Lael Wilcox has started her round-the-world record attempt, riding 282 miles (454km) on day one.
Wilcox holds the women's world record for circumnavigating the globe by bike, covering 29,169km (18,125 miles) in 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes in 2024, beating Jenny Graham's previous record of 124 days.
Now Wilcox has her sights set on breaking Mark Beaumont's overall record of 78 days, 14 hours and 40 minutes, established in 2017.
Wilcox set out from Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, Illinois, at 4am on Sunday (June 7) and plans to finish before 6.40pm on August 24.
She's planning to average 231 miles (372km) per day across the whole journey, but will aim to cover 240 miles (386km) for each day on the bike, to account for transfers. She's riding with the backing of a support crew (an Instagram post describes how lasagne and meatballs "hit the spot" at her first break, after 175 miles).
Wilcox's day one route took her from Chicago to Kleinke Park, passing through three states along the way (Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan).
At the time of writing, Wilcox is back on the road for day two, heading towards the Canadian border, now with 353 miles (568km) under her belt, at an average moving speed of 18.8mph (30.3kmh). She has 17,749 miles to go (28,565km) on a route that will see the 39-year-old cover four continents.
Along the way, Wilcox will pass through the United States, Canada, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, before arriving back in Canada and continuing to the United States.
To qualify for the round-the-world record, riders must:
- Ride a minimum of 18,000 miles in one direction
- Start and finish at the same location
- Traverse at least two antipodal points (locations on exact opposite sides of the Earth)
"I'm having such a good day," said Wilcox on her daily podcast, recorded on the bike with 20 miles to go on day one. It's mesmeric listening, with only the whir of Wilcox's tyres and cassette for company.
"Conditions have been pretty good: great weather, a little bit of head-crosswind, but otherwise really beautiful," she added.
Wilcox describes how she woke at 2am before being met by "more than 100 people waiting in the dark with their bikes to see me off", many of whom rode significant parts of the day's route with her. A similar number of well-wishers greeted Wilcox in Kleinke Park. "I could have cried, to be received by that," she said.
You can find more details of Wilcox's record attempt on her website, and follow her progress live on the Wahoo website.
Lael Wilcox's round-the-world schedule
7 June, 4am
Start at Buckingham Fountain in Chicago
7-15 June
Chicago to Halifax – 2,004 miles (3,225km)
15 June, 11.50am
Leave Halifax
15 June, 9.45pm
Arrive in Lisbon
16-30 June
Lisbon to Istanbul – 3,513 miles
30 June, 10.15pm
Leave Istanbul
1 July, 3.10am
Arrive in Aktau, Kazakhstan
1-10 July
Aktau to Almaty, Kazakhstan – 2,387 miles
11 July, 12.15am
Leave Almaty, Kazakhstan
11 July, 8.55am
Arrive in Bangkok
11-16 July
Bangkok to Singapore – 1,286 miles
16 July, 6.45pm
Leave Singapore
16 July, 11.55pm
Arrive in Perth, Australia
17 July-August 1
Perth to Brisbane, Australia – 3,578 miles
1 August, 9.15am
Leave Brisbane, Australia
1 August, 2.40pm
Arrive in Wellington, New Zealand
1-3 August
Wellington to Auckland, New Zealand – 476 miles
3 August, 7.50pm
Leave Auckland, New Zealand
3 August , 10.46pm
Arrive in Anchorage, Alaska
4-24 August
Anchorage to Chicago – 4,860 miles
Finish by 24 August, 6.40pm
