120th Anniversary of George Wyman’s Coast to Coast Ride – Part 23

July 2, 1903
(Cayuga to Canastota, NY)

“I left Cayuga at 8 a.m. and took my troubles with me, The batteries were growing weak; first the cyclets(sic) of the belt broke and then the lacing; next the crank axle got out of true, and every time it struck, the belt broke. I had these troubles all day.

Toward night the belt broke five times in one mile. I got some new batteries at Syracuse, but after going two miles on them they would not yield a spark, so I went back and returned them, and after a search I managed to get some good batteries.

Syracuse used to have a flourishing canal network and was very industrial because of it, George doesn’t say where he got his batteries but maybe in this area, now where the canal is no longer


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The fates seemed in a conspiracy to prevent my getting to New York before July 4. The motor was getting in such shape that I realized I would be lucky if I could finish with it at all.

To add to my troubles these two days from Rochester, July 1 and 2, were terribly hot and I was nearly prostrated by the heat. I managed to make 65 miles and get to Canastota by 9:30 p.m. on the second, and as that was the day I had hoped to be in the metropolis, I did not go to bed in any cheerful humor.”


July 3, 1903
(Canastota to Albany, NY)



“At 7 a.m. on July 3, I started from Canastota; determined to get to Albany, at least, that day. I had trouble from the start. I relaced the belt seven times during the forenoon, and then I spliced it with a new piece at Little Falls.

I was still 40 miles from Albany when my handlebars broke off on one side. I had been there a couple of times before during the trip, and it did not take me long to lash a stick across the steering stem. Soon after, the piston began to squeak, and I discovered that the rings on it were worn out. Oil was of no avail, and I rode on with the squeak for company.

G.Wyman



Six miles from Albany, while I was on the towpath, the rear tire blew out. There was a hole in it that would admit a hand. I walked into Albany. Some of the remarks I made to myself as I walked were not fit for quoting to a Sunday school class. My distance that day was 135 miles. This was to be my last day of big mileage though.

On his way to Albany he would have gone via Little Falls, I had to do a little searching but found the plaque at the back of the Historical Society

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All the way through New York state I used the cycle path without a license. It was not until after my trip ended that I knew I had been violating the law.”

July 4, 1903
(Delayed in Albany, NY)


“On the Fourth of July my first move in the morning was to a bicycle store, where I got a new tire and put in 14 new spokes, and then took the motor apart.

The piston rings were worn pretty thin but looked as if they would still give service, so at 2:30 p.m. I started from Albany. Four miles out, I gave it up. The motor would not explode as it should. I went back to the bicycle store in Albany and worked on the problem there until night. Then I went to see the fireworks and forget about it.”

in a dispatch he sent to the“Bicycling World” he mentioned the J.W. Anderson Agency. Research of the Albany business directory showed a F.W. Anderson, 467 Madison Ave as the only “Anderson” listed under either bicycle or automobile repair.

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If a motorcycle shop has to close what business would you be happy to see in its place…a Ben and Jerry’s Icecream shop, of course

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I looked at the route ahead and it wasn’t looking good at all…

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I looked at the weather radar and it seemed if I headed to a particular area they were expected to be dry for the next 24 hours, and not have floods like the rest of the area…’they’ were wrong

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tomorrow, George and I ride into New York…

Route so far, San Francisco to Albany NY

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