hands-free

by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com Sometimes, the biggest ideas come about in the most unexpected ways. Such an example is Shelton Foster and Mike Brick’s decision to set a new world record for the longest motorcycle ride with no hands. In March 2015, Marcello Sarandrea set the record in Rome, Italy, riding a Yamaha Tricker 250 for 137.94 miles without touching the handlebars. At the time, Foster and Brick didn’t even know such a record existed, but they were already riding hands-free for fun. Shelton “Big Red Machine” and Foster Mike “Brick” Wall from Dry Prong, Louisiana, are the current holders of that record title, beating Sarandrea’s feat on May 9, 2017, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. They were able to ride in sync for 185 miles, 857 feet and 5 inches without touching the handlebars, at the MSR Speedway in Angleton, Texas. The new record was set on a pair of Harley-Davidson Electra Glides with no modifications, and verified by Guinness through extensive documentation submitted by the two riders and witness accounts, as is standard procedure. The history behind that record title is just as interesting as the accomplishment itself. Shelton is President and Wall is VP of the Red River Chapter of the Reguladores Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, an MC whose name needs no further explanation. They both work as correctional officers and are war veterans, and have chosen to dedicate their Harley passion and their work to raising awareness and money to an array of charitable causes, most of which focus on vets dealing with PTSD and domestic violence. The idea for the record, which they dubbed the “Jesus take the wheel” record, came about after Wall was pulled over by a cop for riding without hands. He was eventually let go with a […]