New Delhi: American cyclist Leal Wilcox has set a new world record for the fastest woman to circumnavigate the world by bike. She took 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes to cycle 29,169km (18,125 miles).
Wilcox smashed the record previously held by Jenny Graham. Her journey took 124 days and 11 hours. Wilcox left Chicago at 7 AM on May 26 and hoped to return to the city 110 days later. She covered an average of 175 miles per day. Her longest run on the bike was 98 days when she rode 271 miles in one stretch to escape a horrible heatwave outside of Needles in California.
She crossed 21 countries on four continents before arriving back in Chicago around 21:00 local time. She started her journey in Chicago and cycled to New York. She took a flight from New York to Portugal and cycled through the Netherlands, Germany, the Alps, the Balkans, Turkey and Georgia.
After flying to Perth in Australia, Wilcox cycled along the southern coast to Brisbane and then flew to her last destination New Zealand before returning to North America. She then cycled from her hometown Anchorage south to Los Angeles and ended her journey along Route 66 to Chicago.
As per Guinness, a cyclist must travel in one direction, start and end at the same location and cover at least 18,000 miles, which is the earth’s total circumference for a round-the-world attempt to succeed.
‘Sometimes I forget that I’m riding around the world’:Leal Wilcox
When she approached the finish, she thanked everyone who supported her through the journey and said that she had so much fun and sometimes forgot that she was riding around the world.
“I had so much fun — felt like I could’ve just kept riding forever, Sometimes I forget that I’m riding around the world – it just feels like the most fun pop-up group ride I’ve ever been on. The signs & the cheering & the jumping up and down on the side of the road means the world to me,” she said on her Instagram, which is managed by her wife and filmmaker Rugile Kaladyte.
Lael Wilcox has broken the world record for the fastest woman to cycle around the globe. She travelled 21 countries and cycled 18,125 miles in three and a half months. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
