Cross-Country Scooter Journey Nets Lansdale A World Record Honor

Bruce Schwartz•

Lansdale’s latest honor is one for the books.

The borough has officially been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, as the site of the longest journey ever accomplished on a 50cc scooter.

Mayor Garry Herbert announced the official presentation at last week’s borough council business meeting, and proudly unveiled the certificate to council — via Zoom. "I received this actually a few months ago,” Herbert said, "but the pandemic was going on in its heyday, and I wanted to make sure we did this right.”

The certificate refers to last fall’s world-record attempt by Philadelphia-native Michael Reid and Israeli-born Yonatan Belik, who started and ended their 48-state, 9,895.6-mile journey in town and broke the Guinness World Record for the longest scooter journey. The record-breaking attempt was part of Project Create 48, which sought to film the landscapes of the continental United States, and tell the tales of those in lesser-known parts of the country.

"We’ve met people and heard stories from parts of the United States that are beyond what is portrayed in the media,” said Belik at the time. "Every person has a story, but rarely are people given the opportunity to be heard.”

Their launch was at the annual Bike Night Sept. 7, and their return was Nov. 19. "President (Denton) Burnell and I signed the original starting documents, and I signed the ending documents when they came back,” said Herbert.

It’s officially on the Guinness World Records site, and is one of only nine world records set in Pennsylvania last year. And as for the Guinness participation certificate itself, "We’re going to get this framed, put it in a nice box, and have it hung in the borough building,” said Herbert.

It dubs Lansdale, or at least this moment in its history, "Officially Amazing."