How far can you go with an electric vehicle? A new Prime series follows this traveler’s world record attempt

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Lexi Alford, better known as Lexi Limitless, is no stranger here at Euronews Travel.

We first interviewed Alford a few years ago after she broke a world record and became the youngest person to travel to every country in the world at the incredible age of 21.

Now in her late 20s, Euronews Travel caught up with the American traveler to find out more about her latest world record attempt: becoming the first person to circumnavigate the world in an electric vehicle (EV).

Alford’s circumnavigation record attempt was captured for the new three-part documentary “Charge Around The Globe” on Prime Video, released November 18.

The goal of Lexi Limitless? Travel across six continents and over 29,000 km with an electric vehicle.

Alford says she has always had a deep curiosity about the world and what she can learn from other cultures.

But part of her motivation for traveling is to push her limits, which is why the name “Lexi Limitless‘ comes from.

“I believe that the greatest experience and catalyst for personal growth is stepping out of your comfort zone,” she says.

And because of her “limitless” philosophy, Alford decided to impose a time limit on herself: to try this World record in just 90 days.

“Ideally, you really get to know another culture when you can spend as much time as possible in one place,” she explains.

“However, due to the attempt to circumnavigate the globe, this trip had a completely different purpose.

“There’s actually more to the story than you can see by watching the documentary. It was the original goal of 90 days, but I wouldn’t say everything went exactly according to plan. In the end it took a lot longer.”

Lexi Limitless is a tribute to the explorer Aloha Wanderwell

This latest world record attempt was inspired by Canadian pioneer and explorer Aloha Wanderwell, who became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in 1922.

“She is such a prolific explorer, but like many other female explorers, she was not particularly valued compared to her male counterparts,” Alford tells Euronews Travel.

Filming the world record attempt, Alford explained, was partly to honor Wanderwell and tell her story. But as she began her efforts, she also recognized many parallels between the two journeys, even though they were a century apart.

“I really feel like I can empathize deeply with her stories, even though it’s been over a hundred years since she’s been on this journey. There were so many things she wrote about that really touched me, and it was a really nice way to pay homage to the explorers before me.”

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“Travel has changed so much since the days of Aloha Wanderwell,” Alford adds, “and I have a lot of respect for what she did back then.”

“I mean, even roads were better suited to horse-drawn carriages than the mega highways we have now. So much has changed in terms of infrastructure. Plus, it’s a privilege to have maps, GPS, constant coordinates and everything like that.”

“But the nature of travel is that it is always unpredictable, and so many countries do it so differently.”

To emulate her hero, Alford decided to do so drive a Ford Explorer EV – since Wanderwell had driven a Ford Model-T – and decided to start and end her journey in PrettyFrance.

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“We started at the same hotel where (Wanderwell) checked out in 1922 when she lived there south of France“, explains Alford.

“It was a funny coincidence,” she adds, “because completely coincidentally, out of all the places in the world, I spent most of my time outside of the US in Nice, and I consider it a second home.”

The journey to the EV world record attempt is only part of the story

While the documentaries focus on the driveAlford’s adventure began much earlier.

It took almost a full year of planning and brainstorming to create a route that would meet world record standards.

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One of the biggest challenges in deciding the route was the fact that Alford would be traveling with an electric vehicle that needed to be charged along the way, she reveals:

“We have tried our best to predict where electric vehicle chargers will be located. There are some really comprehensive electric vehicle travel websites that do their best to find out where chargers are located around the world. But at the end of the day, you never know when a charger won’t work. You never know how long it will take when you use domestic charging. So we really tried our best to do the work up front and figure out what would theoretically work.”

A requirement for the world record attempt was that Alford had to visit at least five continents. Since she would be the only driver of the electric vehicle throughout the experiment, they had to get creative with border control.

Given the time constraints and logistical complexity of transporting or air freighting the electric vehicles to each continent, the team reset the time on a different continent with a new car after completing a route.

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In total, there were four separate vehicles waiting for Alford on each continent – and again, the location of these vehicles made their route quite rigid.

Of course, Alford also needed a specialized expedition team on hand. This also included an EV mechanic, as “typical mechanics only offer limited options”.

“I learned quite a bit about driving around the world”

Unlike Alford’s last world record, traveling by car meant she could travel deeper into remote areas.

“You can really see countries from a more unique perspective… because there are so many little towns and random places along the way that travelers would have no other reason to be in.”

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Starting in FranceAlford found it “so satisfying” to drive through Europe and “absolutely fascinating” how much the culture and landscape was changing.

“I love places that are a little off the beaten path, so being able to stop at places like that Serbia and experience some of the towns there – and drive through some of the more picturesque areas to the north Greece – was incredible,” she explains.

And what was Alford’s favorite? European travel destination from experience?

“I absolutely love it Georgia. I think it’s one of the most underrated countries in the world.”

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However, this happened on a trip north from the Atacama Desert Chile up to Argentina that Alford felt like he was truly in the middle of nowhere.

“This land border crossing in this region was absolutely stunning, but it was a place where you could drive for four or five hours without seeing a single sign of human life,” Alford remembers.

“The Nature and the scenery was stunning, but it was one of those things that can give you a bit of range anxiety when driving an electric vehicle – because there’s nowhere to charge nearby.”

“I always tried to have a buffer range of at least 50 kilometers between me and the nearest charger I needed, but with electric vehicles that’s a little harder to calculate,” she explains.

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“If you really climb a lot of altitude, you lose kilometers more quickly. In contrast, you gain range as the car charges as you go downhill. So it’s an interesting game that I played with myself, watching what would happen on the different terrains.”

One of Alford’s most stressful driving experiences was crossing the busy highways of northern India, which she said felt “chaotic.”

Still visiting India It was clearly worth it as she had some incredible experiences in the country: volunteering in a community kitchen at a “gurdwara” (Sikh temple), visiting the Taj Mahaland witnessing spiritual ceremonies along the Ganges in Varanasi.

“For me, traveling is all about the people”

Although this epic and challenging adventure was limited in time, Alford did not want to be constrained Electric car all the time: She also looked for real experiences in the 28 countries she visited.

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“Along the way I was able to meet so many incredible people with so many different stories: I went on patrol with an all-female anti-poaching unit South Africa, and I was able to box with the first Muslim female MMA fighter MalaysiaAlford shares.

“I also spent time with a Buddhist nun named Karma in the Himalayas in the mountains of Bhutan. And her perspective on life was so inspiring…she really taught me a lot about being present, which I really needed to hear at this point in the journey.”

And would Alford do it again?

“I would do it again…but at a slower pace.”

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“It can be really challenging at times and take a toll on your physical health and immune system…” Alford recalls.

“…As you can see in the documentary’s teaser, it was definitely a major factor in the stress and (route) changes. It really taught me that there really is nothing more important than your health.”

“I’m looking forward to taking some time to think – before I come up with the next crazy adventure!”

To find out if Lexi Limitless, aka Lexi Alford, was successful with her world record, watch the three-part documentary series Charge Around The Globe on Prime Video.

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In the meantime, Lexi continues to inspire others to travel the world through her advocacy Instagram food and YouTube Channel.