Cross Country in 1903

In 1903, riding a motorcycle across the US was quite a feat. The bicycle roots of motorcycles were still very evident, and the interstate system wouldn't be started for another 53 years. Paved roads were rare, and the country wasn't nearly so densely populated, meaning help was usually far away.

A man named George Wyman attempted it, and documented the journey extensively. He rode a California Motor Company motorcycle, manufactured just a block from where the SFMC now stands, and was a member of the Bay City Wheelmen bicycle club.

From Creston to Rawlins there is nearly 30 miles of downgrade, and, as it is a fairly good highway of gravel, I made lively time over it. After leaving Creston there come Cherokee and Daly's ranch before you get to Rawlins, and it was between these places, both mere railroad points, that I got the picture of the abandoned prairie schooner that was printed in Motorcycle Magazine.

Rawlins, where I stopped only for gasoline, is a town of some size, having more than 2,000 population. From there the country becomes rolling again, and after passing Fort Fred Steele, I began to ascend once more. It is a great sheep ranch country all through here now from Rawlins. At Fort Steele there is nothing left but the ruins of abandoned houses. I now follow the old immigrant trail that winds across the River Platte, and am fast approaching the Laramie Plains, over which my route lies to the Laramie Mountains.