I started with this simple question, but answering it proved to be difficult, very difficult indeed.
Riding around the world on my Triumph Rocket X in 2017 /2018, I started to wonder how many people had circumnavigated before me. Unable to find an answer I set about creating a definitive list, researching fastidiously to determine the number, as well as noting names, dates, bikes, countries and so on. The list is now published on Horizons Unlimited as an open source to enable the global motorcycle community to contribute to it.
https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/circumnavigators/
To my great surprise I also discovered that the very first person to ride around the world, Carl Stearns Clancy in 1912/1913, is still the youngest to have done so. He was only 23 years and one month old when he returned to New York. *
I announced: “It’s just a list. The number of people on it is not really important. It’s the stories behind everyone’s journey that matters. Every one of the 291 people on the list has an incredible story to tell. Every journey was not merely difficult or dangerous, but was life defining”. Clancy himself said “I started a boy, I had come back a man."
I realise that the list of circumnavigators, detailing their choice of motorcycle, dates, start and finish point, countries ridden, books written, videos produced, website and social media etc. is not as important as their life-defining journeys. Many more started off with good intentions but were halted by lack of funds, breakdowns, accidents or death. Some simply had a change of heart when they found something, or more usually someone, who stopped them in their tracks. Many others took considerably longer to complete their circumnavigation than they had anticipated. Others have been around the world several times, but are only included once on the list.
The list includes the first woman to ride around the world, the first British woman and the first British men. The first to ride on all seven continents, the fastest around the world, and the longest journey. When I completed the list, with 273 entries on it in November 2020, I realised that Carl Stearns Clancy, the first person to ride solo round the world in 1912/1913, was still the youngest person to have done so. He left New York when he was 22 years and two months old, and returned 11 months later when he was 23 years and one month old. The publishers of Guinness World Records did not exist at the time but I claim that a wealth of evidence exists to support his achievement.
Many had incredible adventures on a motorcycle, but only circumnavigators have been included. In some cases I had to make a difficult decision based on the weight of evidence I uncovered. Some people were excluded as a result. However, the list is now held as an ‘open source’ on Horizons Unlimited, and edit suggestions are welcome. I want the global motorcycle community to take ownership of the list. I fully expect that the list will grow as more people step forward to reveal their adventure, or tell me about others that they know.
It is undoubtedly true that no-one circumnavigated the globe just to be included on a list compiled in 2020, but I hope that future adventurers might be motivated by its existence.
I expect to announce the result of further research in January 2021.