A Bike Journey Across the World, a Metaphor for Life

Over the phone, Kevin Record’s voice has its distinctive rasp. On this day, it’s filled with a controlled energy, the hallmark of a rare rest day. It’s raining, he said, in Wilmington, N.C., the perfect reason for down time after 15 days in a row on a bike.

When you’re cycling around the world, you take days off when it makes sense.

You read that right.

“I feel great, I had a great ride yesterday,” Record said. “It usually takes about two weeks to really get your bike legs. I spent about 10 hours biking yesterday, but the temperatures are a little cooler up here now, so I finished strong. It's really rainy, so I'm just chilling out today.”

This is the voluntary reality for Record’s summers. Nine years ago, he started long-distance cycling to raise awareness and generate money for Alzheimer’s research.

Those are still on his list of priorities, but mostly he now rides for his soul.

Kevin Record takes a quick break on The Horse. Photo credit: Kevin Record

Former Sportswriter, Now Tennis Coach

I met Kevin about 30 years ago when we were both in another life. He was married with kids, and he was a sportswriter in Virginia. He was a beat writer for the University of Virginia’s athletics program, documenting all the highs and lows of George Welsh (football) and Jeff Jones (basketball).

I was on the Florida State beat, so Kevin and I crossed paths a half-dozen times a year at various games, tournaments and media functions. Then Kevin landed in Tallahassee when his wife took a job at FSU. He became a freelance correspondent for whoever needed one.

He needed more. A good golfer and stellar tennis player, he made a career change. He started teaching tennis on the side. It wasn’t long until Leon High School needed a boys and girls tennis coach and found him. He just finished his 23rd season at Leon.

“I kind of found my calling,” he said. “I love it. That's what I was meant to do. So many kids I've developed great friendships with, even after they've left. It's a big giant family.”

Season 24 will wait a year. Come the fall, he won’t be back at Leon. He’ll still be on his bike.

After eight years of summer cycling, including one trek across Europe and treks from coast to coast in the United States, he has a deep knowledge about what he needs for a bike. This current trip is by far his most ambitious, and he’s riding The Horse, the name of his 2016 Trek 520 bike.

He mapped out a route from Florida up the East Coast to Maine and eventually Newfoundland, to Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Turkey, The Netherlands, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Georgia then Australia, New Zealand and finally to Alaska. From there, he’ll make his way back east and south back to Florida.

In 14 months.

Survive and Enjoy

As he has done on previous tours, he’s blogging on Crazy Coach 4 The Records and posting on social media about his progress, or lack of it on some days. Flat tires, broken chains or sprockets, issues with brakes — he has encountered those bike problems and more.

“All the other ones before this were like, just survive. Survive and advance,” he said. “That was what the nature of the blog was, too. ‘How’s he going to get out of this pinch?’ ”

Survive and advance is now ride and enjoy. As much as this ride has its scary parts, it’s different at its core. Record left his anxiety in Tallahassee.

He planned his daily schedule knowing that it’s going to change constantly. Weather, bike problems, health issues — they all come into play. He doesn’t book hotel rooms in advance.

Record also mapped out a few stops to see friends and secure the occasional free room. If he’s lucky, he’ll run into fellow long-range cyclists from around the world whom he met over the years.

He has target dates for cities/stops, but those can change with the weather. He didn’t plan this day’s stop in Wilmington, but that’s how it worked out. He isn’t obsessed about being on time, not worried about what issues might arise.

Get coffee in the mornings, water during his ride and food when he needs it, and he believes he’ll find a way through whatever falls in front of him. This is his personal “Apollo 11” or “The Martian.” You encounter a problem, you solve it, you move forward.

Like life.

Learn a Lesson from the Long-Distance Rider

When I think about this trip, much like the others Record has ventured on, I get a chuckle out of the ones so many of my other friends are on. Those, however, are much more (or completely) sedentary. Working from home. Writing a novel. Walking and working out to get healthy.

The plug in and go, one day at a time, day after day, stacking little successes on top of each other.

Some authors struggle to get to the page every day. Others make it their No. 1 priority. It’s their job — or their life.

Most, but not all, enjoy the journey. Some of us learn that collecting small satisfactions and celebrating them is central to success. Or finding our passion.

Record will get back to teaching tennis and life lessons to high school kids soon enough. For 13 more months, he’s focused on his other joy: meeting new people, hearing their stories and relaying his to them, trading humanity.

Like the woman last week who gave him an orange vest to make sure vehicles can see him. The family that answers a knock on the front door and gives water to a stranger. All the servers at all the Waffle Houses and diners across America, Europe and beyond.

And, now, all friends who text and email asking him to make a stop in their town along the way to say hello.

Kevin Record (left) shares time with former Leon High School tennis player Brad Williams, son Josh Record and future daughter-in-law Maddie. Photo credit: Kevin Record

“I guess we’re getting to where we can see the finish of our lives, too,” Record said. “So, I'm trying to savor this, all these relationships. I've had so much loss in my life.

“I’ve lost both my parents. I lost a couple tennis buddies. They were a bit older than me, but they passed away. My boss at Leon, my longtime athletic director, he got cancer and died. So, the reality of our mortality has never been more apparent, and I think that’s part of the reason why I’m just going like this: just savor every second.”

Rain, wind, cold, heat, ticks and insects, dogs and bears (they were a problem before in Japan). He equipped his bike with several water bladders and containers, and he always carries a jar of peanut butter for instant protein. And he has basic bike repair tools, his phone and a charger.

He also has long supplies of prescription medications, though he has made plans for mid-tour deliveries of them. He’s not sure where he’ll be when he needs to resupply, so he’ll have to do a little planning for those.

Whatever else he needs, he’ll figure out.

Kevin Record’s bike, The Horse, upon entering North Carolina in early June. Photo credit: Kevin Record

His one realistic fear is getting stung by a wasp. He’s allergic to wasps, and in the past their stings have always sent him to the hospital. Hence the three Epi pens in his kit.

“Last summer in Japan was nerve-wracking as hell,” he said. “There was a bear problem, [and] I remember being really anxious. My lack of planning caught up to me. That one you can’t wing and I love to wing it.

“Ireland was an amazing adventure where those people taught me how to stop. Just take time to talk and to interact, right? Reminding me it’s not a race. And they were funny. [Looking back], I would say it probably started in Ireland.”

On the road, Record finds no politics, no ill will, no deadlines — although he confessed to having recurring nightmares from his reporting days, one in which he can’t file his story for the next day’s paper, and he knows what a disaster that will be.

And then he wakes up. And it’s time for coffee and another leg to ride.