Dave Barr coming to town

DAVE BARR, the American veteran of the Vietnam War and a motorcyclist best known for being the first double amputee to circumnavigate the globe, is coming to Vryheid again. He will be in Vryheid on Monday, April 27, at about lunch time, stopping off at Dee’s Restaurant & Bar. His travels in South Africa are to raise funds for the Cheshire Homes.

Local bikers are going ride out to meet Dave as he approaches Vryheid on the Melmoth road. If you’re a biker and would like to join the welcoming party, contact Ian Bland who will advise time and place etc. His number is 082 370 4600.

Dave Barr lives in Bodfish, California where he runs a motorcycle tour company. He is also the author of several books and was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.

Barr joined the US Marine Corps when he was 17 and served in Vietnam on a helicopter gunship. After his discharge from the Marines in 1972 he lived in various locations around the world and served in the armed forces of several countries, including: two years with the Israeli Parachute Regiment and one year Rhodesian Light Infantry.

He was in the middle of two years of service with the South African Defence Force when he was injured in a land-mine explosion in Angola in 1981. In 1981 while riding in a military vehicle in southern Angola, his vehicle drove over a land mine and the resulting explosion cost him both of his legs, above the knee on the right and below the knee on the left. Prosthetic legs allowed him to complete his tour of duty.

In 1994 Barr set a world record for riding a Harley Davidson 83,000 miles around the world, including a 13,000 mile Atlantic to Pacific segment across Northern Europe and Siberia. The bike that Barr used for the journey is currently on display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio.

Barr also set a second world record for riding the so-called Southern Cross. In just 45 days during 1996, he completed the first motorcycle journey ever between the four extreme geographical corners of the Australian continent.

Barr was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000 not only for his world record setting exploits, but also for the charity work he has done for the disabled along the way.