falls, New York. Our 11 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: show is at four pm on Saturday, July twenty one 12 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: in the historic Wesleyan Chapel. You can get more information 13 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: about all of these shows with links to buy tickets 14 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:48,279 Speaker 1: where applicable at missed in History dot com. Click on 15 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: live shows in the menu. Welcome to Steph you missed 16 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: in History class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hell, 17 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm 18 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: Tracy V. Wilson. Tracy, it's a bit since we've had 19 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: a history mystery. Well apart from the Mysterious Ancient City, 20 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: we haven't had a more conventional mystery. Yeah, I feel 21 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: like once we get back a certain a number of 22 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: years in the historical record, everything is a little bit 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: of a history mystery. But this is an actual, we 24 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: don't know what went down mystery. It involves a man 25 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: who attempted to travel around the world on a bicycle 26 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: at the end of the nineteenth century. And I'm not 27 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: going to say much more than that because i want 28 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: to let the story of cyclists Franklin's unfold on its own. 29 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: So Franklins was born Frank George Reinhardt in eighteen sixty 30 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: seven to Adam and Maria Reinhardt, who had moved from 31 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: Germany to the United States in eighteen sixty five. The 32 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: family was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the time, where 33 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: Adam was working as a cigar maker, but Frank never 34 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: really knew his father. Adam died when Frank was just 35 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: a baby, and when he was six, his mother, Maria Anna, remarried. 36 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: This time she married William Lenz. He was also a 37 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: German immigrant. As Frank grew up in Pittsburgh, which is 38 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: where his mother had moved after his father had died. 39 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: He and his stepfather had a rather strained relationship. William 40 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: never really saw Frank as his son, and William treated 41 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: Maria Anna quite poorly. And Frank, though was a good kid. 42 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: He sold papers to bring an extra money for the 43 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: family and he did well in high school. And after 44 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: high school he put himself through business school and he 45 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: got a bookkeeping job before he was even twenty. Cycling 46 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: had first made its way to the United States via 47 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: Great Britain in the eighteen seventies, and it caught on 48 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: as an entertainment for wealthy people who were looking for 49 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,239 Speaker 1: a bit of excitement. In the eighties, it was starting 50 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: to attract a wider audience of enthusiasts, and this was 51 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: just perfect timing to to capture the attention of teenage 52 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: Frank Lens. He was unhappy at home and he was 53 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: looking for some kind of adventure and diversion. By eight seven, 54 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: Pittsburgh boasted more than three hundred cycling enthusiasts, including a 55 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,799 Speaker 1: few ladies, and the nation was deep in the throes 56 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: of cycling fever. Lens purchased his first bicycle. It was 57 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 1: a high wheeler model called a Columbia Expert, for a 58 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five dollars. After saving and scrimping. He 59 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: was working, as we said, as a bookkeeper at a 60 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: brass fittings company, and his salary was twelve hundred dollars 61 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: a year, so this bicycle was no small investment. It 62 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: was more than ten percent of his annual wages, but 63 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: to him it was really worth it. He took to 64 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: the sport instantly, and he was not content to take short, 65 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: leisurely rides. He rode five miles a day during the 66 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: work week and then on the weekends. His excur jsians 67 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: were much longer. He was still living with his mother 68 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: and his stepfather at that point, and so some of 69 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: his enthusiasm for cycling probably came from letting him escape 70 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: from his home life. It also gave him a whole 71 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: new social circle, as he joined the Allegheny Cycle Club 72 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: and quickly became one of its most prominent members. In 73 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,839 Speaker 1: June seven, he made his first one hundred mile ride 74 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: round trip from Pittsburgh to Newcastle, Pennsylvania. He completed the 75 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: journey despite the fact that his handlebars broke on the 76 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: return trip. He just kept peddling and kind of aiming 77 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: the bicycle. But from that point his long trips only 78 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: got longer, and he started racing. He did really well 79 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: for himself in competition, even though his high wheeler was 80 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: much heavier than a true racing model. He upgraded to 81 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: a lighter model and then a true racing bike, but 82 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,279 Speaker 1: it turned out that that racing bike uh was a 83 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: little too light for him. He was better at handling 84 00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: a cycle that carried a little more weight, So he 85 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: went back to that mid range ride, not his first one, 86 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: