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Flagpole Magazine
October 9, 1991
Of bikes and walls
Athens' native, Fred Birchmore, nowm his 80's, is one
of the first — if not the first — person to bicycle around the
world. Back in 1935-36, he rode some24,000miles, through
40 countries, on a one-gear bike that now resides in the
Smithsonian, next to Lindberg’s 'Spirit of St. Louis'.
Birchmore started the trip, he says, because he was late
registering for classes one term at the University of Co
logne, where he had been enrolled as an exchange stu
dent. Having cycled down into Yugoslavia, Albania, and
Greece during winter break, he figured he might as well
continue with his journey as turn back. And, as he ex
plained the decision in his subsequent book,"secondhand
experiences are never wholly satisfactory."
The bike trek was only the start of a life-time of adven
ture, travel and astonishing accomplishment. Building the
Great Wall of Happy Hollow, a massive 15-20 foot high
stone wall enclosing his two-acre homestead near Memo
rial Park, has been his most satisfying experience.
Fred Birchmore: Before you start, I want to be clear
about one thing. Dr. Law—he's a distinguished professor
of engineering — came out and spent several days, and
measured the wall that I built, and another wall that I built for
my son out in Oconee County...
Flagpole: You built another wall?
Fred: Yes. Longer than this one. it’s a double wall. Beau
tiful wall. Much prettier than this. There are two of them. I’d
work on this awhile, and I’d go out there. It took 5 1/2 years
to build them. But. this is what I wanted to get straight: Dr.
Law came out and calculated that I'd built 1588 feet of wall
from field stone, flint and blue granite, and that I’d lifted
27,000 tons — or 74 standard boxcars — of rock. But, this
is what I wanted to get straight. The walls do not weigh that
much There are only 4,627 tons — or 12-4/1 Oths boxcars
— or rock in the walls. But, each rock was lifted at least five
times, some of them many more times than that, before their
final place on the wall So I did lift 27,000 tons, but that's not
the weight of the wall, you understand. I like to be accurate.
(Earlier, during a tour of the wall, which in recent years
has become the repository of various stones and artifacts
brought by visitors from around the world, Birchmore
pointed to a large boulder, weighing about 300 pounds,
and described how he got it home).
Fred: I carried all my rocks home in my Dodge Dart. I was
out on a construction site, and I’d get this rock into the car,
and I was trying to figure how to get it home, because the
car doors wouldn't shut. And a police officer came up and
asked what I’m doing. And I say. ‘I'm building a wall,' and
he says, *l better put the rock back.' So I say, 'It’s heavy, you
think you could help me?' Well, of course, he couldn’t lift his
end of if so finally he gave me an escort home, with my rock,
light flashing...(chuckles).
FP: You were in your mid-to-late 70's when you built this
wall?
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Copy of FrecJ BiRchivioRE's
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445 E. cIayton Si. / 548-2244
Fred: That’s right. I expect the most satisfying experience
of my life was being able to lift rocks that were several
hundred pounds heavier than I can ordinarily lift, which I did
just by the power of positive thinking, hanging loose (shakes
arms and wrists), hyperventilating, and consciously mak
ing the adrenaline flow. It makes me feel a little peculiar. I
don’t know anyone else who can consciously make the
adrenaline flow, do you?
FP: So you've been able to train yourself to do this?
Fred: Yes. When I was young like yourself I couldn’t lift over
Fred Birchmoro.on his round-the-world bicycling tour in 1935, posing
with the skin of a python that he encountered on his path through the
jungles of Southeast Asia.
100 pounds. I was a very sickly child. And I came out of the
war a disabled vet — they removed 12 feet of intestine. But,
I’ve always loved a challenge.
(Birchmore then elaborates on how he found his rocks,
transported them home, wheel-barrowed them to the work
site, mixed up the mortar, and set them in place by climbing
up a set of ladders, working 12 to 16 hours a day. 365 days
a year).
FP: Would you call this an obsession, your wall?
Fred: No, no. I just like to finish whatever I start.
FP: You said in your book about your bike ride around the
world that the single greatest factor in the success of your
trip was your faith in humanity. And I'm wondering, some 50
years later, whether that faith in humanity survives intact?
Fred: Weii, I went around the world, and into a lot of wild
places, in Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine,
Afghanistan — entire villages would run out to greet me,
and they’d grab me and take me into town, and start fires,
and I’d figure we’d have a barbecue, and I didn’t know who
would be it. And of course they’d barbecue a sheep and I’d
have to eat half of it before they’d let me go. And they’d ask
how I got through the last town, and saw, ’Whew, those
people are murderers — you’ll never make it through the
next town.’ At each village it was the same. They treated me
with hospitality, and so I had no trouble. But, I was unarmed,
and had nothing of value except my bike, and they had
never seen a bicycle before. And so I found that people —
there are more good people than bad around the world,
and I think there are still more good people than bad.
FP: Do you think you are the first person to ride around the
world on a bike?
Fred: I’m the first person I know of, I’ll put it like that. I ran
into a number of bicyclists — first when I was starting off
across the Great Syrian Desert, a round-the-world cyclist
came in on this big desert bus, luxury bus...
FP: That doesn't count, does it?
Fred: He gave me his card, and they got his bicycle off the
bus, and he had whiskers and was very sun-tanned, and I
said, ’How far did you bicycle?’ and he said, ’Well, I went
over a hundred miles through China, and it was too bad
going through the jungle, and across the Himalayas. I flew
across there, and then I bicycled a few miles in Teheran,
and then I caught this bus...’ Well, anyway, that’s the story
I found, that around-the-world bicyclists picked the places
that they bicycled. But, I was either on the bicycle, or
pushing the bicycle, or carrying the bicycle on my shoulder
— through the jungle I carried the bicycle on my shoulder.
FP: You're going to speak at the Bike to Work Rally. Friday
on ‘Why Athens is the Worst Place in the World to Bicycle. ’
Is there much hyperbole in that title?
Fred: Well, I don’t know. I haven’t prepared my speech yet.
But, I don’t ride on Athens’ streets any more. Too much
traffic. I like to go where there’s not much traffic. I’ll put my
bike in the truck and go out to Winterville, and from there
take back roads out to Maxey’s or Watson Mill or wherever.
I try not to be out on the roads at 5 o’clock, when there are
people coming home from work. But, there are lots of good
places, wonderful places, to ride.
FP: A copy of your book, Around the World on a Bicycle,
has been donated for auction at the rally, by Bill Walsh at
Talking Leaves Bookstore. Any ideas where the bidding
should start?
Fred: I don’t know. It’s a rare edition. It’s been out of print
since 1939. There were only 2500 copies printed. I’ve run
into 10,000 people who’ve read it. I bought up a copy not
long ago from Bangor, Maine, and paid $32 for it...
(Space does not permit us to include Birchmore's
description of patching his bike tire with chewing gum at an
altitude of20,000 feet along a camel path over Hindu Kush
in Afghanistan. But come to the Bike-to-Work Rally on
Friday, Oct. 11 on College Square from 11 a m. to 1 p.m.
and maybe you'll hear Fred Birchmore. cyclist emeritus,
talk about it then). Sue Roalman
The Bluebird on October 11
and $1.00 will be donated from
your meal to the Athens/Clarke
Safe Cycling Association
493 E. Clayon St. (corner of Thomas St.) 549-FOOD