The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance

Much as I was obstructed by Herlihy's sort of quaint 1890s prose style, I eventually did get caught up in this remarkable story, set in a world I knew absolutely nothing about. First, an 1890s America gone bonkers over bicycles, then into Ottoman Empire Turkey and the horrendous genocide of the Armenians, and finally the struggle of the young Midwestern American thrown into the middle of the atrocities, trying to discovered who murdered the world-circling Frank Lenz. A pretty damned interesting sidelight into American history. So I guess I liked it after all.

The author tells the story of Frank Lenz, who lost his life -- murdered -- while cycling solo through the Ottoman empire, intermingled with the story of another world-touring cyclist, William Sachtleben. This made the book harder to read and made no sense until towards the end of the book when Sachtleben is sent to Turkey to find out what happened to Lenz. Then it made sense, but it was too late to redeem my confusion.

"The Lost Cyclist" is a fascinating book that features some great research about an era in World History in which 'discovery' was human powered.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed learning about the early years of bicycling, about the early models and the conflicts and competitions that took place between the fans of different designs: Just loved it.

I also enjoyed the descriptions of the characters in this book. Sachtleben & Allen proved so enticing that stopped my read of "The Lost Cyclist" a quarter of the way in, so that I could read S&A's book "Across Asia on a Bicycle." I then returned to Herlihy's book where I was struck by what a different sort of character Lenz was. The author does an excellent job, in my opinion, in show more differentiating the men, their attitudes, and their approaches to set-backs and successes. And by the time you get to the end of the book, the outcome makes perfect sense.

Another thing I very much enjoyed was the sense of adventure that was conveyed by the author. It was absolutely wonderful to follow the bicyclists as they pedaled around the world. Everywhere from sophisticated places like France and Italy, where they were wined and dined by bike clubs, to places so remote that the bike was considered a frightening, evil creature.

A part of this sense of adventure was the politics of the day. While bicyclists might be riding through some incredibly remote areas, it was clear that their safety was not unaffected by world affairs. And I think Herlihy does a good job of explaining the politics of the day without getting bogged down. Instead he lets the photographs, news, and correspondence tell the story.

Ultimately, there's a mystery at the heart of this book. Herlihy makes it his mission to lay out the evidence and make his case for what happened to Lenz. But history lovers are likely to be drawn in more by the images Herlihy paints of this fascinating point in time.

Pam T~
mom/blogger show less

The Lost Cyclist by David Herlihy It's very different reading non-fiction compared to fiction.

In some ways the story, plot and ending are already done and all that needs doing is threading it together. Then again in some ways maybe it's harder to write non-fiction because you are bound by the facts and if the facts are not that interesting then....There really were some fascinating moments in this book. Franl Nez's trip through countries and place where white people had seldom be seen and bicycles even less.If you take this book at face value and think that it is about a Lost Cyclist then I guess you will be disappointed. If you read it as an extraordinary adventure of one man on a bike then you might even like it.I do read non-fiction show more and always look forward to it. I'm finding of late that I'm often disappointed. This book is another one of those disappointments. At the end I thought that maybe the author felt they had to present ALL the facts when I thought that LESS facts better presented would have made a better book. But hey, what do I know?Don't even think about it! show less

An adventurous and fascinating personal history covering the early rise of cycling. The mystery in the second half is interesting but a bit procedural at times. The overwhelming moral: it always pays to bring a buddy when attempting to undertake any significant journey.

A fairly interesting read that just falls apart in the end. Rather than just end with what was last known about Frank Lenz, the author descends into a series of conjecture about the wheelman's fate. Deeply unsatisfying.

I really enjoyed reading about the world travels of many of the characters in this book, as well as the minor history of cycling's infancy in the United States and across the globe. However, I started to lose interest in the minutiae of the Lenz case. It really wasn't such an incredible mystery, enough to keep me captivated through the close of the book.