but the second one he had purchased. He transitioned from 87 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: short track racing into long distance competition, so that went 88 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: back to his existing love of long rides. A one 89 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,920 Speaker 1: hundred mile race from Erie, Pennsylvania to Buffalo, New York 90 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: was slated for September eight, and he was confident of 91 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: his chances. These were routes that he had traveled many 92 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: times on his long rides, and even though that morning 93 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: dawned through a pouring rain, he was still up for it. 94 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: Lens ended up coming in third after a race that 95 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: was just grueling and did not have a lot of 96 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: on course amenities. Yeah, it was kind of one of 97 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: those things that if you've ever done any any like 98 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 1: running or competition and distance races yourself a lot of 99 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: times New races will tell you all the great like 100 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: there's gonna be a snack stop here and water stop here, 101 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 1: and sometimes if it's not well organized, you don't always 102 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: get those things. That was absolutely what happened here. They 103 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: had been promised, like that they were going to be 104 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: sandwiches at one point in the race, and that you know, 105 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 1: there would be all of these support people along the way, 106 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: and largely due to the rain, those things did not happen. 107 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: I think under normal circumstances, if I were promised sandwiches 108 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 1: and there were no sandwiches, I would be upset about it. 109 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: But if I was biking a hundred miles and would 110 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: not have promised sandwiches would So by the time the 111 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: finishers got to Buffalo, they were starving and they were 112 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 1: completely depleted, and Lens was really disappointed. He had intended 113 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: to win, and not securing a victory was a huge blow. 114 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: But things were dismal beyond that. His teammates from the 115 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: Allegheny Cycle Club had not been on course where he 116 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: expected them to serve as a support crew, so they 117 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: were also supposed to have some refreshments and some help 118 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: and be able to look over his bike for him 119 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: and they were not there. They were only at the 120 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: end to meet him. And he had also sent a 121 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: parcel ahead to Buffalo so that he would have some 122 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: money and a change of clothes when the race was over, 123 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: but that parcel hadn't arrived, so he had to borrow 124 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: clothes and money so he could stay in a hotel 125 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: overnight and recover from the race. That race, unsurprisingly, really 126 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: impacted Lens and his relationship with cycling. He was never 127 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: happier than when he was peddling, but he became way 128 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: less interested in competing, and Steady started to think about 129 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: traveling as a full time cyclist, and about the same 130 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: time he took up photography. These two things kind of 131 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: went hand in hand. There were other people that were 132 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: starting to make names for themselves as sort of cyclist 133 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: journalists that would go around and take pictures, and so 134 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: he thought that might be a good career path. Uh 135 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: In eighty nine, an article in American Athlete featured Lens 136 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: and described his recent three week, eight hundred and thirty 137 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: six mile trip. He had traveled with a thirty five 138 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: pound pack of photography equipment, and he took a hundred 139 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: and fifty exposures along the way shipping them home as 140 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: he traveled. And he was hoping that this rite up 141 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: of this trip that he had taken would add to 142 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: his image because we said his long term plan was 143 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: forming that he wanted to be hired by a periodical 144 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: to travel the world by base bicycle and take photos 145 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: along the way. It cracks me up that this is 146 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: a job that exists today still, Like I just saw 147 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: an ad for uh An Airline looking for a couple 148 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: to live out of an apartment in Reiki, Vic and 149 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: basically travel around and post things on social media as 150 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: their job for a period of time. And it's the 151 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: same basic thing that he was talking about doing here. 152 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,679 Speaker 1: M hm in Lens made his way from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 153 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: to St. Louis by bike. In the late summer of 154 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 1: one he once again started a lengthy bike ride from 155 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: Pittsburgh and this time went all the way to New Orleans. 