Oh…and did we mention he did it in 1934?
The Athens Banner-Herald recently told the story of the Amazing Fred A. Birchmore, Jr., an Athens, GA, resident that just celebrated his 98th birthday. He’s lived the life many of us dream of, full of adventure, and as the story goes:
“He is most famous, though, for his world bicycle trip in 1934 and 1935. The trip began in the summer of 1934 by touring Europe. Then he studied international law at Cologne in Germany, October 1934 through February 1935, after which he resumed the journey: down through the Alps, to Egypt, across Central Asia, then 1,300 miles down the Grand Trunk Road to Mandalay, below the Burma Road to the Malay Peninsula, through Thailand and French Indo-China. After taking Asian freighters to the Philippines and then to California, he pedaled across the United States back to Athens. Just about 25,000 miles!”
He still regularly works out at the local YMCA. Rock on Fred!
