Diego Cardenas makes Harley-Davidson history with U.S. border-to-border trip aboard the LiveWire
Words by Joy Burgess
Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson
In the middle of a global pandemic and growing political unrest across the U.S., people around the country are finding new ways to celebrate life events – and many aboard motorcycles. The old saying goes, “when life gives you lemons you make lemonade.” And that’s exactly what California native Diego Cardenas did for his 50th birthday, one he’d originally planned to celebrate in Spain.
With Spain a no-go, Cardenas needed to find a new plan to commemorate his half-century on the planet, so he turned to his passion – motorcycles. A motorcycle trip would allow him to maintain social distancing, but he didn’t want any ordinary motorcycle trip; he was looking for the extraordinary.
He came up with the plan to ride his Harley-Davidson LiveWire from the U.S./Mexican border all the way to the U.S./Canadian border via the West Coast Green Highway (WCGH), a network of DC fast-charging stations for electric vehicles located every 25-50 miles along Interstate 5 and additional major roadways through California, Oregon and Washington.
Starting on June 22, Cardenas began his groundbreaking trip in San Ysidro, CA. Riding over 1,400 miles, on June 30 – his 50th birthday – he arrived at the U.S./Canadian border town of Blaine, WA, accomplishing his goal of a border-to-border journey aboard the electric LiveWire.
“I just wanted to do something different,” Cardenas said, “and different became extraordinary. What I did was mind-blowing. I wanted to be a part of Harley-Davidson history … and be an inspiration for others to try riding electric motorcycles like the LiveWire.”
Stay tuned to Thunder Press for a behind-the-scenes story on Cardenas and his historic trip.