156 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 1: He took both trips with friend and fellow cycling enthusiast 157 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 1: Charles Petticord, and this New Orleans journey was a month long. 158 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: It was another opportunity for him to build up his 159 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: reputation as a photographer on wheels. As they made their 160 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: way south. The two young men met with cycling clubs 161 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,839 Speaker 1: along the way, and they encountered all manner of terrain 162 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: challenges and curious onlookers in Birmingham, Alabama, after having fought 163 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,319 Speaker 1: through heavy brush for several days. There's also a hilarious 164 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: side story that they had been warned that there was 165 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 1: a crazy moonshiner somewhere in the woods that they should 166 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: be afraid of, So they were battling through this brush 167 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: and trying to keep an eye out for someone who 168 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: might attack them. They finally emerged and they entered a 169 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: restaurant's dining room on a Sunday evening. They were hot 170 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: and dirty and ravenous, and this drew a mixed reaction 171 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: of wonder and dismay from the townspeople that were just 172 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 1: sitting down to Sunday dinner. There was actually a rite 173 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 1: up in the local paper with a reminder to the 174 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: travelers that they should mind their manners in the South. 175 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: They didn't travel exclusively on pedal power. They also took 176 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: a train for a brief ride through Mississippi to make 177 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: up for some lost time. Once they got to New Orleans, 178 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: they were treated like royalty by the Louisiana Bicycle Club, 179 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: and they really enjoyed their visit. But where it was 180 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: time to board a ship that would take them back 181 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 1: to New York. Along the way, and in New Orleans itself, 182 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: Lynn's had still been taking pictures. He got better and 183 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: better at photography as he practiced, of course, and he 184 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: even figured out a way to take photos of himself 185 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: on his bike by attaching his bulb, by which I 186 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: mean that mechanism that's attached to a long shutter release cord, 187 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: not a bulb as in a light. And he attached 188 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: that to a very long rubber tube that would open 189 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 1: the shutter of a camera that was preset nearby, and 190 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: he would place that bulb in the road, and then 191 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: he would carefully aim his bike to run over the 192 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: bulb and the shutter mechanism would be triggered. And he 193 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: practiced his timing at this so he could look right 194 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: into the camera at the moment the photo was taken. 195 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: When he got home from his trip, he started writing 196 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: for various publications, describing his travels to New Orleans, laying 197 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: out his plan to bicycle around the world, and proposing 198 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 1: to each magazine that they employ him and sponsor this 199 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: whole project. He was quick to give himself a bit 200 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 1: of pr by writing about his selfies or his ingenious 201 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: system he had devised to mount an umbrella above the 202 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: camera to keep the rain and the sun at bay. 203 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: And coming up, we'll talk about some changes in bicycles 204 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: and how those impacted Frank's sport and his plans. But 205 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: first we're gonna pause for a little sponsor break. Over time, 206 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: cycling had evolved like any sport, and the high wheeler 207 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: that Lenz favored was starting to seem outdated after the 208 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: introduction of the so called safety bicycle. The high wheeler, 209 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: which had a much larger front wheel than back wheel 210 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: with the seat perched atop the apex of that high wheel, 211 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: was dangerous, and the safeties were introduced to combat that danger. 212 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: The primary problem with the high wheeler was that if 213 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: the front wheel hit an obstacle, the rider tended to 214 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 1: be thrown over the handlebars. That could be dangerous and 215 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 1: in some cases, even fatal. The safety bicycle, like most 216 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: bikes today, had two wheels of the same size, and 217 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: after entering a race in which he rode the only 218 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: high wheeler that had entered and getting trounced by less 219 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: experienced riders on safety bicycles, Lens finally decided that it 220 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: was time to change up his ride. He finally got 221 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: the offer he had been hoping for, when James Henry Warman, 222 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,680 Speaker 1: the editor of Outing Magazine, wrote to say that the 223 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 1: magazine was willing to go along with Lens's plan. He 224 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: just had to use a Victor Brand's safety bicycle for 225 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: the journey, So Lens quickly agreed, Yeah, that seemed like 226 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:38,199 Speaker 1: a pretty easy stipulation to him. There was the formality 227 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 1: still of two interviews. Warman first sent his assistant Robert 228 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: Bruce to Pittsburgh to meet Lens in person before the 229 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: deal was completed, and Bruce actually got more than he 230 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,679 Speaker 1: bargained for on that trip, as both Lens's mother and 231 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: his employer each approached him while he was visiting and 232 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: begged him to shut Frank's idea down. But Robert Bruce 233 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: knew that even if Outing Magazine said no to this 234 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: whole plan, Lens was going anyway, so he thought at 235 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: least that way they could kind of help make sure 236 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: it all went uh safely and that there was funding 237 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: for it. So Bruce reported back to Warman that he 238 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: thought Frank Lenz was absolutely up for the job. Lens 239 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: was invited to New York City after that to meet 240 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 1: with Warman in person. That meeting went well and in 241 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: the end Lens has offered two thousand dollars for expenses. 