Gujarati First To Circle Globe Solo On Mobike

NEW YORK: Umarfaruk Chippa, nicknamed Engineer, originally from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, but now living in Bridgeport, CT, is looking forward to seeing his name in the Guinness Book of World Records after he traversed thousands of kilometers on his Yamaha Virago 535 cc motor cycle last fall.

He visited 16 countries en route to his dream - of being the first person to circumnavigate the world on a motorbike alone, covering a distance of 15,469 km from Sept 14 to Oct 22 last.

"People have done it earlier but either in groups or with a pillion rider," said Engineer. "But no one has done it alone."

Engineer set out on his tour-de-force from Frankfurt on his newly purchased Yamaha mobike Sept. 14 last and drove through 16 countries, including India.

"I had thought of something like this even while studying in Ahmedabad, but the visa posed problems. The other countries suspected me as I was from a developing country and they did not trust my credentials enough," he said.

But after spending two years in the United States, he decided to give it a shot.

The first visa he acquired was the Schengen Staten (Euro Visa) that entitled him to travel to ten European countries.

"With that visa alone, I could go to the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Germany," he explained. Of course, it required a lot of effort to convince the authorities. "I had to show all my documents and past certificates to convince them that my visit was purely for adventure.

I told them that the bike will also be bought in Germany. "Besides," he continued, "my biggest advantage was that I had been in the United States for two years."

Engineer was received with love and affection everywhere he went and met other adventurers on the road.

"I travelled through the largest tunnel in the world between Switzerland and Austria and the Channel Tunnel connecting France and the UK," he said.

But the accident in Turkey made the deepest impression on him as "there are no signposts in Turkey," he laments, "and I was travelling at around 160 km per hour. I saw a turning from a distance of 1 km and tried to slow down but my bike skidded," the youth from Bridgeport said. He was injured but his bike was unhurt. "I used my mobile to call up the Emergency mobile but before that, Youdaz, the driver of a luxury bus, came to my rescue. I will never forget that."

Engineer didn’t plan his trip. He went to the country, bought a map and planned the route.

"That’s adventure. But when you deliberate over everything, the thrill and spontaneity is lost," he said.

The only thing giving him company was a bag with a couple of clothes, a laptop, a digital camera, passport, credit card and cellular. Not being fastidious about food, he ate anything he could find and slept either in cheap motels or on his bike.

"I did this trip for the thrill of the adventure, that’s why I didn’t get any corporate sponsors. I used my own money, about $25,000 so far," Engineer explained. "As soon as I get more money saved, I will continue the journey from Delhi, across Russia, into Alaska and across the US. Perhaps in two years."