Introducing Harry Fryer, the Electric Cowboy. He is a motorcycle enthusiast who has a passion for the open road and an affinity with the American Frontier. His vision for a sustainable future led him on a journey across the United States on a Super73 electric-bike. The Outlaw Tour started in the busy streets of New York City and ended in sunny Los Angeles. The Electric Cowboy embarked on this ambitious odyssey, believing that by reaching the West Coast, he could inspire others to embrace eco-friendly transportation and to love two-wheels.
Harry’s journey took an unexpected turn in New Mexico, where his electric bike was stolen. Faced with a choice that would challenge even the most adventurous type, Harry refused to abandon his dream of finishing the ride. Instead, he took on a quest to recover his stolen ride, a mission fueled not only by his determination to complete the cross-country trip but also by his belief in the goodness of humanity. What followed was a remarkable tale of resilience, as Harry discovered the power of human connections in the most unexpected places. His journey through America became a testament to the spirit of those who refuse to give up, even in the face of adversity.
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys: First and foremost, you are a motorcycle enthusiast and you just completed a cross-country journey across the United States on an e-bike. I know that your inspiration probably came from motorcycles. Talk to me about your start with motorcycles and talk to me a little bit about yourself.
Harry Fryer: I started riding when I was about eight years old. So, I’ve always been into motorcycles. They were always the hobby growing up. Started with dirt bikes and then building up to getting a license and riding around. I grew up in Switzerland, so we had a lot of space around us, a lot of back country roads. And so for me, that was my progress into two-wheel lifestyle and then I moved to London and started developing custom bikes, and I started seeing this kind of emerging scene of custom, classic motorcycles being developed.
Caption: Harry posing in front of an iconic Joshua Tree (Photo: Owned by Harry Fryer)
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys: How did your experience as a motorcycle enthusiast influence your approach to this tour as a whole?
Harry Fryer: I chose America because of the whole Electric Cowboy theme. And also, it’s everyone’s dream to ride across America on a motorcycle. You want to do Route 66, you want to visit all the incredible towns, you want to go down to Texas for amazing riding weather. But I also wanted to put a dent in the history of EV evolution.
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys: I’m sure you had a route and plan that you wanted to take or needed to take, but was there anything that you had to change while you were on the road because you realized “That’s not going to work.”
Harry Fryer: I had to adjust mainly just the time-frame. So the route kind of stayed the same, but the time-frame changed. But also, I mapped out that I was going to do cycle-routes pretty much the whole way. That’s what I did. And then, as I mentioned before, I very quickly realized, “Okay, these cycle routes are taking me through like tiny bollards streets behind peoples houses,” and I’m there with a big helmet, all this gear. I looked like a motorcyclist, and the bike handles a little bit more like that. And so I had to fully readjust. So I mapped out every single 100 miles and then every 50 miles of that, I kind of planted to charge [my battery]. So that stayed the same. The route to get to those places did change.
Caption: Harry’s Super73 geared up for his cross country tour (Photo: Owned by Harry Fryer)
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys: I wanna know, what is the most profound moment during this whole time that you just kind of said, “Wow, I didn’t realize that about myself, but now I know.”
Harry Fryer: In El Paso, I had my whole bike stolen with all my gear. So it was right outside of Cracker Barrel. I had my passport in it. I had a whole bunch of filming equipment inside. It was all strapped to the outside and it was pretty much my life, traveling on two wheels. And so for a good three hours, I had lost the bike. I contacted the police. I got CCTV footage from the restaurant where it was taken from. And we tried our hardest and the police couldn’t find anything.
I eventually came across a guy on the side of the road having his car fixed at this dealership. And I asked him, “Hey, sir, I dunno how long you’ve been here, but I’m looking for a guy by this description, carrying a bike like this. I think he’s been wheeling it with a dog.” And he’s like, “Dude, I literally just saw that guy 15 minutes ago down that street.” I couldn’t believe it. I was like, “What are the chances? This one guy I asked.” It must have been five miles from where I was. And so I follow his tip and I go find the street and couldn’t see anything. He pulls up next to me about 10 minutes later in his car, and he’s like, “Hey, did you see anything?” I’m like, “No”. And he is like, “Hop in the car, I’ll help you.” So he takes out like an hour and a half of his day to drive around Las Cruces looking for my e-bike. I couldn’t find it at this point. And he says, “I have to head home to my wife, but I tell you what, I have an e-bike myself. Why don’t you use that to go find yours?” He said, “you probably have a better chance to find your e-bike going places a car can’t go.” On top of everything else, I was like, “This is incredible, he’s willing to lend his bike and I just met the guy.” But I guess he could sense, I was good natured and that this was bigger than just me, you know, this was a larger project. So we went back to his house and I gave him an ID as collateral. I took his e-bike and I went back into town. It must’ve only been about 30 minutes of me searching along the Rio Grande and going up underneath bridges and through various different industrial estates, I saw my bike being ridden by some guy just in front of a motel — a rundown motel. I eventually chase him down and he eventually falls off the bike. He tries to take a corner and he falls off. And I managed to take my bike back.
That was an amazing sense of personal development. You never know how you’re gonna interact with people in a way until you are forced into a position like that. So I’ve definitely learned a lot about myself in that respect.
Caption: The Electric Cowboy conquering the streets with his Super73 (Photo: Owned by Harry Fryer)
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys: Do you have any more plans of traveling across the United States, perhaps on a motorcycle?
Harry Fryer: I want to do an 11 day trip from New York to L.A again, but on a motorcycle and just have a consistent feed of 360 footage from the back of the bike.
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys: Have you ever been in a motorcycle accident? If so, what did you learn?
Harry Fryer: Yes. I learned my insurance company didn’t do anything. I learned, I probably shouldn’t have made a claim in the first place because it had an effect on my later bike insurance. But the main thing, I’ve become a much more aware rider and people always say, the accident, most of the time happen five minutes from your house.
Caption: Harry paying the White House a visit during his cross-country tour (Photo: Owned by Harry Fryer)
Follow Harry’s inspiring two-wheel journey on Instagram and see where the Electric Cowboy will ride to next. Ride safe, and thanks for reading!