242 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: Warman said he would take out an insurance policy on 243 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: his correspondent for three thousand dollars to be paid to 244 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,839 Speaker 1: his mother, and then Warman and Lenz traveled together to 245 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: Massachusetts to the factory where Victory bicycles were being made. 246 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 1: They made arrangements for Lens to have a custom made bicycle. Yeah, 247 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: that three thousand dollar life insurance policy was something they 248 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: kind of kept between the two of them. Basically, Lenz 249 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:54,199 Speaker 1: knew that he was doing something dangerous and he really 250 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,839 Speaker 1: adored his mother and if something went wrong, he wanted 251 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: her to at least have some sort of financial cushion 252 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: so she would have something to kind of help deal 253 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: with this the grief he knew she would feel if 254 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,199 Speaker 1: something happened while he was on the road, and so 255 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:09,839 Speaker 1: he settled his affairs at home. He also wrote out 256 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: a will that left everything to his mother. He quit 257 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: his job that he had held for seven years, This 258 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: was heartbreaking to his employer because you remember they asked 259 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: Robert Bruce to please not let him do this, uh, 260 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: And his employer said, when you get back, you can 261 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: have your job back if you want it. And he 262 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 1: prepared for what he thought was going to be a 263 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: two year adventure. He also promised his girlfriend Andy Leach 264 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: that once he returned, they could start a life together. 265 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: And while Lens had hoped that Charlie Petticord would once 266 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: again be his traveling companion, and Charlie had kind of 267 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: suggested that he would go along with this earlier before 268 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: the offer actually materialized, Charlie opted out, but he told 269 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: Frank that he could meet him in Europe so that 270 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: they could finish the trip together. A second cycling friend 271 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: also turned down the offer to travel with Frank, so 272 00:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: Frank Lens decided to travel around the world alone. To 273 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: prepare his bicycle and himself, Frank packed satchel with a 274 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: change of clothes, a tripod, his umbrella, rig an extra 275 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,600 Speaker 1: enter tube and several harmonicas. He were, a belt with 276 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 1: pouches for all of his valuables, and he carried his 277 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: camera as always on his back. Frank Lens started his 278 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: journey in May of He had planned to leave at 279 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: the beginning of the month, but that custom bicycle that 280 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: he ordered took a little longer than anticipated, so he 281 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: didn't leave Pittsburgh until May fifteenth. He went first to Washington, 282 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 1: d C. To pick up his passport, and then he 283 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: made his way to New York for the official send off. 284 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: So Lens was at this point and realizing his dream. 285 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: He made several stops along the way and there were 286 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 1: celebrations and banquets in his honor. Petticord and a small 287 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: crowd of other cycling enthusiasts rode alongside him for the 288 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: first stretch of road as he left Pittsburgh, and then 289 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: it was just Peticord. At Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the friends said 290 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: their goodbyes and Lens continued on a loane. His official 291 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: start date once all those parties and paperwork stops were over, 292 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: was June four. Newspaper writeups covered the event with a 293 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: mix of optimism and pessimism over the potential success of 294 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: the journey, particularly since he was making the trip on 295 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: his own. Yeah, there have been other people that had 296 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: had done a similar trip, but they always were in 297 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: pairs or larger numbers. It took Lenz five months to 298 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: cross the United States, sticking to the northern part of 299 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: the country. He actually spent a week in Canada near 300 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: the very beginning of his journey, and then he traveled 301 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: down through Michigan into Indiana and stopped in Chicago to 302 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: celebrate Independence Day. From there, he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. St. Paul, Minnesota, 303 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: and then Minneapolis. He traveled further west to through the Dakotas, 304 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: although he was waylaid there when he got sick, and 305 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: then he rode into Montana once he was sufficiently recovered. 