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| Bushy McKelvey plans to race this KTM to world record glory. |
He held the world record for the next three years, until 'that yank Carl Reese went and dun rode 3 406,17 km' around the track at Continental Tire Proving Grounds in Uvalde, Texas, on February 26, 2017.
McKelvey will this weekend attempt to reclaim “his record” from that 'Mericuhn', but he will not have the luxuty of being the solitaty rider on a safe track.
Instead, he will have to racing 283 times up and down a 12-km stretch of potted, district road between the hamlets of Wartburg and Noodsberg in KwaZulu-Natal, riding in the night under a moonless sky from 6 pm on Saturday night to 6 pm on Sunday night.
To improve on Reece’s distance, the endurance rider from Pietermaritzburg will have to maintain speeds of close to 160 km/h between turns on the narrow, 12 km-long district road.
Authorities have given permissions and the local traffic officers will monitor the record attempt, but as cross country racers have experienced countless times in Africa, racing on public roads is insanely dangerous unless marshalls block every acess road.
McKelvey has the support of a small biker army who will man 23 intersection on the stretch of road, to advise any local drivers there is a famous biker flying up and down the road all night.
McKelvey dedicates his 2020 Guinness World Record ride attempt to Doctors Without Borders and the Feeding Schemes run by the Grand Lodge of SA.
He lost both legs in two separate motorcycling accidents. And now he’s also a Covid-19 survivor. All of which makes him the best teacher of safe motorcycle riding, which he instructs to traffic authorities and other beginners, up to experienced racers.
He has also led international biking expeditions and is the first call for “rider down” from paramedics.
McKelvey counsels and inspires victims and their support networks just by walking into a room. He continues to enjoy riding daily.
His registered charity, Out On a Limb (ooal.org.za) supports local associations for the upliftment of the physically challenged, and his motorcycle club raises funds and goods for vital causes. Bushy said he wishes to spread this life-long message to his wide audience, loyal suppliers, many supporters and the world at large, in hope and certainty: “If you can dream it, and believe it, you can achieve it.”
