50 years ago in Expo history: A convoy of bicyclists en route from Seattle had (mostly) made it to Moses Lake

More than 600 bicyclists were making their way to Expo ’74 from Seattle, and nearly all of them had made it over the Cascades and were on their way to Moses Lake.

This “massive cross-state expedition” was sponsored by Seattle radio station KJR and the Washington State Department of Ecology.

“National Guard trucks are following the bicycles to pick up stragglers, and many of the bikers took advantage of their services on the steep slopes of Snoqualmie Pass.”

They were averaging 50 miles per day.

In other Expo news, early statistics indicated that 50 percent of Expo ’74’s visitors were from out of state.

Between 20% and 30% were from the Spokane area. About 10% were from other parts of Washington. The rest were from foreign countries.

Officials predicted that attendance from outside of Washington would increase as summer continued. Ticket outlets up and down the West Coast showed strong advance sales in San Francisco, Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Spokane airport officials reported a “rather dramatic” increase in passenger volume.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1862: Slavery is outlawed in U.S. territories.

1865: Union General Gordon Granger declares enslaved people are free in Texas, now the date the end of slavery is celebrated across the U.S. as Juneteenth.

1991: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar surrenders to police.