48 states in 48 days | Brit adventurer completes mammoth mileage ride across the US

Former Londoner, Rachel Leply has completed the incredible feat of riding through all 48 contiguous states of the US in just 48 days. 

The journey saw the adventurer meet incredible characters along the way, as well as endure every weather type imaginable, from freezing cold, to storms and scorching sun. 

Despite the 21,000-mile journey before her, Rachel chose an unconventional steed, shunning traditional tourers in favour of a Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 named Stella, kindly provided by Enfield to support the record attempt. 

Throughout her mammoth mileage, she used five sets of tyres and 25 litres of engine oil but amazingly, incurred no mechanical failures – barring a single rear lightbulb blowing. 

The failure couldn’t have occurred at a worse time though – as she was making her way along a remote Utah mountain road during a lightning storm in the middle of the night! To get around the issue Rachel recalled having to ride the remaining 45 minutes to civilisation with her brakes on, otherwise she was totally invisible. 

Like all great adventures, the journey was fraught with highs and lows. Rachel was witness to a motorcycle fatality in Arizona, but balanced the challenges faced with a positive attitude throughout. “I decided everyday was going to be a good day and I really lived that. I suffer with anxiety and depression, but I kept at it and everyday was a high” said Rachel.

Life changing moments and crazy characters became the norm, Rachel recalled interacting with Hell’s Angels in bars, someone attempting to gift her a firearm and meeting various gangs.  

Despite this, she recalled being fortunate with the people she met – “I was very open minded and in return, people were very hospitable”. 

When asked about her motivation for the undertaking, Rachel pointed both to a desire to challenge herself and a wanting to inspire other women to get out on two wheels.  

“I always wanted to get into riding. Like a lot of women, I’d been on the back of my partner, but I needed to do it myself. I did my CBT and from there I was hooked. I hope this trip inspires girls to get out and ride themselves”. 

Having completed her expedition, Rachel is now settling into a new home life in Montana, where she hopes to build up her off-roading skills to support a future trip across Australia.  

If you’re contemplating your own ‘trip of a lifetime’, Rachel has one simple piece of advice: “Do it! Sometimes you have to hammer through your normality to experience the best things imaginable”.