Yukon who is who

Ed Jesson

Ed Jesson left Dawson during the Nome gold rush in 1900. Even though he owned a good dog team, he bought a bicycle from a man who had ridden it in from the coast. He defended his choice of conveyance saying that he did not have to cook it any food at night and could potentially cover 100 miles a day. He practiced in Dawson and learned how to keep the front heel in a sled track. On the trail, the temperature went down to 48 below Fahrenheit, the oil in the bearings thickened, and his rubber tires froze stiff. He was a month on the trail, but he pulled into Nome in relatedly good condition.¹⁾