306 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:57,480 Speaker 1: As he made his way to the west coast, he 307 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 1: ran into a few issues. Heat, cacti, and river crossings 308 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 1: all made for some precarious moments, but he remained undeterred 309 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: and he wrote it out. It took him three days 310 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,360 Speaker 1: to get over the Rocky Mountains. He passed into Idaho 311 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: and then south to San Francisco, where he boarded a 312 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,119 Speaker 1: ship bound for Asia. Yeah, and this is definitely the 313 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: abbreviated version of his travels. Like he had all kinds 314 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:24,040 Speaker 1: of crazy adventures. In one instance, he was on a 315 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: bridge when a train was coming and there wasn't gonna 316 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,360 Speaker 1: be room for him and the bike and the bridge, 317 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 1: so he hucked himself over the edge and like held 318 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: onto the edge of the bridge while the train went by. 319 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,479 Speaker 1: He had a lot of cookie things happened to him 320 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,359 Speaker 1: on the road. But once he was on the ship, 321 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 1: he first made a brief stop in Hawaii, which Frank loved. 322 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 1: He spoke really, really highly of Hawaii and the people 323 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: there and how beautiful it all was. And then the 324 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: ship that he was on, the Oceanic, continued to Japan. 325 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: Lenz spent a month there before heading into China, and 326 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: Frank lens reached Shanghai in December, and his plan from 327 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: there was to follow the tele graph line through the 328 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,680 Speaker 1: country along the Yancey River into Mandalay and then eventually 329 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 1: make his way into Burma and Indian Kolkata. From there, 330 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: he intended to continue through India and Persia and then 331 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: into Turkey. And this was an ambitious plan in and 332 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:18,439 Speaker 1: of itself, but it was also really dangerous because a 333 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,960 Speaker 1: very very steep anti foreigner sentiment in China at the time. 334 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: Before arriving in Asia, Frank had experienced a dip in 335 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: his spirits for the first time on this trip. He 336 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 1: yearned for the freedom of travel, in part to get 337 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,199 Speaker 1: away from his stepfather and his home life, and that 338 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 1: spirit really stayed with him while crossing North America. But 339 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: as he left the only country he had ever known, 340 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,680 Speaker 1: he started to have moments of doubt. He wrote home 341 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: to reassure his family that he was fine throughout this trip, 342 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,159 Speaker 1: and even in Asia, local newspapers reported his movements. He 343 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: also sent reports back to Outing magazine every other month. 344 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: Reporters for English language papers interviewed him, and while he 345 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: was in Shanghai, he also spoke with missionaries and telegraph operators, 346 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: and they gave him advice for the trip ahead, but 347 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 1: mostly they just told him not to do it. But 348 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: he was going to do it, and he left his 349 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:17,640 Speaker 1: Shanghai hotel just before Christmas intent on completing his mission. 350 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: He thought he would reach Europe in the winter of 351 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:25,199 Speaker 1: eight and across the continent to the Atlantic Ocean, and 352 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 1: then travel back to New York by steamer, but going 353 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 1: through China slowed him down considerably. As he moved through 354 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:36,399 Speaker 1: the country, the winter became really brutal. The snow caused 355 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:38,720 Speaker 1: him to stay in one place for much longer than 356 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: he wanted in a month, he only managed five hundred miles. 357 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: And we're gonna talk about Frank's struggles while crossing China 358 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,840 Speaker 1: once the snow lit up in just a moment after 359 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 1: we take a quick break for a word from one 360 00:19:51,720 --> 00:20:01,200 Speaker 1: of our sponsors. As Frank had been warned what happened, 361 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 1: he was called foreign devil almost everywhere he went in China. 362 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 1: He was stoned in the road on several occasions, and 363 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: several times he was frightened enough that he fired his 364 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 1: revolver into the air to scare off his attackers. The 365 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: telegraph line that he was following had ended at a 366 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 1: canal with no obvious way to cross, and then he 367 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:25,760 Speaker 1: was robbed. He was mobbed in various towns. He hired 368 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,120 Speaker 1: guides at one point, but they argued and they ended 369 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 1: up taking him off course, costing him more than a 370 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,119 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty extra miles of travel. And this is 371 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,880 Speaker 1: just a handful of the many problems he ran into. 372 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,959 Speaker 1: To make matters worse, the roads were difficult, and they 373 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,680 Speaker 1: took its hole on his bike. He stayed it ends 374 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: along the way, but also gladly accepted the hospitality of 375 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:49,200 Speaker 1: missionaries and telegraph workers when it was offered to him. 376 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:53,160 Speaker 1: In one especially frightening encounter, he was attacked by farmers 377 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: in the countryside, and the conflict escalated until he was 378 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: hit in the head with a hoe and his ear 379 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 1: was injured. He eventually managed to dispel the hostility of 380 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,959 Speaker 1: the situation by