EP 96 Around the world with Lael Wilcox

I mean just right when you said that i was thinking of this guy that pops out in new zealand when it's like 30 something degrees and he's wearing shorts and on an e-bike and he's like i'm a farmer these are my sheep and i was like how many sheep do you have he's like 800 and then he's like i've been having a really rough like three weeks so i'm so excited you came through because it gave me something to look forward to oh that's awesome he rode with me for like 10 minutes but i

was like that is so cool yeah you know and i think that was like kind of the overall feeling of this project was people saying and i recorded a podcast every day so people are following that and they were just like this time in the world it seems like there's so much to kind of feel sad and disappointed about that they just looked forward to either riding with me or listening to my podcast because it was like the 5-10 minutes of their day that they knew would be like a positive break.

And I was like, oh, that is cool. Yeah. You know, because I mean, like, what a gift for me to get to do this ride. And then for people to feel like they could see some good in the world through my experience where they could be part of it in a way. That was Lael Wilcox. She's an ultra-endurance cyclist and racer, and she recently set a women's Guinness World Record for fastest time cycling around the world.

The trip was 18,000 miles long, and it took her 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes to complete. She averaged 166 miles a day. And with the help of some friends, she planned her own route. She wanted it to include the kind of riding she likes to do, which is a lot of climbing in the mountains. It's slower, and it's harder, but it's the riding that inspires her. Her route was intense, rewarding, and challenging. She was especially grateful for finishing without any injuries.

Considering how much road Lael covered, staying safe around vehicles was among her top priorities. Because regardless of what happens, her main goals are to always stay safe and to finish regardless of her standing. She says that each race is an opportunity to prove something to herself. Sometimes, that's overcoming her fear of the route, like with cycling around the world and the Iditarod Trail. Other times, it's about being capable of doing these increasingly long and difficult rides.

Her desire to chase these rides, these proving grounds, is all-consuming, To the point that when she finds herself thinking about them, she stops eating. Or she stops talking. To focus on the idea and her intent. She imagines it all fitting together like a puzzle. Every piece is important. And it all fits together to form a bigger picture. Sometimes that involves spontaneity. She loves that. Adjusting to weather. Keeping an eye out for places to sleep.

Seeing wildlife, meeting new people, experiencing other cultures, and visiting new places. So here she is, Lael Wilcox.

Welcome to Chattermarks, a podcast of the Anchorage Museum, dedicated to exploring Alaska and the Circumpolar North through the creative and critical thinking of ideas. past, present, and future. Music.

When you were in Anchorage, you know, starting off the Alaska section of your around the world trip, did you get a chance to ride past any familiar places? Oh, totally. So I actually went to Speedway Cycles to get my bike rebuilt. And Greg, the owner, came in and did it himself. And then while he's working on the bike, people just started coming to meet me and then to ride with me out of town. And these were, I mean, one of them, my parents came, my niece came, that's 10.

A woman named Marilyn Watts that watched me when I was four years old came. They all came with their bikes. By the end of the bike being, you know, worked on, I think maybe it took an hour. There were probably about 40 people there. And then we go straight. That's on Spenard in Northern Lights.

And I was like, okay, my route out of town is going to be to get down to the Chester Creek Trail and then ride that out to Mountain View, hop on the connector path that takes you out to Eagle River, and then ride the highway out of town. And the Chester Creek Trail, I've probably been on thousands of times. That was my trail growing up. That's where I ran. That's where I rode my bike.

That's how I'd get downtown. Um, so to be back there and have all these different memories kind of flooding in with a group of people from Anchorage, including my family and, you know, some of my oldest friends riding with me, it was, it was so surreal. Yeah, I bet. This must've been like day, gosh, I, I could look it up, but it was probably like day 80, 70, 80, something like that. And uh i felt like it was effortless you know and i'd already ridden something like.

12 000 miles to get to that point and i all of a sudden i felt like oh this is the easiest thing in the world i'm riding you know my familiar bike path i'm going towards the mountains in a place i really love and the weather was not good it was it was rainy you know and just It was kind of like a rainy summer day, but I didn't even care. I was just so happy to be there. So it was awesome.

I wonder if Alaska has taught you anything about cycling, you know, with its remoteness, its wildlife, and its wild landscapes.

