Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 IRON BUTT MAGAZINE | Winter 2014 to attempt this longer journey — to become the first motorcy- clist to ride from ocean to ocean.”Long-distance riders feel that same desire, that passion for the next challenge, today. Although he does not describe it, we can imagine all the planning that he must have made, for we do the same today. What items he did not carry on his person, he packed in the tail bag mounted on top of his auxiliary gas tank.By all accounts,he traveled light, taking only repair neces- sities and essential tools. In  America, the only thing that moved faster than a horse was the steam locomotive on the railroads. Roads of the time were lightly maintained wagon trails between large communities. In the western states George decided to favor riding on the ties next to the outer rails along the railroad bed. His route followed the famed Transcontinental Railroad built along the immigrant trail used after the  California gold rush. He used a Central Pacific Railroad official station guide as a navigation aid.He quoted the guide in his journal, citing data points such as distances, eleva- tions and what services were available at which stations. One such place was called Terrace. It was the major Union Pacific Railroad maintenance facility west of Omaha, Nebraska. Terrace boasted a couple of good hotels and the largest feeding hall along the route. Wyman rode the tracks to reach Terrace late Tuesday,May , where he spent the night in the hotel and performed maintenance on his motorcycle the next day. Another interesting episode in Wyman’s journey was his overnight stay in Evanston, Wyoming. He arrived in town at : pm on Friday,May ,,after starting out from Ogden, Utah that morning. The town was still hopping with visitors who were there to see President Theodore Roosevelt the day before. Every hotel and boarding house in town was booked solid. George stood watching the poker games untill after mid- night hoping someone would give up a seat in the lobby so he could get some sleep.Giving up on the hotel seat,he walked the short distance to the newly built grand Union Pacific Depot. Walking through the main entrance, he turned to the left and found a wooden chair where he registered in the “Iron Butt Hotel.” This wasn’t the first or last time he would stay in less than stellar accommodations. Many times he would convince the foremen at railroad section houses along the tracks to let him sleep in one of the crew cots. To him it was never about com- fort but about achieving his goal of riding across the country. Sometimes accommodations and services were good. He spent a day in Laramie, Wyoming on Wednesday, June  working on his motorcycle at the well-equipped Lovejoy Garage. The next morning he inquired about the road over the ridge instead of following the tracks around the south to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The locals told him he could save  miles by going over the Sherman Summit. It was a climb, but the townfolk assured him the road was good. The day before President Roosevelt and his party had gone that very same way. Wyman made it to the top and rested near the flagpole that marked the summit. In a bit of self promotion he carved an inscription into the flagpole’s base: “G.A.Wyman, June , , :a.m. — First motorcyclist to cross the Rockies, going from San Francisco to New York.” George Wyman Before the Denver IBA InterNational Meet, I rode along the very same railroad bed on my way to the Terrace in the middle of the desert west of the Great Salt Lake. It was a memorable experi- ence to ride in the tracks of George Wyman. This wasn’t the first or last time he would stay in less than the foremen at railroad section houses along the tracks to let him