acting goofy and sort of doing crazy 381 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: tricks on his bike and making the people surrounding him 382 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: kind of laugh and lose their intent to hurt him. 383 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,439 Speaker 1: And an interview shortly after this incident, he told a 384 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:19,760 Speaker 1: reporter that the Chinese were quote a plaguey, bad lot. 385 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,400 Speaker 1: And it should be noted that in his writings and interviews, 386 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: his impressions are exactly what one would expect from a 387 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: young man who had never traveled farther than New Orleans 388 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: before setting out to explore the world. So if you 389 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: read any of his accounts, you'll definitely find some presumption 390 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: and racism in the mix. So on one on the 391 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 1: one hand, Lynd seems to have wanted to learn about 392 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,199 Speaker 1: the world and he's happy to interact with people, and 393 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: on the other he often he often characterizes them as simpletons. 394 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: He praised their work ethic and was dismayed by the 395 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: poverty that he witnessed in many areas, and he also 396 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: wrote about the troubling status of women and girls. So 397 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,160 Speaker 1: for somebody who adored his mother, is frank did that 398 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: was particularly affecting. Yeah, it really did trouble him to 399 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: see how devalued women were in some of the places 400 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 1: he visited. He also told press after in an interview 401 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: that took place after his scare with the crowd and 402 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 1: the hoe to the head, that he hoped his trip 403 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: would ultimately be educational. He said, quote, I have always 404 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 1: had a strong desire to travel, and my trip before 405 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: I got to China, and I hope after I get 406 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 1: out of it will go to prove that there is 407 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:31,440 Speaker 1: a fraternal feeling among the human race. Besides the natural 408 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,159 Speaker 1: love of self that was civilization comes tolerance in a 409 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: more sympathetic appreciation of fellow men among all nations. But 410 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: even having had plenty of close calls, Franklin's remained dedicated 411 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: to this whole plan. He pressed on with his world tour, 412 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: and that means that his rain moved into China. He 413 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 1: had to walk a lot of the way, but by September, 414 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,880 Speaker 1: after having spent two weeks, laid up sick. While still 415 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: in China. He finally reached Kolkata and he felt really 416 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: bolstered by having put the China leg of his journey 417 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,679 Speaker 1: behind him and total. It had taken him six months 418 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,159 Speaker 1: to cross through China, which was twice as long as 419 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: he had anticipated. He wrote quote, God helped the unfortunate 420 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: cycler or traveler who crosses China. I could never do 421 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: it again. The Burma Bicycle Club had welcomed him with 422 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: open arms and they treated him like a celebrity. He 423 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: was treated to a banquet and the club picked up 424 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,920 Speaker 1: the tab for his lodgings. This was of course, before 425 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: he got to Colcata, and just before he sailed to Colkata, 426 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,119 Speaker 1: he posted a letter to his friends saying that he 427 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,199 Speaker 1: was doing well. He was repairing his bicycle after all 428 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,399 Speaker 1: of that damage from the roads in China, and he 429 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: was really happy to have the hardest part of his 430 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,640 Speaker 1: trip completed. He eventually set out once again and made 431 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 1: his way to Delhi and then Punjab, and he made 432 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,679 Speaker 1: the decision to head towards the Arabian Sea through the 433 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: Indus Valley rather than going through Afghanistan. Shortly after the 434 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,199 Speaker 1: New Year, which was a he crossed into Persia, he 435 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: made his way to the city of Tabreez. He had 436 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 1: some inner problems, at one point, coming down with a 437 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,720 Speaker 1: week long fever, but nothing like what he had dealt 438 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: with while he was traveling through China. He was really 439 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: eager to finish this trip, so eager that he decided 440 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: he would travel directly through Turkey, which was at that 441 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,719 Speaker 1: time also known as the Ottoman Empire to get to Europe. 442 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,719 Speaker 1: That decision was made despite the Westerners he spoke with 443 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: in Persia saying that he should take the safer and 444 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,439 Speaker 1: longer route through Russia. They basically begged him, like, please 445 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 1: do not go that way, and he all he could 446 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: see was like, it's so short. If I just crossed 447 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,239 Speaker 1: this country, I'll be at Europe versus having to go 448 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: all the way around. And he wrote to his friend 449 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: Charlie that he missed pie and ice cream, and then 450 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,399 Speaker 1: he also wrote to his editor at Outing magazine that 451 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,359 Speaker 1: he was desperately homesick. And at the same time, I 452 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:52,879 Speaker 1: should say, when he would write to his family, he 453 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: