🛵 World Record Vespa Rider · Author · Speaker · Barcelona
150,000 km
4 Continents
No Regrets
From burnout to freedom — I rode Scooters across 45 countries, on 4 continents, and set three unofficial world records. This is what happens when you choose your own road and do not listen to the haters.
Why "La Vida Vespa"?
For me the Vespa is not a gadget or a trend. Not a colorful fashion accessory for influencers, not a rich person's fifth toy so someone can ride from the yacht to an Armani store. The Vespa was created to give mobility and freedom to the Italian working class. For me it was a tool to break out of a failed system full of empty promises and broken agreements.
I've quit jobs for my travels. Given up apartments. Left relationships. My whole life revolves around the Vespa and the community that comes with it. It is love, friendship, passion — a second family. It keeps my heart young and my head clear.
Some people assume the name of this page is a marketing trick — a way to make the project sound bigger than it is. Everyone calls their trips "amazing", "epic", "extreme" these days. I do not.
"80 Days Around the World" is not a tagline. It is a fact. Like Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's novel, I rode around the planet in exactly 80 days — starting from Madrid, always heading east, covering 27,113 km across 3 continents and 18 countries on classic Vespas, finishing back in Madrid. That was one trip among many.
So contrary to the trend, I understate rather than overstate. I let others decide whether riding an average of 400 km per day around the planet on an old two-stroke scooter qualifies as epic, amazing, or extreme. I just rode.
It is not a scooter. It is a way of life. La Vida Vespa.
"Being brave does not mean you are not afraid — it means feeling the fear and doing it anyway."Read the full story →
Jules Verne wrote it. I lived it.
In 2018 I circumnavigated the globe in 77 +3 days on a Vespa. Madrid → Istanbul → Vladivostok → Seoul → San Diego → New York → Madrid. 27,113 km. No support team. Solo. Just 3 scooters and a flawed plan.
The Full StoryFeatured Adventures
From riding a 1971 V50N 6,300 kilometers across 7 countries to an 80-day circumnavigation of the globe.
Nordkapp & Back
Grense Jakobselv → Nordkapp → Portugal. 16,500 km on a 125cc T5.
16,500 KM · 17 COUNTRIESWorld Tour — 80 Days
27,113 km. 18 countries. The fastest Vespa circumnavigation in history.
27,113 KM · 80 DAYS · 3 CONTINENTSUSA Coast to Coast
Virginia Beach to San Diego. Route 66 included. 20 states on a Vespa.
10,000+ KM · 52 DAYS · 20 STATESLa Vida Vespa Begins
The first big solo trip. 130 days, 32 countries, 22,450 km through Europe and Morocco.
22,450 KM · 130 DAYS · 32 COUNTRIESRead the Journey
🎬 Watch the Telemadrid Interview
Frequently Asked Questions
About speaking, books, the world record, and life on a Vespa.
Yes — fluent in all three. Talks have been delivered at Vespa World Days (Spain), the Overland Event in Oxford (UK) alongside Ted Simon, and at Vespa clubs across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Vespa club gatherings, motorcycle and adventure travel events, corporate keynotes on resilience and risk-taking, university lectures, and brand events for the powersports and travel industries. Audience sizes from 30 to 3,500.
Use the booking form on the Speaker page or write directly to markus(at)la-vida-vespa.com with date, location, audience size, and language. Most enquiries get a reply within 48 hours.
Yes. The core stories — burnout to world record, 80 days around the globe, mechanical disasters, charity rides — are adapted to the audience. Corporate keynote, club evening or festival main stage all get a different cut.
Direct from the author via Gumroad (highest royalty for Markus) or on Amazon as Kindle, paperback and hardcover. Selected bookshops in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain stock the print editions.
"Out of Office — Eine Vespa Midlife Crisis" is available in German, English and Spanish. "10 Inch Tales / 10 Zoll Geschichten" is available in German, English and Spanish. French, Italian, Portuguese and Greek editions are in progress.
Audiobook production is planned for 2026, narrated by Markus himself. Subscribe to the newsletter to be notified at launch.
The record stands as the fastest documented solo Vespa circumnavigation of the globe — 27,113 km, 18 countries, 3 continents, 80 days. It is unofficial because Guinness World Records no longer accepts speed records on public roads. The full ride is documented day-by-day.
Twelve years of riding, 20 separate trips on classic geared two-stroke Vespas. No support vehicle, no camera crew, no sponsorship deals from Piaggio. Mechanical issues fixed roadside, sleep in bus stops, behind gas stations, or in cheap hostels. The full breakdown is on the Adventures page.
No. Markus has never been a Piaggio or Vespa brand ambassador. The 2018 world tour was 85–90% self-funded; smaller product partners covered tyres, oil and equipment. Piaggio and the major spare-parts companies showed no interest in the project.
Guided tours through Catalonia and Spain are in planning for 2026 from the new Barcelona base. Subscribe to the newsletter for first access.
The 2026 Balkan Bravado tour (Barcelona to Chișinău) starts in July 2026. Live updates run on Instagram, Facebook and the newsletter.
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