Bienvenidos a Madrid!
Kevin Record’s bicycle ride around the world is in its third month and, according to the adventurer, going as planned. The Leon High journalism teacher and tennis coach arrived in Madrid, Spain, on Saturday Aug. 16.
Record plans to exhale and enjoy the sights for a few days before he takes a northeast path to Amsterdam before straight east to Berlin.
“Fitness level is good. Horse has been stellar. Feeling blessed and extremely grateful,” Record told The Tallahassee Democrat via messenger. “I am going to take in Madrid, reboot. And then Paris in 800 miles, baby.”
Record has covered around 4,151.81 miles so far. His 12-14-month journey will feature over 18,000 miles of cycling and 24,000 miles total – including plane rides across various bodies of water – which ultimately equals the circumference of the earth.
Record’s motivated is two-fold:
To become the oldest person to circumnavigate the globe by bicycle to establish a Guinness World Record and raise money and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of his late parents, Wayne and Jane Record.
Kevin Record shares mindset as he bicycles around the world
Record, 65, started his long-distance cycling nine years ago but this journey is his most ambitious.
Record departed from his beloved Leon High tennis courts in June and headed east to Jacksonville. He turned north up the East Coast to Maine and eventually Newfoundland. From there, he flew to London and faced one of his biggest early challenges of his trip.’
And he wasn’t even on his bicycle.
“I had a 120-minute self transfer connection in London and ultimately making it through to Morocco was nothing short of a miracle,” Record said.
“The key person that made it happen was an Air Arabia employee named Osama, who fast tracked me through with minutes to spare. Navigating through crowds, up and down elevators and through narrow doorways with a massive bike box and 80 pounds of luggage was crazy. Countless people helped along the way as I frantically converted the transition.
” In tennis terms, it was like talking from down 5-0 in the deciding set.”
Record, as he likes to say, survived and advanced.
Despite his early morning starts due to the intense heat in Portugal and Spain, Record also reminds himself to enjoy each day. And, as he has done on previous tours, Record’s blogging and posting daily on social media about his progress.
Record explained that arriving in Madrid was a major milestone. For his journey to complete an official circumnavigation of the earth, among other criteria, Record must pass through two “antipodal points”- opposite ends of the world.
Record’s two points are Madrid, Spain and Wellington, New Zealand.
“No shot clock on this trip,” Record told the Democrat.
“Don’t feel so constrained by time because, well, I don’t need to be back at school for another 12 months. Still have to remind myself that it’s not a race. The slower pace allows me to connect with countless friends and family as I went up the Atlantic Coast. Reconnected with college and high school friends, some of whom I had not seen in decades.”
Record ended by sharing,
“One day at a time. One pedal at a time.”
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