always reassured his mother that he was doing great. So 454 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: there were kind of two stories of what was going 455 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:01,600 Speaker 1: on with Frank uh Reaching in North America. One that 456 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: he was just desperately homesick and kind of miserable, even 457 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,479 Speaker 1: though he still acknowledged he was having fun at some 458 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 1: points on the trip, and the other was like, everything's fine, 459 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 1: everything's great. And so he left the city of Tabreeze 460 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: after sending these letters in May, and that was the 461 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 1: last time anyone saw him alive. The summer stretched on 462 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 1: and no one heard from him. His family and friends 463 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 1: were worried by the lack of correspondence because Frank had 464 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 1: always been had always been really regular in his communications. 465 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:33,880 Speaker 1: At one point, one of his friends did get a letter, 466 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: and that offered a spark of hope, but soon they 467 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 1: realized that that letter had been sent before Frank vanished. 468 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: It had just been delayed in transit. Initial theories as 469 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 1: to Frank's whereabouts tended to be pretty hopeful. There were 470 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: early suspicions that this disappearance may have actually been a 471 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: hoax or a publicity stunt for the magazine, or that 472 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,159 Speaker 1: he merely wanted to spend some truly alone time apart 473 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: from his life before he returned, and those ideas were 474 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: really all very out of character for Frank Lens And 475 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: as time advanced and there was still no word. Hope 476 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:11,840 Speaker 1: started to really fade. Cycling magazines and newspapers throughout the 477 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,120 Speaker 1: world posed the question where is Frank Lens. This whole 478 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,080 Speaker 1: issue was then further confused by Outing magazine falsely reporting 479 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: that Lenz had actually reached Constantinople. Diplomats and Tehran and 480 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: Constantinople were asked to investigate, but as summer turns to autumn, 481 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,959 Speaker 1: there was still no word. Outing editor James Henry Warman 482 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:35,880 Speaker 1: believed that Frank had been captured and was being held 483 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,080 Speaker 1: for some kind of ransom. He intended to handle the 484 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: matter of payment. Outing printed no more information on Lens's travels, 485 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: even as the periodical was criticized for not having any 486 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,919 Speaker 1: kind of update. The public thought that Warman might be 487 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: withholding information. Yeah, it seems like Warman thought like, I'm 488 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,920 Speaker 1: just gonna handle whatever this ransom situation is on my own. 489 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: I will pay whatever it takes and we will Like, 490 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,760 Speaker 1: I don't want to keep reporting things because he thought 491 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,760 Speaker 1: he might somehow like mess up a deal that might 492 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 1: come his way. But really people were like, why won't 493 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: you You must know something and you're not telling us anything. 494 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,960 Speaker 1: It was a very frustrating time of course for everyone involved. 495 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: The State Department conducted an investigation and eventually it was 496 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 1: confirmed that Lenz had crossed into Turkey, and it was 497 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,680 Speaker 1: confirmed exactly where that had happened, but the trail kind 498 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: of went cold after that. In another cyclist, William Sackleben, 499 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 1: who had himself made a successful round the world journey again, 500 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: he did it with a friend, set out to find 501 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: Lens or at least any information as to what had 502 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 1: happened to him, and that trip was also funded by 503 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: Lenz's outing editor, James Henry Warman. Before Sackleben had even 504 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 1: started the journey, a Paris cycling journal reported that Lenz 505 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: had been shot and killed by Kurds while on the road. 506 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:57,479 Speaker 1: This information came from an unnamed source. Once he arrived 507 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: in Constantinople, William Sackoban beginning hering rumors of a man 508 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:05,400 Speaker 1: who had been shot in the Delhi Baba pass. Yeah, 509 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,680 Speaker 1: the rumors that were circulating in Constantinople basically were exactly 510 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: the same as this Paris paper had reported, and eventually 511 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: Sacramen uncovered a story that Lenz had inadvertently insulted a 512 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:21,680 Speaker 1: high ranking Curd while traveling. Some of Lenz's camera equipment 513 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,640 Speaker 1: was found near the village where this whole insult incident 514 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 1: was said to have taken place, but nobody was ever recovered. 