Lael Wilcox’s Alaska Pipeline FKT (Rapha Gone Racing)

Propped up on an endless series of metal trusses, the Alaska Pipeline is four feet in diameter and runs some 800 miles from the northern outpost of Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic to its terminal at Valdez. Completed in 1977 amidst a sea of protest, the Trans Alaska Pipeline is the only mark made by humans on much the pristine wilderness through which it flows, that is, except for the road that accompanies it on its long journey south. 
 
For Alaskan Lael Wilcox, this remote road has always held a special interest. She’s ridden most of it before. But this past summer, she set out to bag a Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the 858-mile route, bringing a slightly different interest to a road otherwise dedicated to the fossil fuel industry. By pushing herself, she hopes to inspire other riders to do the same. Watch the film below…

“The one thing we do know is Wilcox is faster than crude oil”

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Lael finished the ride in 3 days 18 hours (3d:18h). A local newspaper later confirmed that in peak production in 1988, crude oil would take about four and half days to run the length of the Alaska Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, confirming that Lael is indeed faster than crude oil.