We’ve packed our panniers and headed off to Denmark for a summer bike tour.

As we cruise the Danish bike paths by day, and pitch up in remote campsites at night, we’ve left the technology at home – much like the bike tourists of the late 1800s, who certainly didn’t have anything like laptops and mobile phones.

While we’re disconnecting and getting away from it all, why not read about some of these early bike tourists?

There are so many free eBooks that give a fascinating glimpse of what bike touring was like in the late 1800s. At that time, there was an explosion of adventurous bicycle tourists (many of them American), setting out to explore the world on two wheels.

Here are just a few to get you started:

A Canterbury Pilgrimage and Over The Alps On A Bicycle – Joseph Pennell and Elizabeth Robins

The adventures of this American couple would be impressive today, but they were all the more so in 1884, when Joseph & Elizabeth left the U.S. by steamship bound for England and Continental Europe. They had been commissioned by a magazine to sketch and write about life in Europe, and planned to research their articles from the seat of a tandem tricycle, to be purchased in England.

A Canterbury Pilgrimage records the test trip with their new tricycle, from London to Canterbury (download PDF). Over The Alps On A Bicycle records the journey that began in Italy, and made Elizabeth the first woman to cycle over many alpine passes (download book – some initial pages missing).

Around the world on wheels for the Inter ocean: the travels and adventures in foreign lands – Mr. and Mrs. H. Darwin McIlrath

This husband-and-wife pair pedalled 28,000 miles on a world bike trip, making Hattie the first woman to go around the world by bicycle. The 3-year voyage took them from their starting point in Chicago to San Francisco, then to Japan by ship, through Asia and Europe. The journey ended in 1898 and the resulting book details their packing list, including 3 guns!

“All of our luggage was carried in a leather case which neatly fitted the inside angles of the bicycle frames. Our personal apparel consisted merely of a change of underwear, as we depended upon the stores in towns along our route for new clothes whenever we should need them. The remainder of our luggage cases contained photograph films, medicines, repair outfits, etc. My “artillery,” for which there was great use as it afterward happened, consisted of two 3S-caliber and one 44-caliber revolvers.” (Download text version)

A Bicycle Tour in England and Wales: Made in 1879 – Alfred D. Chandler

Following a business trip to Europe, and with a month to spare before his trip back to America, Alfred set off on a bike tour around England and Wales with his friend. He describes the experiences of bicycle touring in wonderful detail, and some of them haven’t changed at all over the years:

“We developed enormous appetites, and I recall the immense relief we had oh coming up to the little Swing-Gate Inn, three miles or more out from Dover, where we ordered bread, cheese, and beer, about all the inn afforded, and which was served to us on a little balcony over the inn door, where we enjoyed the view over the fields, and were entertained by the arrival of a coach-load of passengers, many of whom got off to drink…” (Download text version)

Through the Adirondacks Awheel - Allan Eric

While this tour in the late 1890s through New York state, up to the Canadian border and back south was slightly narrower in scope than some other trips, the experiences of Allan and his friends are still interesting. Their book begins with their philosophy towards route planning:

“We had little difficulty in approximately laying out the route; but, concerning the roads that we might expect to encounter, we were unable to obtain any information. However, as tourists, we did not hesitate to set out, and we did so with a grim determination to adhere to the route, let come what might, and take things as they came, resolving to find pleasure in every incident which might be in store for us.” (Download text version)

Around The World On A Bicycle – Thomas Stevens

Thomas Stevens is one of the best known early bike tourists, and was the first person to go around the world by bicycle. His trip began in 1884, when he set off on a penny farthing built by the Pope Manufacturing Company of Chicago. He carried a handlebar bag with essentials like socks, a spare shirt and a rain jacket that was also his tent. His journey took him across Europe, through Iran and into Afghanistan, across India, China and Japan, before he returned by steamer to San Francisco. (download book)