The Iron Riders were members of the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, an all-Black unit of Buffalo Soldiers who undertook a remarkable military experiment in 1897 to test whether bicycles could replace horses for army transportation. Riding heavy iron-framed bicycles, they completed a grueling 1,900-mile journey from Fort Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri, traveling through what is now Sheridan County and earning their nickname from both their machines and their extraordinary endurance.
The journey through northeastern Wyoming and southwestern South Dakota was very dreary — the landscape was a monotonous series of hills, with now and then an alkali flat, while the water was abominable. Yet the dreariness of the country possessed a weird kind of fascination.” Lieutenant James Moss, leader of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, wrote this entry in his journal on June 28th , 1897. He and twenty handpicked Buffalo Soldiers from Fort Missoula had been pedaling and pushing their experimental 60-pound iron-framed bicycles, following the path of the railroad, for two weeks. They had crossed the Continental Divide, enduring near constant rain, snow, hail, and mud. They still had over
one thousand miles to go. The story of the Iron Riders would have been lost to history if not for the writings of Lieutenant Moss and reporter Eddie Boos, both white men. The experiences and thoughts of the Buffalo Soldiers were not recorded, and they received no accolades. Recent research brought their accomplishments to light just in time to celebrate the
125th anniversary of the ride in 2022. Interest in this unique adventure has only grown more widespread in the years since.