How Lael Wilcox Rides 20,000 Miles Per Year

compose Logan Watts
time Mar 23, 2018
comment 11

Most of us use our bikes to commute to work or school, or simply to have fun afterwards and on the weekends. And some of us take a few longer bike vacations throughout the year. But very few put in the amount of saddle time that Lael Wilcox does. For the past three years, she’s pedaled 20,000 miles every 12 months. That’s 1,666.66 miles per month on average. Lael admits that such mileage is “kind of insane.” This new video produced by Wired Magazine tells the story how Lael Wilcox does it. Video plays automatically; make sure to turn the volume on within the player.

“I’m not recommending other people ride this much… I just do it because I want to… I just want to be out there.” —Lael Wilcox

For those of you who’ve frequented this site or have been around the bikepacking community, you likely know Lael from her course records. Back in 2015, as a warm up, she left her home in Anchorage, Alaska, and pedaled 2,100 miles just to get to the Tour Divide Grand Depart in Banff, Alberta. She then continued on to set a new women’s record on the 2,750+ mile Tour Divide race. In 2016, she took the win to beat everyone—men and women—in the Trans Am Bike Race, a 4,000+ mile event that traverses the lower 48. For those of you who don’t know Lael yet, here are a few related articles, films, and interviews:

• Interview after her 2015 Tour Divide
• 2016 Trans Am Gear List and QA
• Fast Forward (Film) with Behind The Scenes
• “Lael Rides Alaska” Women’s scholarship
• Lael’s Advocate Hayduke Review
• Baja Divide Bikepacking Route (co-designed by Lael)