A: George A. Wyman, who in 1903 became the first person to cross the USA on a motorcycle.
The motorcycle was a 200cc California, and it’s little more than a bicycle with a small motor attached. Look closely and you can see the pedals and chain! Good thing – Wyman needed to pedal more than once, which was ok since Wyman was a bicycle racer. As far as motorcycles go, this was state of the art in 1903 (the same year that #HarleyDavidson was founded and just two years after #IndianMotorcycle was founded), with a leather belt drive, leading link suspension fork, sprung saddle, front “Duck” roller-brake and rear coaster brake. Altogether, the motorcycle weighed less than 100 pounds. Top speed was around 25mph.
In a couple of days I will be retracing Wyman’s historic trip for RoadRUNNER Magazine. I’ll be taking photos along the way and sharing stories, so please follow along.