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Ryan Trahan reached 13 countries in seven days on his record attempt

Strangers chose each stop on a run that ended in Brazil, five countries short of Maurice Mülder's biking record.

Ryan Trahan visited 13 countries in seven days and landed in Brazil. He had set out to beat Maurice Mülder, who biked to 18 countries in a week for a Guinness world record.

Trahan started in Vatican City on day one and moved to Italy the same afternoon. The only rule was that a stranger in each country had to name his next destination, and he carried a single veto for the whole trip.

Tourists he met at the Colosseum sent him to England. A late flight stranded him in London overnight, and he crossed to the Netherlands on an eight-hour ferry rather than fly. By Amsterdam he had four countries and boarded an overnight train toward Austria.

The train was cancelled near Düsseldorf, costing him hours in Germany that did not count toward the tally. He recovered by renting a car and driving through Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland in a cluster of borders he called the Quad.

A man he met in Lindau, Germany, picked Liechtenstein. A stranger at Vaduz Castle chose Switzerland, and the owner of a Zurich chocolate shop sent him to Norway.

From Oslo he raced pedestrians who pointed him to Denmark. Visitors at Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens chose Sweden, and a stranger at Malmö Central Station named Portugal despite the distance. Trahan used his veto only once, on a joke answer in Italy.

In Lisbon on the final morning, two men he met on the street picked Brazil. He boarded a night flight and woke in Rio de Janeiro with the seven-day clock expired and his veto unused.

Trahan counted 13 countries across Europe and South America. Mülder's 18-country Guinness mark still stood.

Source video: How Many Countries Can I Visit in 7 Days?