The long line of bicyclists caught the eye of residents in Big Timber, Montana. Dressed in blue gingham shirts and campaign hats, the United States Army riders had large knapsacks with bedrolls strapped to their handlebars and rifles slung over their backs. Tired and bedraggled, members of the cycling caravan smiled as they rode into the tiny town next to the Yellowstone River in late June 1897.
Comprising 20 soldiers, 2 officers and 1 reporter, the group was about one week into a cross-country trek designed to show Army brass the efficacy of transporting troops by bicycle. At the time, just before the start of the 20th century and the dawn of automobiles, much of the world was fixated on cycling as a means of mobility.
Officially dubbed the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, the men were members of one of six racially segregated units formed by the Army just after the Civil War. Black enlistees led mainly by white officers, the regiments served on the nation’s Western frontier, where they clashed with Native Americans who supposedly nicknamed them Buffalo Soldiers due to their curly hair’s resemblance to buffalo manes.
Also known as Iron Riders, the volunteer bicycle corps set out from Fort Missoula, Montana, on June 14, 1897, embarking on a 1,900-mile odyssey to St. Louis, Missouri. They hadn’t planned to spend much time in the town of Big Timber, but an elderly, exuberant Civil War veteran convinced them to stick around, insisting on buying drinks for the soldiers at a local tavern.
During their 41-day journey, the cyclists pedaled up mountains, through forests, over deserts and across rivers, riding on dirt trails, unpaved roads and railroad tracks to avoid the sticky “gumbo” mud, as they called it. They biked upward of 50 miles per day, alternatively enduring snow, freezing sleet, hail, heavy rain and oppressive heat. Their feat made headlines around the country and demonstrated the Buffalo Soldiers’ tenacity at a time of widespread racism both in the military and outside of it.
“They did an amazing thing,” says Kristjana Eyjolfsson, director of education at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. “It’s great to think about their experience going across country, how they might have impacted people that they met and how they captured the attention of the world since it was covered in so many newspapers.”
This year, in honor of the 125th anniversary of the Iron Riders’ trip, local historical groups are hosting a series of commemorative events along the cyclists’ route. The action kicked off with a ceremonial bike ride that started at 5:40 a.m. today—the same time the soldiers began their ride.