TRAVEL BLOGHappy Fourth of JulyWorld Hum’s Most Read: June 28-July 3What We Loved This Week: Def Leppard in Greece, Austrian Competence and Freedom in ColombiaThe LAX Theme Building, Then and Now
ASK ROLFAs a Woman, Can I Really Travel Without Much Fear for my Safety?Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel AUDIO SLIDESHOWInside Slum TourismWith mixed feelings, Rob Verger recently signed on for a tour of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. He looks back on the experience—and the photos he was allowed to take. HOW TO
Break Bread and Brie in FranceGreat cheese abounds in the land of Gaul, but dig in and you risk committing any number of faux pas. Terry Ward explains how to partake of the nation’s famed fromage with savoir faire. THE LIST
10 Wanderlust-Inducing Summer ConcertsCall it world music or global pop or the sound of the world hum. Ben Keene reveals 10 acts on tour that are sure to transport you. Plus videos.
Q&A
Bryan Mealer: ‘War and Deliverance in Congo’The former AP correspondent traveled up the Congo River. Frank Bures asks the author of “All Things Must Fight to Live” about following in the wake of Joseph Conrad. SPEAKER'S CORNERA Journey Into ‘The Second World’Some bureaucrats joke that they would never claim expertise about countries they had not at least flown over. In an excerpt from his new book, Parag Khanna argues that real global understanding can only come from serious travel.
BOOKS
‘The Worst Guidebook Writer Ever’?Lonely Planet author Robert Reid reviews Thomas Kohnstamm’s “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” and weighs in on the controversy surrounding it |
TRAVEL BLOG10.19.07
Man Drives From New York City to Los Angeles in 31 Hours
Roy claims he made record time, beating the 32 hours and seven minutes set in 1983. Of course, it’s an unofficial record. David Shaftel writes in the Times: “Because of the dubious legality and the absence of a sanctioning body, transcontinental and endurance-driving records are hard to quantify.” Still, the trip was well documented. Besides the book and the bloggers at Jalopnik who acted as third-party witnesses to Roy’s departure and finish, 2,794 miles piled up on the odometer. Roy’s pace: 90.1 mph. Roy also traveled with a co-driver, David Maher, and a support team in a Cesna to help look out for speed traps and other obstacles. No word in the Times about whether he had a medical crew trailing, too. Doing 90.1 mph cross country on no sleep is, after all, rather dangerous. I’ve driven across the country three times, each effort taking at least a week. I much prefer that pace, or slower. When I want fast, I just watch this. But safety and other obstacles don’t seem to factor in for these transcontinental speed demons. The sub-30 hour trip calls. “If people want to try it,” Brock Yates, an automotive journalist and Cannonball Run organizer, told the Times, “the roads are open.”
Related on World Hum:
Photo by TheFriendlyFiend, via Flickr (Creative Commons) Categories: Weblog • Adventure Travel • Road Trips • United States
COMMENTSFrist off, the man is an idiot. What makes him think he has the right to endanger the lives of law abaiding citizens, by speeding down public roads. I recommend that someone throw a net over him and haul his butt to the nearest loony bin. There are private places where fools like him can set records. I would recommend the Salt Flats in Utah, he could run round and round until he passed out and no one but himself would be hurt. By on 10.19.07 at 01:54 PM
I believe that Mr. Roy is a thrill seeking individual. I would like to see him beat the record from Spain to Vietnam. I doubt if he can make it. By on 10.20.07 at 07:40 AM
Wow. Another man with too much money and no concern for other people’s lives. Don’t millionaires and billionaires have something to do other than try to break speed records? By Diana Kuan on 10.20.07 at 09:12 PM
Are you kidding this man is an american hero! Im sick of all the safty junkies worrieng about people geting hurt, your turning the nation into a bunch of wusses. By on 10.20.07 at 11:17 PM
As someone who has done a great deal of interstate driving I can say with complete confidence that Mr. Roy is a first class moron! I’ve seen a lot of people drive over the speed limit, and honestly, as a professional driver I can tell you the safest speed to drive is the speed the traffic flow is moving at. In Mr. Roy’s case, this IS NOT the case. If his average speed was just over 90 mph just how fast do you think he was going in areas where he could drive even faster? Perhaps more importantly, how fast was he going through states like Ohio, New York, etc. where the speed limit is 65mph or less? How fast did Mr. Roy drive through, or after getting through construction areas, accident areas, or just plain old traffic jams? After all, creeping in traffic hurt his average speed—got to drive faster to make this up, right? The bottom line is all the same, it is reckless endangerment of those around this idiot. And here we have media outlets giving this guy attention when what he really should get is a month or two in jail, loss of his drivers licence and a good fine. Have to wonder what kind of person would pay to read his memoir, The Driver? Perhaps a more fitting title would be ‘The Jerk’! Enjoy the fame Mr. Roy, because sooner or later some one will pay with their health, or life for your stupidity! But then again, what do you care, you’ll get attention for that, too, I’m sure. By on 10.21.07 at 11:29 AM
Geez ... aside from all the speeding concerns, how on earth does someone manage to stay awake and focused enough to drive that sort of distance straight through? On second thoughts, maybe I just don’t want to know. By Lauren on 10.21.07 at 04:10 PM
I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe it. Not only is it alot fo country to drive by yourself, but waht about gas stops, bathroom breaks,etc. I just don’t see how even at 90.1 mph. unless he had another driver. By on 10.21.07 at 06:43 PM
Wow… So very bitter. If you had not been brainwashed by Safety Police, you would know that the majority of the east west highways were engineered for driving at 90+ speeds, and even Texas has a 85 MPH speed limit on one of its rural highways. With a time of 30 hours, that is a little more than one day, so much of the driving was at night. Certainly not absolutely safe but manageable. Think of all the 40+ hour round trip flights airforce pilots do, and rethink the safety factor of time. Just a thought,
By on 10.21.07 at 07:11 PM
You know all of these people complain about the speed and how he is trying to get attention. Fact is every one of us wish we had the time to be able to do this. Was the speed rediculous? Yes. But no one got hurt. And as for the attention...We all watched. Who is stupider??? Man i feel like a road trip! By on 10.21.07 at 10:11 PM
I do not think this man is crazy. The day after 911, I drove from Glendora, Ca. to Baton Rouge, La. in 26 hours. That was stopping for gas and sleeping 4 hours in a motel. There was very little traffic and I did exceed the speed limit guite a bit but not where it would endanger others. The major interstates and highways usually have pretty high speed limits. By Margaret on 10.22.07 at 08:56 AM
First of all, I don’t believe it. I’ve driven across country non-stop with another driver and it would be hard to do it that fast alone and without drugs. The person that brought up the airline pilot has a good point. And, physicians that work the ER’s 40+ straight hours. We as a whole seem to accept that but can’t accept someone driving 30 hours. I would rather take my changes with the driver than the airplane pilot or the ER Doctor!!! And yes, so many people are worried about every little thing that they are turning our country into a bunch of wusses. By on 10.23.07 at 06:41 AM
ADD YOUR COMMENT
We reserve the right to remove comments with profanity, personal attacks, spam, overt advertisements or other inappropriate material.
|
Subscribe to World Hum's RSS feed.
Got a suggestion? Add your travel photos to the World Hum pool on Flickr. Check out our take on the WEBLOG CATEGORIES
Adventure Travel |
||||||||||||||||||