In 1986, Buettner and his brother launched the first of several Guinness World Records for transcontinental cycling . "Americastrek" traversed 15,536 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The 1990 "Sovietrek" followed the 45th parallel around the world, covered 12,888 miles. Buettner recounted the trip in his book Sovietrek, which won a Minnesota Book Award. In 1992, the Buettner brothers team-cycled from Bizerte, Tunisia, to Cape Agulhas, South Africa, "Africatrek" with cyclist Dr. Chip Thomas. The team covered 11,885 miles over eight months. Buettner’s book, "Africatrek: A Journey by Bicycle through Africa", won the Young Reader Award from Scientific American. Buettner also co-produced an Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary by the same name, that won an Emmy Award.