It was 2010 and Mike Higgins of Deaver, Wyoming, had successfully completed a solo 1,900-mile bicycle ride.
The social studies teacher had carefully mapped out and followed a nearly forgotten route that a small troop of 20 Buffalo Soldiers had taken 113 years earlier. They had ridden the entire distance, not on horses, but on bikes.
In 1897, the Iron Riders, as they later became known, were an all-Black 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps who had embarked on an epic bicycle ride from Fort Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri, as part of an experiment by the U.S. Army to determine the effectiveness of moving troops by bicycle.
Called “The Great Experiment” in national newspapers, the journey took 41 days to complete.
The route closely followed the Northern Pacific and Burlington railroads through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Missouri. It was chosen specifically to experience as many different conditions, climates and landscape formations as possible, according to the Missouri State Park website.
For years, Higgins had dreamt of this moment of biking the route. He didn’t realize his own adventure reliving the ride of the Iron Riders was not over as others learned of this journey of the Buffalo Soldiers and also wanted to celebrate their story.
Higgins’ Iron Ride
The story of this bicycle ride was not well known and Higgins found out about it by chance. Years before, his brother had sent him an article about the Iron Riders from the children’s Highlights magazine because the two had always talked about doing long bike rides together.
When his brother later died from cancer, Higgins knew he wanted to do a long bike ride somewhere
“Before he died, my brother told me to do things in life you want to do,” Higgins said.
That advice became his motto as he prepared for his trip. When trying to figure out where to go, Higgins remembered the article. He began researching the route and became intrigued by the soldiers themselves and their story of endurance.
“I became obsessed with figuring out the route as closely as I could,” he said. “I found a map that Moss, who was the leader of the original ride way back in 1897, had drawn and I thought, oh, this is perfect.”
In 2009, he made his first attempt at the trip but hit a snowstorm in Montana and began suffering from hypothermia. He had to give up and tried again the next year. This time he succeeded.
“It was one of the most meaningful things I've ever done in my life,” Higgins said.
Iron Riders on the original bike ride from Fort Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri. (Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana) 
National Archives map Lt. Moss submitted as part of his report on the 1897 ride from Fort Missoula, Montana to St. Louis, Missouri. 
Kevin Knapp developing the Iron Riders Trail GPS Tour along Ulm Road in Sheridan County, Wyoming. (Courtesy Kevin Knapp) 
Sgt. Beck Bridger Dahmke, Miss Wyoming, sings the National Anthem at the Unveiling of the Iron Riders Trail in Sheridan, Wyoming. (Courtesy Kevin Knapp) 
Kevin Smith, from left, Erick Cedeno, Mike Higgins and Bobby McDonald. The Buffalo Soldier reenactors came to Sheridan, Wyoming, to celebrate the Iron Riders Trail. (Courtesy Kevin Knapp)
The Story Spreads
Fascinated by the Buffalo Soldiers’ story, Higgins created a website with hundreds of hours of research that he thought perhaps a dozen other people would be interested in. His blog, however, was discovered by the director of the Missouri State Parks who was so excited about the story that he flew Higgins to Missouri to give a presentation about the bicycle corps.
“We got him out here, and he told our executive staff the entire story of the Iron Riders,” Kevin Smith of the Missouri State Parks said. “We made the decision right then that we were doing this project.”
Higgins became a consultant and friend to those in Missouri who were planning a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Iron Riders’ journey. As part of the tribute to the historic ride, social media influencer and historian “Bicycle Nomad” Erick Cedeño completed the 1,900-mile trip.
It was to be a one-time event, but the ride has since continued to grow each year as more people learn of this forgotten history.
“This is one of the historical stories that has been left out of history,” Smith said. “It's not just a Black history story. It is an American history story.”
At the Sheridan Community Land Trust, Carrie Edinger learned of the celebration that had just occurred in Missouri and reenactors that were in Fort Missoula. She wanted to memorialize the route as well in Wyoming and wrote a grant to create an audio tour of the Wyoming portion of this ride.
When she left to go work at the Brinton Museum, Kevin Knapp inherited the project.
“I knew absolutely nothing about it, and most people didn't,” Kevin Knapp said. “It has now gone from being lost to history to being a big deal. With our historic perspective, it seems extraordinary while to them, it was just part of the job.”
Mike Higgins in 2010 followed the trail of the Iron Riders beginning at Missoula, Montana, and ending in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Greg Siple, Adventure Cycling) 
The 1896 Bicycle Corps riders pose on the Minerva Terrace, Yellowstone National Park. Before their historic 1,900-mile ride, eight of the men, led by Moss of Fort Missoula, rode to the park. John Findley, the mechanic, is front left, notice the big box on his handlebars. He did both the 1896 ride to Yellowstone and the 1897 ride to St. Louis. (Photo by F.J. Haynes, Montana Historical Society) 
This photo was likely taken by Edward Boos, a 19-year-old embedded reporter who worked for the Missoulian, a Missoula newspaper. (University of Montana Mansfield Library) 
25th Infantry Bicycle Corps on the ride to St. Louis from Fort Missoula. This photo was likely taken by Edward Boos, a 19-year-old embedded reporter who worked for the Missoulian, a Missoula newspaper. (University of Montana Mansfield Library)
The Iron Riders GPS Trail
The Iron Riders spent three days in Wyoming, and it is known that they stopped for a meal at the Sheridan Inn. The reception they received on the western frontier was tremendous.
“The riders were welcomed, and they were cheered and revered when they were in the western frontier,” Smith said. “But the closer they got to civilization and to Saint Louis, the worse things got for them.”
Knapp mapped out 40 miles of the route beginning at the Sheridan Inn and ending at Clearmont. Most of the trail is over gravel road which Knapp said is improved over the wagon rutted road the bicycle corps originally rode over.
“In Wyoming, it pretty much looked the same as it did when the riders came through,” Smith said. “A lot of the route resembles the remote areas they would have experienced.”
Knapp teamed up with TravelStorys to create a self-guided driving tour. The app will trigger audio at certain locations along the way that share the historic context of the bicycle corps.
He asked Smith and other reenactors to be the voice actors for the GPS app to lend extra depth to the stories. When it was time to unveil the route, Higgins, Smith, Cedeño and five different representatives of the Buffalo Soldiers organizations all came to celebrate with Sheridan.
“Bobby McDonald of the Buffalo Soldiers helped us design the whole unveiling,” Knapp said. “Since then, he travels around telling the story of the Iron Riders. There's just still a lot of potential and the ride continues.”
After the epic 1,900-mile journey, the men in the bicycle corps continued to serve in the military and many went on to serve in the Spanish-American War. These forgotten soldiers are now having their story shared beyond just the route as more of their stories are uncovered.
“They were highly decorated and just did incredible things as soldiers,” Higgins said. “The more you know about somebody, the more they come to life for you in your imagination.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