515 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,880 Speaker 1: The State Department pressured the Turkish government to make financial 516 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 1: amends for what was believed to have happened to Lens. 517 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: They did agree to a settlement, but with the condition 518 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 1: that there was no admittance of guilt. Frank's mother received 519 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: seventy undred dollars in the settlement. She had planned to 520 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: use the money to travel to Turkey herself to try 521 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: to find her son's remains and bring them home, and 522 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,479 Speaker 1: then amended that plan to send somebody else on her behalf, 523 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: probably Charles Petticord. But then her husband, William became paralyzed 524 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 1: and his medical expenses quickly into that settlement money. Mrs 525 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: Lenz's desire to have her son's remains brought home was 526 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: never fulfilled, and there are still people who debate over 527 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: the true fate of Frank Lenz. So, while there was 528 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,720 Speaker 1: circumstantial evidence to back up this murder idea, and which 529 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 1: was pretty much what a lot of people just accepted 530 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: at the time, that's really all there was, though, were 531 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: camera pieces and rumors, So uh, we still don't know 532 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: for certain what happened to him. There are certainly people 533 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: who like to theorize that he may have met his 534 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: end in a much more troubling but benign way, like 535 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: that he may have fallen from a high ledge that 536 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: he didn't see coming up, or that uh, you know, 537 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: he may have been crossing a body of water like 538 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: a river and not really made it. Those things all 539 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: could potentially have happened to him. We just will probably 540 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: never ever know, which is a pity. I think about 541 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 1: some of the things he was doing early on in 542 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 1: his cycling career, like the fact that he figured out 543 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,640 Speaker 1: basically how to take selfies ahead of that game, and 544 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:06,000 Speaker 1: how he had rigged up this you know, interesting umbrella system, 545 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 1: Like he was clearly a young man with some ingenuity 546 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: and a lot of drive, and so it's one of 547 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 1: those things where you pity sort of what could have 548 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: been had he survived this trip. Do you have some 549 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: listener mail? Also? I do, and it's way more chipper 550 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,640 Speaker 1: than people disappearing with no knowledge of whatever happened to them. 551 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 1: Oh god, this is from our listener, Carl uh, and 552 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: he has written to us. Was before he had sent 553 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: a laminated postcard a couple of years back, and he said, 554 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: I write to you for two reasons. The first is 555 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,200 Speaker 1: that I really enjoyed your episode about Henry Box Brown. 556 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,480 Speaker 1: I've been fascinated with his story for many years. I 557 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: first heard about it when someone at the Rudisill Public 558 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,479 Speaker 1: Library here in Tulsa built a replica of Brown's box 559 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 1: that's still kept there. If you ever visit Tulsa, be 560 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:51,240 Speaker 1: sure to check it out, along with other other cultural icons. 561 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: And then he kind of gives us a lovely list 562 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:54,840 Speaker 1: of things to tour, and he said, the second reason 563 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 1: I wanted to write is to brag that I am 564 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:00,320 Speaker 1: now officially a missed in history completest have a listen 565 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,240 Speaker 1: to every single episode by every combination of hosts going 566 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,560 Speaker 1: back to Genghis Khan in June of two eight. It's 567 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 1: so exciting to think that your ten year anniversary is 568 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: coming up just in just a couple of months. I 569 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,880 Speaker 1: also wanted to say that it amuses me to listen 570 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: to you now, because in order to work through the 571 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 1: archives more quickly, I listened to most of the episodes 572 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: on one point five speed. Now that I'm caught up, 573 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:26,680 Speaker 1: I've switched back to normal speed, and it seems like 574 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: you talk so slowly. I love this so much. My 575 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,320 Speaker 1: experience has gone from a rapid fire blitz of information 576 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 1: to a more relaxing listening experience. But no matter whether 577 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 1: faster or slow, I always enjoy hearing your voices, and 578 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: you remain one of my very favorite podcasts. Thanks so much, 579 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:46,480 Speaker 1: Oh Carl, that is such a lovely letter. Thank you 580 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:48,680 Speaker 1: so much. I have done that before where I have 581 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: done the faster speed listen to a podcast and then 582 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: when it goes back to normal, it really does feel 583 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 1: like everyone is talking through some sort of like molasses filter. 584 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: It's a very strange from moment on, but hopefully it 585 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 1: will soon start to seem normal again. If you would 586 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you can do so at 587 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,400 Speaker 1: History Podcast at house to works dot com. You can 588 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: also find us across the spectrum of social media as 589 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,480 Speaker 1: missed in History, and you can visit us at our 590 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,760 Speaker 1: website missed in History dot com, where we have an 591 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 1: archive of every episode that has ever existed, as well 592 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,200 Speaker 1: as show notes for any of the episodes Tracy and 593 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 1: I have worked on. So come and visit us at 594 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: missed in History dot com and you can explore history 595 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 1: with us. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 596 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: visit how staff works dot com.