Lithuanian adventure rider and KTM team up to begin quickest around the world test ride

On August 17 2019, adventure motorcyclist Karolis Mieliauskas will leave his hometown of Druskininkai in Lithuania to tackle his biggest challenge, Around The World in 40 Days. The journey will be his second long-distance adventure of this year. His first was The Coldest Ride where he successfully rode from Yakutsk to Oymyakon, the coldest habitable place on the planet in just five days in temperatures as low as -50°C.

On top of being his biggest adventure yet, Around The World in 40 Days will be the first time he has used a KTM motorcycle, the newly-launched KTM 790 Adventure

Covering approximately 1,000 kilometres per-day across Russia, Around The World in 40 Days will begin by taking Karolis from Lithuania into Russia, across the Siberian taiga and to Vladivostok, the country's furthest eastern point. He will then fly to Los Angeles, where he will be reunited with his KTM. The second part of his stateside journey will start on Route 66, and finish in Chicago. There he will meet the Windy City's Lithuanian community, the largest in the world outside of his home country.

Following the visit to Chicago, he will head to New York to fly to London. Just like in Chicago, he will meet up with the British capital's Lithuanian community before riding back to Druskininkai by September 27.

Despite the gruelling task ahead, Mieliauskas is no stranger to mentally draining motorcycle journeys. His first was in July 2016 when he drove 1,000 kilometres each-day from Vilnius to Vladivostok in 12 days on a largely unmodified one-cylinder motorcycle. In March the following year, he returned to Siberia to tackle 800 kilometers across the frozen Lake Baikal with the same bike. His most recent adventure was The Coldest Ride.

For Mieliauskas, Around The World in 40 Days is not just his biggest challenge yet in terms of distance and logistics. It is also a coming together of his previous long-distance adventures.

"One of the biggest logistic difficulties will be transporting the bike around on aircraft, because it is not standard air freight. Another major challenge of Around The World in 40 Days will be getting used to the KTM 790 Adventure, which is a completely different bike compared to what I am used to," he said. "Covering 20,000 kilometers in 40 days is by no means easy. I have covered long distances each day in the past, and I know that 'motorcycle meditation' is the key to achieving this by pushing our mental perceptions beyond our limits of what is possible."