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Editor’s Note: We first met the Vogel family in October, 2008. At that time, they were just several months into their three-year adventure of riding bicycles 20,000 on a trek from Alaska to the southern tip of South America. The Vogels, (John, Nancy, Davy and Daryl) from Boise, Idaho, began their trip in June 2008. They arrived in Pinedale on Friday, October 9, 2009 and decided to hold over after hearing reports of a strong winter storm threatening to drop from three to ten inches of snow in the Upper Green River Valley, and bringing blizzard conditions and wind chill values to 10 below zero further south near Rock Springs over the weekend. Ten-year old Davy and Daryl Vogel spent their 5th, 6th, and 7th grades on the road with their parents home schooling them. The family of four arrived at their destination in March, 2011. Below is their latest e-mail with the disappointing news from Guinness World Record.
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Guinness World Record DENIED!
July 25, 2011

"We just got word from Guinness World Records that our claim has been denied. Here's their reason:
Thank you for sending us the details of your recent record attempt for 'Youngest Person to pedal the length of the Americas'. We are afraid to say that we are unable to accept this as a Guinness World Record.

Unfortunately, we at Guinness World Records, have decided to rest this record, meaning we have decided to no longer recognise the category as a record, due to the fact that the record would reach an age where a person would no longer be able to break it or attempt (i.e. a two-year old attempting to do it) and as it would become limited under these terms, we choose to to no longer recognise it as a category.

The achievement, however, is an amazing one and we hope you and your family enjoyed it.

Thank you and we wish you the best and hope you understand.

Needless to say, we're gutted. It just seems so unfair. The boys spent three years pedaling in order to break that record and now Guinness has decided they will no longer honor it.

I honestly feel that my boys should be grandfathered in. When we filed with Guinness World Records back in the spring of 2008 they sent me guidelines outlining what we
would need to do and how we needed to document it and how we needed to submit the claim. They never, ever mentioned anything about not recognizing the youngest to do something.

We're trying to decide what we'll do - should we appeal and mount an international outcry? Or should we just let it rest, knowing that the boys did it. They know and we know and the whole world knows Davy and Daryl are the youngest to cycle the length of the Americas - is that certificate really that important?

Part of me is screaming out, "HELL YES!" They pedaled 17,300 miles for that record. They deserve to be recognized.

And yet - is it worth the time and effort to challenge it? That I don't know. The world record was always secondary to our goal of simply doing what we set out to do. We did that.

I'll take tonight to think about all this and decide what I want to do. If I do decide to challenge it, I'll let you know what you can do to help. Thank you all for your support." – Nancy Vogel

Related Links:
www.FamilyonBikes.org
‘Family on Bikes’ makes it to the end of the world! Pinedale Online, March 22, 2011
‘Family On Bikes’ just 950 kilometers from goal to reach tip of South America Pinedale Online, February 21, 2011
Family on Bikes in Bolivia Pinedale Online, July 12, 2010
Family on Bikes in Ecuador Pinedale Online, November 9, 2009
Family on Bikes in Columbia Pinedale Online, October 15, 2009
Family on Bikes checks in from Costa Rica Pinedale Online, June 23, 2009
Family on Bikes rides through Mexico Pinedale Online, January 27, 2009
Checking back in on the Family on Bikes - Pinedale Online, January 1, 2009
Family on 20,000-mile bike trek visits Pinedale Pinedale Online, October 10, 2008