George Wyman's Long Ride

The California was produced in 1902 by the California Motor Company of San Francisco and its makers stated, "Like California, it's wonderful!" This is a 1903 model with spring forks, which were introduced that year.

The motor was clamped to the front down-tube. its ignition batteries were in the container below the seat. The tank under the top tube contained the coil, fuel, and carburetor - a simple fuel-metering system which was described in the specifications as a "mixing valve." A large outside flywheel was mounted on the right side.

A California was the first motorcycle to complete a coast-to-coast journey. George A. Wyman set out from San Francisco on May 16, 1903 and arrived in New York City fifty days later. Discounting time lost for mechanical problems, he was actually on the road for 38 days. Flat tires and drive belt breakages caused him to make many stops, and there were also a few major failures, such as a broken connecting rod, a broken crankshaft, and broken front forks.

Toward the end of his ride, Wyman stopped in Angola, New York, to repair his forks. Unhappy with the work done by a local shop, he rode carefully on to Buffalo and stopped at the Thomas Auto-Bi works. E.R. Thomas himself made Wyman welcome and instructed his workers to top-up the fuel and oil. Wyman mentioned his fork problem and Thomas promptly told his men to adapt a set of Auto-Bi forkes to the California. They worked into the night to complete the job so that Wyman could leave early in the morning. Thomas graciously refused all of Wyman's attempts to pay for the work that had been done.*

*From the book "The American Motorcycle 1869-1914" by Stephen Wright. Used with Permission.

By George A. Wyman

Part I. Over The Sierras And Through The Snow Sheds

Little more than three miles constituted the first day's travel of my journey across the American continent. It is just three miles from the corner of Market and Kearney streets, San Francisco, to the boat that steams to Vailejo, California, and, leaving the corner formed by those streets at 2:30 o'clock on the bright afternoon of May 16, less than two hours later I had passed through the Golden Gate and was in Vallejo and aboard the "Ark," or houseboat of my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Brerton, which was anchored there. I slept aboard the "Ark" that night. At 7:20 o'clock the next morning I said goodbye to my hospitable hosts and to the Pacific, and turned my face toward the ocean that laps the further shore of America. I at once began to go up in the world. I knew I would go higher; also I knew my mount. I was traveling familiar ground. During the previous summer I had made the journey on a California motor bicycle to Reno, Nevada, and knew that crossing the Sierras, even when helped by a motor, was not exactly a path of roses. But it was that tour, nevertheless, that fired me with desire to attempt this longer journey - to become the first motorcyclist to ride from ocean to ocean.

Two Sisters Out to Change the World – On Motorbikes

By: Sasha Pave

In 1916 Augusta and Adeline Van Buren weren’t your average society girls. The sisters, decedents of former president Van Buren, were the first women to ride motorcycles coast-to-coast across the U.S., which in those days was no easy task. However, it wasn’t just a casual Sunday ride for these sisters; they were on a mission to prove that women were far more capable than society gave them credit for.

Gussie and Addie wanted to prove that women could successfully serve in the armed forces. As part of the National Preparedness Movement in the buildup to WWI, the sisters wanted to show that women could serve as skilled dispatch riders delivering communications on the war front. This would prove that women could participate in the war effort, which had been used routinely as a reason to deny women voting rights.