A record-breaking ride

George ‘Usco’ Ellis was one of the United States’ best-known early motorcyclists and managed to cut an impressive eleven hours off the Boston-Chicago record back in 1923. He wrote a piece for The Enthusiast® detailing the adventure in his own words

Photos courtesy of the Harley-Davidson Archives

In a 1923 edition of The Enthusiast®, H-D® salesman George ‘Usco’ Ellis recounted the tale of how he and sidecar passenger, Harold Haskard, travelled from Boston to Chicago in record-breaking time. Usco’s reserved tone and matter-of-fact delivery belie his impressive achievement as he persevered through freezing-cold temperatures and fierce winds to smash the record he had set a year prior on another, non-H-D motorcycle.

Having already travelled extensively in his new role as salesman, Usco was impressed by the reliability of his 1923 H-D model: “I learned to depend on the stamina and dependability of the 1923 electrically equipped 74 cubic inch twin.”

Usco found that he was often being asked by other riders and dealers when he would be attempting to break his Boston-Chicago record on a Harley®, and when he heard that his presence would be required at the Motor Company service school in Milwaukee towards the end of the year, it seemed the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

After getting permission to take the trip, Usco was underway just two days later with a new record in his sights. Heading out of Boston just after 6am on a ‘cold and weary’ day, he and Harold battled a headwind as they travelled towards the town of Springfield.

“I need not explain the condition of the road, but to those who are not familiar with it, will say that it is like riding on the top of a table. With everything on but the brakes and what seemed to both Harold and me, all the wind in the country against us we pulled into Springfield, a distance of one hundred miles from Boston, in two hours and twenty minutes, setting a new Boston to Springfield record.”

Upon arriving in New York, the home of his family, Usco stopped off to visit his sick wife, but remained vague about his activities.

“Owing to my wife’s illness, I did not let her in on my record-breaking plans. However, I stopped at Yonkers to say goodbye. This took about 10 minutes of my time, but I did not deduct it from my elapsed time as I figured this was a personal matter and should not be included in the run.”

Aside from that 10-minute detour, the duo’s first real delay was a forty-five-minute wait at the Susquehanna River, where Usco and Harold found a freight train blocking their path over the crossing – “our first real set-back”. When the train eventually moved on, they made their way to York, Pennsylvania, where they were welcomed by Harry O. Young, a local dealer, and a group of enthusiastic motorcyclists. After a brief rest, they set out alongside another dealer, Mark Seifert, to tackle the mountainous terrain of the final part of the journey. This proved to be perhaps the biggest challenge of the trip, and their companion was forced to abandon the ride with a burst butterfly valve.

“The last mountain, Mount Summit, I believe they call it, has an elevation of 2,900 feet, and was covered with snow. It was snowing and the wind was blowing hard. It was on this mountain that I made my first and only shift to low gear. From that time on to Chicago, I did not shift out of high. You who have been over these mountains can appreciate what this means.”

Usco goes on to describe the impact of these adverse weather conditions in painful detail.

“Since we left Boston Harold’s right hand had swollen twice its normal size caused by pushing away from him the sidecar apron which he held up to break the wind. His face was swollen so much, I felt better if I didn’t look at him. My lips were swollen twice their normal size… With noses running, lips cracked open and also beginning to bleed, eyelids slowly closing, it was a battle to fight the severe cold and winter winds.”

Even though Usco and Harold were taking a battering from the elements, the bike itself fared extremely well, with no mechanical issues and no tyre trouble encountered during the astonishing 1,590km journey. It just goes to show that Harleys were as well-built 100 years ago as they are today!

“I have not said anything about my motor for the reason that I had forgotten I had a motor in the frame. It never missed a fire or refused to answer the twist of the wrist. What more could I ask for?”

As their final destination drew nearer, it was fatigue that proved to be the toughest condition the riders faced. Usco describes hallucinations rearing up in the road and at one point there was a near-miss when he swerved off the road to pass under an arch which turns out not to exist. At this point he wisely decided to take a break and they sought shelter in a local garage, where the ever-practical Usco set about restoring his faculties.

“I walked up and down the garage for one solid hour. By that time, I felt more like myself and headed once more for the windy city.”

The punishing weather conditions refused to let up for the final stretch of the journey, but by this point sheer determination had set in: “I pulled myself together and gave her the gas. I told Harold: it’s Chicago or bust, this time.” And so it was that the two rolled into Chicago Heights at 7.50am on Friday morning, cutting eleven hours off the previous record with a riding time of 43 hours (plus those 10 minutes Usco spent speaking with his wife, of course). The overall time taken was 49 hours and 45 minutes, smashing the previous record of 100 hours decisively.

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