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Celebrate Go By Bike Week in Summerland with film of cycling pioneer

Virtual screening will be held May 31 to June 6
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A documentary will tell the story of a 19th-century cycling pioneer. (Stock photo)

The Summerland Community Arts Council is celebrating Go By Bike Week with a virtual screening of a cycling-themed documentary.

The documentary, The New Woman, is the story of American cycling pioneer Annie “Londonderry” Kopchovsky.

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Kopchovsky, a Latvian immigrant to the United States, was the first woman to bicycle around the world in 1894 to 1895. The trip began in June, 1894 with a route from Boston to Chicago and then back to New York. From there, she travelled to France and cycled east through Europe and Asia, crossing by ship from Japan to California. She returned to Boston in late September, 1895.

In 2007, her great-nephew, Peter Zheutlin, published Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry’s Extraordinary Ride.

The documentary by Gillian Willman, premiered in 2013 and won the award for best documentary at the D.C. Independent Film Festival.

The virtual screening will be held May 31 to June 6, with tickets available from summerlandarts.com for $10 each.

The dates of the screening coincide with Go By Bike Week, which is a provincial initiative to promote cycling in British Columbia.

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John Arendt

About the Author: John Arendt

John Arendt has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years. He has a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Journalism degree from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.
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