World’s best city-hopper triumphs

Young adventurer Rhys Lawrey has ridden his Triumph Tiger 800XC into the record books, smashing the existing figure for the most consecutive capital cities visited by motorcycle.

23-year-old Rhys, also known as ‘2moroRider’, had already travelled 42,000 miles across Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas, before starting his record attempt in Montevideo, Uruguay. From there he headed straight to Buenos Aires in Argentina, arriving at Easter.

Riders must travel continuously between each city, only stopping for fuel, the toilet and/or borders, which is why the current record is just five capitals, (all in Central America). Rhys set his sights much higher, aiming for more than 50, which will take him across Africa, up through Europe, and home to Britain this July.

From Argentina, Rhys flew to Cape Town in South Africa for the next stage and his longest day in the saddle yet – the 632-mile journey from Cape Town to Bloemfontein. South Africa is unique in having three capital cities; Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Pretoria (administrative). He equalled the current record in Maseru, in the land-locked kingdom of Lesotho, and beat it when he reached Mbabane, Swaziland.  Then Maputo in Mozambique (7), back into South Africa to visit Pretoria (8), and then on to Gaborone in Botswana, capital city number nine.

It is nearly a year since Rhys set out from London’s Ace Cafe and during that time he has travelled through 39 countries racking up more than 45,000 miles. His next destination is Madrid and the beginning of the European stage, where some of the capitals are more widely spaced, pushing himself and his Tiger to the limit, as he tries to reach his target of 52 capitals.

Rhys has produced a video showing highlights of his first year on the road in support of The Prince’s Trust. If you’d like to support the cause, you can follow Rhys’ progress and make a donation at 2mororider.com.