72-year-old earns Guinness World Record for Pacific coast bike ride
Written by Angie Sharma on July 15, 2022
A 72-year-old woman earned the Guinness World Record as the oldest person to cross America by bicycle (north-south) when she completed her 2,083-mile journey in 43 days.
Guinness World Records said Lynnea Salvo was 72 years and 27 days old when she completed her trip in San Ysidro, Calif., 43 days after beginning her journey.
Salvo’s trip along the Pacific coast was only part of her larger project to create the GPS image of a peace sign across the United States and Canada.
The cyclist previously earned the record for oldest person to cross America by bicycle when she rode from Oceanside, Calif., to Bethany Beach, Del., at the age of 67 years old in 2016. She also earned the record for oldest person to cross Canada by bicycle when she rode across the country at the age of 68 years and 340 days old in 2018.
“Since my records are age-related rather than speed related, I don’t have to go fast, so I don’t suffer the exhaustion speed cyclists do,” Salvo told Guinness World Records.
She said her peace sign project is dedicated to her brother, John Thomas West, who died at the age of 28 when his plane crashed in Laos.
Salvo said she is hoping her peace sign will eventually earn the record for largest GPS drawing by bike (individual).
