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EPIC STORY ALERT! George A. Wyman (1877–1959) was the first person to cross the United States by motorized vehicle. This was an exceptional feat at the turn of the twentieth century, as gasoline was not readily available and passable roads did not exist in many parts of the country. Undaunted, Wyman departed for his transcontinental journey atop a specially modified California motorcycle on May 16, 1903, from Lotta’s Fountain at the corner of Market, Geary, and Kearny Streets in downtown San Francisco. The first major obstacle was deep snow on Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, where Wyman walked his motorcycle through the dark, damp, and freezing snowsheds and tunnels constructed for the transcontinental railway line. In the absence of roads, Wyman rode much of his journey along railroad tracks and the Overland Trail created for wagon trains and stagecoaches in the 1800s. He encountered deep sand in the deserts and treacherous mud on the flatlands. Wyman often walked his California when conditions worsened, and he pedaled the bike when its engine overheated. Breakdowns were common and crashes punctuated the journey. A broken handlebar at top speed caused one damaging crash, and Wyman steered his motorcycle with a hardwood stick lashed across the handlebars for the next 400 miles until the bike was repaired. After replacing numerous spokes, tires, drive belts, and an engine crankshaft, the California motorcycle’s 1 ¼-horsepower engine gave up outside of Albany, New York. George Wyman finally arrived in New York City on July 6 after pedaling the final 150 miles. The 1902 California Motor Bicycle featured in our exhibition was discovered and restored in the 1970s by newspaper mogul and collector Otis Chandler (1927–2006) and is very likely George Wyman’s cross-country machine. “Early American Motorcycles” is on view pre-security in the International Terminal Main Hall and online - link in bio.
This image was posted on March 05, 2021.