When Lael Wilcox cycled to Buckingham Fountain at sunset Wednesday with a slight tailwind and a few dozen other cyclists, it was the culmination of a decade of endurance cycling: Her goal: to set a new women’s world record for cycling around the globe.
Wilcox completed the 18,125-mile journey in 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes – 125 miles longer than the required distance – beating the previous record of 124 days and 11 hours set by cyclist Jenny Graham in 2018. Wilcox expects to submit documentation to prove her new record within the next two weeks and have it recognized. Guinness World Records did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wilcox averaged about 175 miles per day, following the Guinness World Records criteria of traveling in only one direction, staying within 300 miles of course and passing two diametrically opposed points on Earth.
“It feels like I’ve been on this course for 10 years,” Wilcox, 38, told the Sun-Times. “All the races, all the travels, all the people I’ve met have led up to this moment. … It really feels like a dream.”
Rael Wilcox completed her 18,125-mile journey at Buckingham Fountain on Wednesday – 125 miles longer than the required distance – and will submit the data to the Guinness World Records for recognition.
Wilcox’s journey began in Chicago on May 26. She chose the city because she and her wife, photojournalist Luzille Karadite, lived in Tucson and had the opportunity to visit family.
She estimates the adventure cost her about $40,000, with help from sponsors Specialized Bike Components and Chicago-based SRAM, and the financial support, combined with her own good health, convinced her to attempt the feat.
“I like taking on challenges where I don’t know if I’ll be able to complete them,” Wilcox said. “I just thought this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I want to do this now, or I might never do it.”
Her training consisted of frequent bike rides and a schedule of long Saturday morning rides to maintain the endurance she had built over the past decade. For routes, she relied on fellow cyclists from around the world who knew their local routes best.
Wilcox has never owned a car, but when he was 20 he began cycling several miles to work each day, and within two years he had cycled across the country.
Seven years later, an injury prevented her from running, so she raced her first race on her mother’s bike. The 400-mile race showed her she was cut out for long distances. After 10 years working in restaurants and bike shops to make ends meet, she began cycling professionally in 2018.
Wilcox encourages others to take the first step into long-distance cycling.
“Having some urgency about taking that first step to get outside” is key, Wilcox says. “We all have a lot of goals and dreams, and sometimes they live in our minds for a long time. If you can just take one proactive step toward that goal, even if it’s just to ride your bike for 30 minutes or walk a mile, that’s a start.”
She said the last leg of the journey, from Anchorage to Chicago over 35 days and 6,300 miles, was the easiest. The hardest part was traveling through winter in Australia and New Zealand, where she stopped at Auckland airport to buy extra clothes to stay warm.
“There were times along the way where I was like, ‘Can I make this?'” Wilcox said. “Every day felt like a big marathon, but I just focused on each day, set goals for each day, got a good night’s sleep and tried to do it again.”
Karadite is documenting the entire trip and plans to release a documentary by the end of the year, and Wilcox said looking through the photos has reminded her of moments she’d already forgotten.
Wilcox was joined by other cyclists who wanted to join the trip and was cheered on by others on the roads along the route.
Wilcox said he wanted to savor the magnitude of his record-breaking achievement and see his family before taking on the next challenge.
“I’m going to take some time off and have some fun and see what happens,” she said. “I’m driven by my excitement and my goals, so something is bound to pique my interest.”
