TRAVERSE 167
Before starting this World Record attempt , I had a mental checklist of all possible dangers for which I would need to plan .
Having ridden around the world several times by motorcycle through varied and extreme conditions I knew I needed a plan to attempt what I was to do , something to tick off all the possible dangers .
Wild weather proved to be a formidable villain in my 54-day , 32,000 kilometre World Record journey by motorcycle to visit all the U . S . National Parks in the lower 48 states in one continuous trip — most memorably when a jolt of lightning singed my fingertips as they gripped the handles of my Harley-Davidson bike while caught in a wild rainstorm on I-80 outside Cuyahoga Falls National Park , Ohio . Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine being hit by lightning .
The adventure bike market is chock-full of motorcycles that conjure up images of riding into the sunset in far-flung places , along a dirt track , and with a perfectly outfitted bike . The day-to-day reality can be quite different !
I thought to myself , how can this be more challenging than off-roading the highlands of Ethiopia , or riding through the Kalahari Desert in Africa and worrying about large cats while eating my lunch , or riding the distance across Siberia in the dirt and camping with the bears , or traversing the Himalayas at dangerously high elevations to worry about High Altitude Pulmonary Edema ? What I soon found out is that the dangers were not what I had originally considered at all as I shifted my daily focus from the motorcycle riding itself to that of an amateur meteorologist . I truly had no idea what lay ahead .
Having ridden extensively in six continents over many years , I craved a homegrown challenge in the United States on a US-made motorcycle – America here I come !
It was all about new energy , passion , and access and I set out on the Pan America to tackle what had never been achieved . I was set and ready to ride into those daily sunsets .
The challenge I put forth for myself was to visit all the United States National Parks in the contiguous United States in one , continuous trip by motorcycle and doing it as a timed event . Being on a motorcycle provides a uniquely personal connection with people , the weather , and the land that simply cannot be replicated by any other means of travel .
Like many , I have been to a handful of the National Parks , and I have always been curious about those distant parks that I had only heard of , but never visited . From childhood I have seen pictures and read stories of national parks but had never seen many of them firsthand . It was time !
TRAVERSE 167