When the San Jose industrial designer heard of the feat of Thomas Stevens, who in 1884 set off to bicycle around the world, he thought that sounded like something worthwhile. In 1994, Glover, then 40, set off to emulate Stevens' accomplishment. Four and a half years and 31,700 miles later, he rode back into San Jose, triumphant.
''The common question when I went across the United States that first year was, 'Why are you doing this?' '' Glover recalls, ''yet anywhere else in the world, the first remark was, 'Wow!' '' He rubs his short-cropped gray hair thoughtfully. ''That was the thrill. I mean, I was just on a bike ride until I realized that it was almost like shaking up people's dreams, dreams they had set on the shelf. They realized that maybe they've still got those dreams. And maybe it's not too late.''
Glover seems an unlikely candidate to be the Pied Piper of dream-chasing. A native of Virginia, he grew up in Southern California, came north to serve with the Naval Air Reserve in Alameda during the Vietnam War and stayed to get his degree in industrial design at San Jose State University. He didn't even think much about cycling until he bought a bike in 1979, the year he graduated. And, he got into it big time -- riding that bike all the way across the United States on its first outing.
''I'd never had a bike before,'' he acknowledges. ''I'd always borrowed my brother's. But I thought I'd take a trip across the United States. Everyone said, 'You're crazy. You're gonna die.' Actually, it was silly. I was so inexperienced. But the feeling of just being alive and really in tune with everything around me was wonderful! Two years later, I did it again, and each time I got all the way to the East Coast.''
Glover had bought into the Silicon Valley lifestyle, too. Worked hard in the tech industry. Bought a house. Did the 9-to-5 (and beyond). But the cycle bug had bitten. In 1991, he went on a bike tour of Russia. And heard about the world-circling ride exploits of Thomas Stevens. And started thinking.
''I'd lived here in my house for 10 years and asked myself, 'What am I doing this for?' '' he recalls. ''I wasn't married. I love to travel, and I always hated that feeling of just taking two weeks and coming back and losing that sense of vacation within two days. I said, 'If I'm going to take off this time, I'm going to make it a big one.' ''
Glover quit his job, sold his house and most of his possessions, put the money in the bank to draw upon as needed and set off on what he planned as a five-year circumnavigation of the globe. He left from the West Coast, as Stevens had done, but with a few differences.
''The roads were pretty primitive back in 1884, so his total distance was about 13,200 miles,'' Glover notes. ''There are very few places I couldn'tget, although Africa is the only continent I didn't touch on.''
Also, Stevens rode an American ''ordinary'' bicycle with a 50-inch front wheel; Glover's was a low-slung recumbent bike, allowing him to pedal while semi-reclining. And Glover scheduled his trip as ''a journey of fair weather'' -- he'd start in the spring, then hole up in late fall to over-winter in one location, recoup his energy and perform the necessary maintenance on his bike. The exception was his leg from Southeast Asia and China through Australia and New Zealand, where changing hemispheres enabled him to follow the sunshine without the winter hiatus.
His first year took him across the United States to the East Coast, where he talked a cruise line into giving him passage across the Atlantic in exchange for lecturing about his trip. The second year saw him cross Europe, with a side trip through Scandinavia to the Arctic Circle. The third year included Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam), plus Australia and a side visit to Antarctica. And he finished up by jumping (by air) from South America to Alaska and then south through Canada and back to San Jose -- after six continents, 32 countries, 33 U.S. states, both polar circles and 70 flat tires.
The most dangerous parts of his odyssey? ''In New Jersey and in England,'' Glover answers quickly. ''Aggression (by motorists toward cyclists) is putting it mildly. I can't explain why. England's also pretty hostile toward bicyclists.''
And in China, the only problem was the Chinese cyclists' curiosity about this stranger in their midst. ''I almost jammed up the system because of people wanting to stop and talk,'' Glover says, ''and that backs up everything.''
His only accident? In Seattle, on the last leg of his journey, when a brush with a passing vehicle threw him to the pavement. ''Just some scrapes and bruises,'' he says, shrugging it off.
That sort of accepting attitude helped get him through his journey. Glover sought no special treatment, tried to make no waves. ''I'd just tell everyone I was looking for a wife,'' he jokes.
He acknowledges he's no linguist. He counted on picking up a few key phrases in each country, plus sign language and an appreciation of body language, to get him through. And it did.
''People were always inviting me into their homes,'' he says. ''That was one of the highlights of the trip.''
At 6 feet 5 and 185 pounds, Glover is anything but overweight. And he's also quick to note that despite the discouraging words about the United States and its pudgy citizens that he heard abroad, there also was one overriding comment about his decision to cycle around the world: ''Only in America could you do that.''
Since his return in September 1998, Glover has worked as a teacher and given numerous slide shows about his travels. The History Museums of San Jose added his bicycle, maps and other artifacts of the trip to its collection earlier this month. ''He is such a vital guy, sending postcards to students from all over the world, and it's very significant to add his bicycle to our collection,'' says curator Alida Bray. ''San Jose has such a rich cycling history, and the museum thinks its important to make this contemporary connection.''
At the end of January, Glover leaves for Thailand, where he plans to spend two years as an educator with the Peace Corps. After that? He dreams of returning to the United States and teaching.
''I love those kids,'' he says. ''Ideally, it would be nice to just hop around and maybe show slides and inspire kids to dream.''
You know he knows how to follow his.