Congratulations to Meghan Murray – who set the Michigan E-W record in the following categories: Female,18-49, Upright bike.

Ride Report:

I set the Female Solo 18-49 category world record for biking East to West across the state
of Michigan on September 19, 2026. I left from Port Sanilac Harbor Marina at 6:01 am and
ended in Muskegon, connecting Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The ride started with overcast,
chilly weather which warmed up slightly as the day went on, but I had two significant chunks of
light rain that made it feel colder. The almost constant tailwind from the East made up for the
misery of the rain. In 2024 another member of the University of Michigan Triathlon club Jackson
Bahm set the male record in the same category. This inspired me to investigate the Michigan
cross-state records and I found that there was not yet a female record for crossing Michigan East
to West. I slowly got more familiar with long-distance cycling by training with my Michigan
Triathlon teammates (highlights included riding from Ann Arbor to the Toledo Waffle House,
which just so happened to be my first century). I completed this record attempt on a Trek
Madone with Bontrager wheels while wearing a Bontrager helmet and clear Oakley glasses, as it
did not get very sunny. I used a wide variety of carbohydrate-heavy food as fuel including Honey
Stinger gels, energy chews, and waffles, Nerds gummy clusters, Cheeze-Itz, and mango Peelerz.
For my water, I used Nuun sport tablets for electrolytes. The highlight of the ride was seeing all
the supportive texts from my friends come through on my bike computer. The toughest part of
the ride was not the most physically taxing- it was at the point where we ran into a road closure
that ended up adding six miles to the total mileage. Simply knowing that I was riding extra miles
North when I should be riding West was a big mental block for me that made the rolling hills feel
like steep climbs. My follow car ensured that I remained up to date on the University of
Michigan football game that was happening while I rode through this section, so hearing word of
our touchdowns made the detour bearable. I finished on the West side of the state in Muskegon
in the parking lot of Bronson Park at 6:20 pm. I hope that this record inspires more women to get

interested in ultra cycling. There are far fewer female records than male, which means there are
so many opportunities to do what I did and become the first woman to complete a specific World
Ultra Cycling record.