On May 11, 1899, Karl Creelman, an intrepid young man from Nova Scotia, set out on his journey to become the first Canadian to ride a bicycle around the world. Departing from Truro, Nova Scotia, he ventured across North America, then to Australia and Sri Lanka, then northwards to India, Egypt, Europe and Great Britain before returning home in 1902.

When Karl returned from around the world back to Canada, he gave a series of lectures on his travels and told stories about his experiences. There are newspaper accounts that reference that these lectures used magic lantern pictures — a projector of sorts that Karl used to share photographs from his journey. To date, I haven’t been able to find these photos.

I am on an expedition following Karl’s trail around the world, photographing the places he visited and documenting the adventures in the Karl Chronicles.

The towns visited by Karl had significance, and in researching the history of these places, seemingly straightforward facts have led to all sorts of other fascinating and unfamiliar facets of history. Our respective journeys have been impacted by national borders, politics, wars, disease, pandemics and infrastructure of different scales and significance over time. 

Subscribe to the Chronicles, and every week receive a new story about two Nova Scotians navigating the same route over 100 years apart. Following Karl around the world is a journey through time and a testament to one of the first adventurers who set out to see the world.  

Be sure to subscribe and follow me on Instagram and Facebook for other photos and behind-the-scenes adventures. And so it begins…I hope you’ll join me!