Anchorage cyclists cheer on Lael Wilcox as she bikes across the world

1 month ago

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dozens of group station for a photograph successful rainfall jackets and helmets nether a storefront that says "speedway cycles"

A group of cyclists of each ages eagerly gathered extracurricular Speedway Cycles motorcycle shop successful Anchorage connected Wednesday. They were excited to meet Lael Wilcox, an ultra-endurance cyclist from nan metropolis who has been biking astir nan world for nan past 2 and a half months.

“What she’s doing, I think, baffles nan mind, I can’t moreover understand it, nan stamina to support going each day,” Lisa Wiley said, who has been pursuing Wilcox’s travel on her podcast and on Instagram.

Wilcox is trying to break nan Guinness World Record for fastest bicycle circumnavigation of nan globe by a woman. To do that, she has to motorcycle 18,000 miles successful little than 124 days. As of Wednesday, she had already biked complete 11,000 miles and was connected time 74.

a section of reddish flowers pinch a female biking from nan floor plan connected a roadworthy down nan field

Wilcox started nan travel successful Chicago and biked to New York City. Then she biked from Portugal done 11 different countries successful Europe, and done Turkey and Georgia. Most recently, she biked crossed Australia and New Zealand. Now, she’s biking from Alaska down done Canada and backmost done nan Lower 48 to decorativeness wherever she started successful Chicago.

“She’s riding for illustration 10-plus hours a time each day, she’s truthful accelerated and truthful beardown and she isn’t getting tired!” Jason Katz-Brown said.

Katz-Brown joined nan crowd connected Wednesday successful his roller skates, and said he was eager to spot really agelong he could support up pinch Wilcox.

“I really wanted to spot her and cheer her connected because she’s specified a hometown hero,” he said.

Ilanna Carroll was besides excited to motorcycle alongside Wilcox. The 15-year-old is successful nan mediate of her ain cycling challenge: biking nan 3 miles to schoolhouse everyday, nary matter nan weather. She didn’t miss a azygous time this past schoolhouse year, and she hopes to spell done each 4 years of precocious schoolhouse pinch little than 10 days of driving. Carroll said listening to Wilcox’s podcast has been inspiring for her and her sister.

two young women successful bluish rainfall jackets beryllium connected a chair wrong a bicycle shop smiling and wearing helmets

“We started listening to her, and past erstwhile I recovered retired that she was from Anchorage, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’” Carroll said. “It’s conscionable like, really cool that we person group from Alaska doing something, like, historical.”

Inside nan motorcycle shop, mechanics worked connected Wilcox’s bike. They replaced nan chain, nan rear derailleur, nan cassette and nan rotors – things that thin to get worn down, particularly aft thousands of miles.

a man looks astatine a bicycle wheel. nan bicycle is rigges up wrong a motorcycle shop. nan man's look is covered by a shot hat

By nan clip Wilcox arrived backmost to prime up her bike, complete 2 twelve group had gathered extracurricular nan shop. Many brought Wilcox macromolecule bars, homemade muffins aliases cookies to substance her journey. Wilcox said she was amazed by really galore group came retired to support her, particularly since she announced last-minute that group could travel thrust pinch her.
“It’s truthful benignant of thrown together, I didn’t cognize if anybody would show up, and truthful it’s beautiful cool that group made it,” Wilcox said. “The astir nosy portion of this travel is group of each ages and backgrounds travel retired to walk a fewer miles pinch me. I’ve seen them each complete nan world, truthful it’s beautiful cool to do it successful my hometown.”

two men and 1 young woman guidelines astir Lael Wilcox, who is opinionated pinch her motorcycle adjacent to her.

When readying her trip, Wilcox picked her commencement successful Chicago strategically, truthful that her extremity location successful Anchorage would beryllium a small boost.

“I thought, ‘Okay, if I time off this for benignant of nan past third, it’ll springiness maine benignant of a prime maine up for nan remainder of nan ride,’” she said. “It’s unthinkable to beryllium home. I’ve been looking guardant to this for a agelong time, truthful I’m truthful happy to beryllium back. And it’s summertime. I conscionable came from astir 5 weeks of wintertime successful nan confederate hemisphere, truthful this is much, overmuch better. Longer days, warmer weather. So bully to spot my family.”

a female successful a reddish rainfall overgarment and achromatic helmet smiles big. location is different personification down her connected a bike

Wilcox’s mom, Dawn Wilcox, was besides thrilled to person her girl home, moreover if she was conscionable passing through. She picked Lael and her woman and videographer Rue Kaladyte up from nan airdrome astatine 1 a.m. connected Wednesday.

“Oh my goodness, we’re truthful thankful to person some Lael and Rue present for a minute,” Dawn said. “And we’ll drawback up pinch them soon, they’ll beryllium done earlier you cognize it. So it’s really been typical to person an overnight.”

lots of group motorcycle successful nan parking batch of Speedway Cycles, 1 personification is waving to personification disconnected camera

After chatting pinch a fewer much cyclists, and testing retired her turned-up motorcycle successful nan parking lot, it was clip for Wilcox to caput backmost out. The group shouted arsenic they started down Northern Lights Boulevard pinch Wilcox starring nan way.

Source Alaska Public