Who was Alfred Letourneur and why did he tow an Airstream with a bicycle?

Around the time Wally Byam was designing the first Airstream travel trailers, French cyclist Alfred Letourneur was racking up victories. In 1938 Letourneur beat the motor-paced world speed record on a bicycle. He was able to reach speeds over 90 miles per hour. But to Airstreamers around the world, Alfred Letourneur may best be known as the man who famously pulled an Airstream travel trailer on a bike. In 1947, as part of an Airstream publicity campaign, Letourneur pulled a 22-foot Airstream Liner at the Van Nuys Airport in California. The image became the basis for an iconic Airstream logo from that era.