<\/p>\n
Over the horizon, two bundled-up figures riding Honda scooters loaded with gear arrive at the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park.<\/p>\n
Fed up with the fast-paced, cynical world, videographers Michael Reid, a climbing guide from Iceland, and Yonatan Belik of Israel, embarked on a slow-speed, cross country adventure to break the \u201cGuinness Book of World Records\u201d for the longest 50cc scooter trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t had much adversity, except for the cold,\u201d Reid said upon arriving in Southwest Colorado. He did badly bang up his toe on a rough road in Navajo country and has been riding with his foot elevated.<\/p>\n
By last week, the two adventurers had traveled 6,000 miles in 50 days riding across the northern states, then making a U-turn at San Francisco to head across the southern states. They are on track to hit 9,000 miles in 80 days, enough to break the record, while driving through 48 states.<\/p>\n
Along the way, they are photographing and documenting people they meet in an effort to inspire understanding and compassion in an era of divisiveness, fear and fast-paced living.<\/p>\n
Israel has a diverse population and polarization, Belik says, and he sees that that exists in the U.S. as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to amplify people\u2019s stories, post them on social media, so others in the nation can get to know their fellow citizens,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving meaningful interactions with strangers breaks down stereotypes, and makes you realize there is so much BS being fed to us about \u2018those other people\u2019 as a way to separate us.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve interviewed artists, workers, families, the homeless, and a host of other regular folks who share a bit of their life story and dreams.<\/p>\n
When they blew a tire on the Navajo Reservation south of Cortez, a family offered their help. Stereotypes that Reid and Belik had heard vanished in an instant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d never met a Native American. This family opened their hearts, we ate with their family, had great conversation. Vincent fixed our tire,\u201d said Belik, 29. \u201cWe are learning their history, and want to experience Mesa Verde, Chimney Rock and Chaco.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making an effort to connect in a positive way with people nearby is a habit we should all get used to more, said Reid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m from Philly, and you are told that strangers do not have your best interests, but this trip I\u2019ve had to reprogram that mindset. We\u2019re passing on that message,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven on this trip we hear, \u2018watch out for that next state,\u2019 or \u2018you will die if you stop in this area or that area.\u2019 People have become internally scared of each other, and it is reinforced in the media. If you step past that barrier, you will grow, and so will the other person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid and Belik said they noticed they get the best treatment in poorer areas. They have been put up by strangers, fed and given clothing.<\/p>\n
The Honda Ruckus 50cc scooters draw attention and invite conversation, Belik said. The bikes\u2019 1.2 gallon tanks go for 120 miles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are like passports through the physical and psychological borders of the United States,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Traveling the backroads, and sometimes highways, going 30 miles per hour has been pretty wild, and sometimes dangerous.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve nearly been hit, flipped off by irate drivers, stopped by the police, and have taken a crash or two on dirt roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve taken them properly off-road; they are small but durable,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n
You see more at slower speeds, appreciate more, meet more people, Reid said. \u201cThe scenery is amazing. It\u2019s clich\u00e9, but we don\u2019t think about the destination; it really is about the journey at this speed,\u201d said Reid, 32. \u201cYou wave at someone, wave again, then just pull over and have a conversation. It is like slow brew, and you get to taste the flavor of the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Traveling on a shoestring budget, they have camped almost every night, including in the snow and freezing cold of the Rocky Mountains. The suffering is countered by the natural splendor of traveling through national parks, beaches, deserts and redwood forests.<\/p>\n
In Cortez, after a 200-mile, below-freezing ride, the Bridge Shelter put them up for the night, \u201canother chance to hear people\u2019s stories,\u201d Belik said. \u201cThe shelter was brand new; it shows a community that cares.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the end of their epic scooter trip, they plan to host a gallery event in Washington D.C. that showcases the photos and stories of all the people they met.<\/p>\n
This is the second world record for the duo as part of the Wheeling for the World collective. In 2018, they were part of a team that set the record for the greatest distance on a kick-push scooter in 24 hours, covering 1,630 miles.<\/p>\n
Their mission is to continue the format of unique travel in other polarized areas and countries. Their next record-breaking quest is riding electric unicycles 600 miles across Israel while meeting and documenting diverse groups of people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make it a reality TV show, and again amplify people\u2019s stories, humanize different groups,\u201d Belik said.<\/p>\n
To join in their travels and view their profiles, check out their website<\/a> and facebook<\/a> page, www.facebook.com\/WheelingForTheWorld\/.<\/p>\n jmimiaga@ the-journal.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Adventurers stop in Southwest Colorado on mission of harmony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5738,5740,5737,5887,5736,5886,5735,5741,5888],"tags":[21,13,28,714,173,29,1469],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-91947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cortez","category-frontpage-lead","category-headlines","category-human-interest","category-local-news","category-mesa-verde-national-park","category-news","category-newsletter","category-travel-and-commuting","tag-cortez","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-human-interest","tag-mesa-verde-national-park","tag-newsletter","tag-travel-and-commuting"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91947"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=91947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}