Fred A. Birchmore (November 29, 1911 – May 6, 2012) was an American adventurer, lawyer, author, and longtime resident of Athens, Georgia. He is best known for cycling around the world between 1935 and 1937, a journey of approximately 25,000 miles.
Early Life and Education
Birchmore was born in Athens, Georgia, and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1928. He later earned both a master's degree and a law degree from the same institution in 1935. He then traveled to Germany to study international law at the University of Cologne.
Around-the-World Bicycle Journey (1935–1937)
While in Germany, Birchmore purchased a one-speed, 42-pound Reinhardt bicycle, which he named "Bucephalus" after Alexander the Great's horse. He began touring Europe during school holidays, cycling through northern Europe, Germany, Italy, Britain, and France. He also climbed the Matterhorn.
In early 1936, after cycling through Yugoslavia and Greece and sailing to Cairo, Birchmore's passport and money were stolen while he slept on a beach. After receiving a replacement passport six weeks later, he decided to continue east rather than return to his studies. He cycled through Damascus, Baghdad, across the Syrian desert, through Tehran, Afghanistan, and along the Grand Trunk Road in India. In the jungles of Southeast Asia (Burma, Thailand, Vietnam), he contracted malaria and was treated at a Catholic missionary hospital. He eventually sailed from Manila to San Pedro, California, aboard the SS Hanover.
His bicycle is housed in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Later Adventures
After returning home, Birchmore undertook a 12,000-mile bicycle tour of North America in 1939 with a friend. He married Willa Deane later that year, and the couple honeymooned on a tandem bicycle through Latin America, covering 4,500 miles.
During World War II, he served as a naval gunnery officer.
After retirement in 1973, Birchmore continued to travel extensively: he bicycled 4,500 miles through Europe at age 61; hiked the Appalachian Trail at 63; floated the Suwanee River from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Gulf of Mexico at 64; hiked the Inca Trail in Peru at 66 (and again at 68); bicycled the Skyline Drive at 69; hiked the Milford Track in New Zealand at 70; hiked the Denali wilderness in Alaska at 77; and traveled to China at 80. In his 70s, he hand-built a large stone wall around his Athens home, Happy Hollow. He also once walked down the steps of the Washington Monument on his hands.
Career and Community
Birchmore worked as the head of Athens Realty Company for 30 years. He was also a lawyer, college professor, international exchange scholar, author, lecturer, freelance writer (contributing to National Geographic, the Atlanta Journal, and Ripley's Believe It or Not!), boxer, acrobat, aviator, archaeologist, ornithologist, Boy Scout and Girl Scout leader, and youth camp director. He was president of the Athens Kiwanis Club and a member of the First United Methodist Church.
Writing
Birchmore authored Around the World on a Bicycle, first published in 1939 and republished by the University of Georgia Press. The book chronicles his 18-month journey across Eurasia.
Death
Fred Birchmore died on May 6, 2012, at the age of 100.
