Manuel Lorenzo, an Alicante-born photographer and traveler, plans a September motorcycle journey to the southernmost edge of Europe, a point administratively located on the island of El Hierro. He will complete a loop that began in Alicante and stretches to Cabo Norte in Norway, the northernmost point of the continent. This time, the Canary Islands administration will cover the motorcycle’s ferry transport from Cádiz, making the expedition feasible within the End Route project’s framework.
Lorenzo, who now calls Alicante home and has spent years exploring with his bike, nicknamed La Cerda, has logged more than 80,000 kilometers solo over the years. What started as a pure pleasure pursuit has evolved into personal challenges aimed at reaching Europe’s northern and southern extremes and then moving outward to the other continents.
In 2016 he rode from Alicante to Cabo Norte in Norway and returned via Tarifa. A fellow Alicante native living in the Canary Islands later persuaded him to ride toward the continent’s true southern tip on the political map. The aim was to reach the southern extreme of Europe while staying true to the Harley-Davidson ethos that guides his journeys.
“After returning from Siberia, I edited the trip and posted it on my YouTube channel. A Guardia Civil officer from Alicante, also a motorcycle enthusiast, saw it in El Hierro and invited me to take part in The End Route, the southernmost path in Europe, to reach the northernmost point on the political map, the Orchilla Lighthouse at La Restinga, where the gates open to allow the motorcycle through,” explains Manuel Lorenzo.
The End Route is exclusive to Harley-Davidson and limited to 80 riders. It is organized as part of the island’s tourism draw. Lorenzo attends as a guest of the organizing association and with support from the El Hierro Island Council, which finances his peninsula-to-island transfer on September 11 from Cádiz to Las Palmas and onward to El Hierro.
“Before heading to the Americas, the Island Council provided a grant of 800 euros to promote the route and the island, helping place stickers at key points from Ushuaia in Argentina to Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska,” Lorenzo notes. He will remain on the island through September 15.
Lorenzo has never sought records with his travels and has lived frugally, funding trips as savings allow. For the American journey he spent about 20,000 euros, including 5,300 euros to repair the bike in Peru, a trip delayed by social unrest in 2023 that took five months to recover from. He expresses gratitude for the Canarian invitation to pursue his ambitions and notes the lack of similar support in his own city of origin. He continues to speak about his plans and envisions new routes that could follow this bold path across other continents.