Congratulations to Lael Wilcox for setting the Women’s Circumnavigation of the Earth record in the 18-49 age group on an upright bike. This is also a Guinness non-age group record.
Note: To qualify for circumnavigation of the earth, the following rules are recognized by WUCA and Guinness:
*Start and finish points must be the same location.
*The circumnavigation must take place on land, the only exception is the use of boats and ferries both of which must be part of a regular and scheduled transport service to cross bodies of water when land access by foot is not possible. Details of these crossings must be submitted for pre-approval.
*The journey should be continual and in one direction i.e. East to West or West to East. Any distance traveled opposite to the direction of the will be discounted from any calculations of the overall distance traveled.
*The journey must be continuous, with each leg of the journey beginning at the point at which the previous leg ended.
*the minimum distance to travel on land by bicycle must exceed 18,000 miles (28,968 km) but the total journey (including ocean trips) must exceed 24,900 miles (40,075 km).
*The participant must pass through two approximate antipodal points during the attempt. For exact antipodal points the coordinates north and south are the same, whilst that east plus that west equals 180°. However, for this event an allowance of 5° difference in total is permitted. For example, consider Madrid, Spain and Wellington, New Zealand:
Lael’s 2 antipodal points were: Madrid, Spain & Wellington, New Zealand.
Here total cycling distance was: 18,125.82 miles and total trip distance was: 39,307 miles (this includes the 18,125 miles on the bike and the 21,182 miles on flights and ferries)
Ride Report
Lael Wilcox rode 18,125 miles with 630,000 feet of climbing to set the women’s around the world record in 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes, besting the previous record by 16 days.
She designed the route to be as safe, beautiful and cultural as possible, often choosing to ride through mountain ranges instead of flat terrain and passing through bustling cities like New York, Madrid, Paris and Istanbul.
To promote cycling and bicycle adventure, Lael offered an open invite to the public to join her for any part of the route. At least three thousand people came out to ride– often for a few minutes and sometimes for a few hours. They could ride next to or behind Lael, but not provide any wind protection.
She saw many animals on the road– bears, moose, deer, marmots, snakes, spiders, kangaroos, wombats, emus, birds and more.
It was the ride of a lifetime.
record attempt: fastest circumnavigation by bicycle (female)
Name of rider: Lael Wilcox
Start date & time: 7:00am on May 26, 2024
What were the conditions like? I started in a headwind with a tornado warning. The first week to New York, there were daily thunderstorms. In Europe, it was mostly hot in Portugal and Spain, with lovely weather in France and Belgium, pouring rain and gusty in the Netherlands, a mix of rain and heat in Germany (where I got a terrible case of poison ivy), beautiful in Switzerland, rainy in Italy and Austria, lovely through Slovenia, hot in Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey and lovely in Georgia. It was winter in Australia and New Zealand– plenty of rain and headwinds. I made it to NZ right after their biggest snowfall of the year– stunning to see sheep in snow covered mountains. Back to summer in Alaska, Canada, down the west coast of the US and up the Route 66. A bit of rain in there too.
Why did you want to do a record?
I’ve done several in the US, Europe, Central Asia, South America and Africa, but nothing this long. It was the opportunity of a lifetime to connect all of these dots.
What equipment did you use? Anything special?
I rode a Specialized Roubaix. I carried a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, bivvy, tools, food and clothing. It was the perfect bike and setup for the trip.
What did you eat and drink?
Lots of everything– Coca-cola, cookies, pasta, rice, sandwiches, pizza, eggs, juice.
What was the best part?
Riding in Alaska, my home state.
What was the hardest part?
The limited daylight in the southern hemisphere. I spent plenty of time riding in the dark.
Did anything particularly unusual happen?
I had an open invite for people from around the world to join me for any stretch of the route– some came for a few minutes and same came for a few hours. I didn’t coordinate any of it, so it was a surprise when they came out to find me. It really felt like a celebration for cycling. I rode a lot alone too.
Exact finish location?
Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, IL, USA
Exact finish time?
7:12pm on September 11, 2024