Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

[RC] Frank Hopkins: The Gig is Up - Linda B. Merims

I just got off the phone with one Jim Davidson
of the Rutland, Vermont Historical Society.  I was
trying to find 1886 newspaper accounts of the finish
of the Galveston to Rutland race.
 
Jim Davidson was *way* ahead of me.  He has been
involved with a number of researchers who have
been trying to uncover the historical Frank
Hopkins, most notably Cuchullaine O'Reilly of
the Long Rider's Guild.
 
There's not a word of truth to the Arab race.
 
There's not a word of truth to the Galveston to
Rutland, Vermont race.
 
There doesn't appear to be a word of truth to
*any* of the stories that Frank Hopkins told
about himself and his distance riding exploits.
 
The best account of Hopkins' pile of lies is
on The Long Rider's Guild web page:
 
 
What a long, strange trip it's been.  For me,
it wasn't a waste of time.  Just learning about
what competitive "distance" riding seems to have
been like in 19th century America is useful
in and of itself.
 
So that's that.
 
Linda B. Merims
Massachusetts, USA