Lael smashes record

By Bree Harding

Sep 13, 2024

Lael Wilcox stops briefly in Welsford St, Shepparton, in July as part of her world record-breaking trip around the world. Photo by Geoff Adams

Just 51 days after passing through Shepparton on Day 57 of her world record-breaking attempt of cycling around the world, Lael Wilcox has not only smashed the record but also beaten her personal goal by a couple of days.

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The Alaskan-born cyclist set out for her 29,000km ride from Chicago on May 26.

She arrived back there on Thursday, September 12 (Shepparton time).

In 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes to be precise, she beat Scottish cyclist Jenny Graham’s record by two weeks and her own goal by two days, initially setting her sights on a 110-day journey.

Of those 29,000km in the saddle, she cycled 9489 of them in Australia.

Her brief Shepparton ride-by on that chilly Sunday afternoon in July, saw her pass the entire journey’s halfway mark.

Apart from her Australian leg and the two legs starting and finishing in the US, Wilcox also rode across Europe and New Zealand in pursuit of cycling world domination.

She and her wife, Rugile (Rue) Kaladyte, a photographer and videographer who was Wilcox’s only support crew on her trip, will work to make a feature-length documentary about the record-breaking journey now the circumnavigation is complete, compiling the footage Kaladyte garnered throughout.

Now, isn’t that both something to write and ride home about?