Just when you thought ultra-endurance racer Lael Wilcox couldn’t go any further, any faster, she manages to surprise you. On Sunday, the Tour Divide winner set off on a new adventure: an 18,000-mile journey around the world by bike. Her trip kicked off in Chicago, Illinois, and her goal is to complete the trip in 110 days.
Two days in, she’s already covered 525 miles, riding through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, heading towards Pennsylvania. “The first day, I rode into a headwind with dark skies and thunderstorms — a lot of rain, but it wasn’t too cold. Since then, the weather has been perfect,” she shared on Instagram.
“The ride has just felt like a celebration. People are coming out to meet me and telling me that I’m riding right by their house. This ride feels special — I’m riding through people’s lives.”
Wilcox’s goal is to ride the 18,000 miles—the distance required to set the official record—in 110 days. First, she’ll head to Newark, NJ, then fly to Portugal to roll across Europe to Tbilisi, Georgia. From there, she’ll head to Australia and New Zealand before returning to the US by way of Anchorage, riding south to Los Angeles, then back over to Chicago. Obviously, this trip doesn’t actually go ‘around the world’ but covers a good chunk of it. And to set the official record, Guinness simply demands a route of 18,000 miles that is done continuously and in one direction. You can follow along on the live tracker here and scope the entire route.
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Somebody better tell him about the oceans, but that's still pretty badass.