- Who
- Matthew Eddy
- What
- 12/5289.92/126/4/2 day(s):hour(s):minute(s)
- Where
- United States (Long Beach,The Aquarium of the Pacific)
- When
Matthew Eddy (USA) travelled across mainland USA in his power wheelchair in 126 days 4 hr 2 min, starting on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean at Red Rock Park on Lynn Beach, Lynn, Massachusetts, on 5 June 2010 and finishing at The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, USA on 9 October 2010. He crossed 12 states and covered a total of 5,289.92 km (3,287 miles).
Matt, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, uses a ventilator to breathe and operates his wheelchair with the only two fingers he can still move. He only took five days rest during the journey, giving an average speed of 43.36 km/h (26.94 mi/h) per day and 8.67 km/h (5.39 mi/h). Average daily travel time was five hours per day, with three hours set-up before riding and two hours breakdown at the end of the ride.
Matt endured desert temperatures over 45°C/114°F, resulting in occasional equipment malfunction. He was accompanied and assisted by his respiratory therapist Ron Steenbruggen and photographer and videographer Danielle Shirtcliffe, with David Lowd as the support-vehicle driver.
This was Matt’s second cross-country trip – he first traversed the USA back in 2008 and repeated the journey a second time under GWR rules to secure the world record.