Oh, I think... Gosh, I think riding in Alaska, well, it's my favorite place to ride in the world. There's something just so special there to see these beautiful views, even from just the main road system. It's like the road system, the roads are good, but surrounding that is just beautiful wilderness, basically. There's very little development. And something about that is very kind of grounding to me. I feel like at home in peace. But I think I learned, like, you know,

that part is wonderful. There's very little food. So you have to carry a lot and kind of know where you can get it. But the other aspects are, you know, pretty straightforward. Navigation's really easy because there are hardly any turns. You know, so I think that helped me gain so much confidence for bigger trips, bigger adventures in different places because I learned to rely on the stuff I brought with me.

To like, you know, really trust in the kindness of strangers and use the resources that are available along the way. And sometimes, you know, it's buying a plastic trash bag at the gas station because you forgot your rain jacket or finding some kind of awning to take protection. And then sometimes it's also there is nothing. So you just learn how to be tough and deal with what is in front of you.

What does the kindness of strangers look like? I think in Alaska, it's this thing where, you know, I've actually I did a project in 2017 where I wanted to ride all the major roads in Alaska. And I thought, yeah, this is the most brilliant way to kind of get to know my home state, do it in the summer when there's tons of daylight and just see what's out there because there's so many places I'd heard of but never seen.

You know, so I was riding like up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay and riding out these dead end roads like to Eagle that's on the Yukon River or out to the different hot springs that are north of Fairbanks.

And when i would do that people would just you know if they were driving by they'd usually like pull up to me and roll down their window and just ask me what i was doing how i was doing you know just because i think there's also so few people out there that they both look out for each other and also find company in seeing anyone you know so yeah so i realized like people in the world like this is very basic people are just curious they want friends they want interaction,

especially in the more remote places. And, you know, if the weather was really bad, they would invite me to come stay at their place. And this happened with Department of Transportation people. It happened with just, you know, people that lived out there. And, you know, they invite you in, you have dinner with them, maybe spend the night and leave. And by the end, they're like, oh, thank you so much for coming to visit. But the visit wasn't planned.

You know, know it's just spontaneous and so then i kind of learned like that is fundamentally how people are you know they're it they're hospitable they're kind they're interested they're curious so i i realized like trust your instincts if something feels off you know believe in that but generally people just want to kind of engage in what's happening around them.

How are you with spontaneity? I love it. You do? Okay. Okay. Yeah, I really love it. And I think that's what like excites me most is when I don't know what's going to happen and then I get to kind of live it out. And I think that's probably why I like these kinds of adventures because I really, you know, you can't know what the weather's going to be like, how I'm going to feel, who I'm going to encounter. And so it all kind of happens. And I like that.

Yeah do you get you know when you're not out on a trip or you're not cycling do you get a little frustrated or claustrophobic with um you know when things are mundane i think the main thing for me i don't mind mundane i just like to be outside okay and i like to be moving so you know I'm outside on a walk, that for a lot of people, I think could seem very boring.

You're not going fast. I would even walk just around the city of Anchorage, like in urban places, because I just liked walking and seeing what I saw and thinking about what I thought. So I can be extremely repetitive. I can do the same bike ride hundreds or thousands of times. I just have to be outside doing it. And if I'm not, if I'm kind of tied up, then I'm just looking out the window, wishing I was out there.

I wonder when you realized that, that getting outside and getting activity, getting, you know, moving helps you physically, mentally, all of that. Yeah, that's a really good question. I mean, I think I just got to do it a lot growing up in Anchorage because I, you know, I was in junior Nordic and learned how to cross country ski and the bike paths were there. And so there's like really kind of great access to going outside in a safe way and seeing a lot of beauty.

Um, but I don't think I, it really registered, um. Probably until I was in college, you know, and I was running, but I was, you know, stressed with schoolwork and like having to kind of be inside the library in front of a computer for that much time when I realized what I really want to do is to get outside and just do my thinking out there. So I think that's kind of when I realized that that was something I really needed.

And then I think through my life, I've had like the ability to have kind of quick fixes. So it's like my day is totally jammed. So when I'm supposed to have a lunch break, instead of having a lunch break, I go for a run for half an hour. Okay, yeah. And then I come back inside and just eat something as fast as I can. And in that way, I was like, okay, I got to do the thing I really want to do. And now I'm back in and I can push all my needs into some other thing.

And I would do that, you know, I would, because I also went through this period of time where, this was before I was competing, but I was riding, going on these long distance bike trips, but I was working double shifts at restaurants or bike shops half the year to pay for the trips. So I was like, okay, that's my goal. But even in the work time, I was like, I still need a little outside time. So then I would just, you know, not sleep very much.

And then I guess that's maybe how I learned that I'm actually good at endurance because I can kind of sacrifice everything and keep going.

Yeah. Yeah. How did you go from that, you know, cycling because you rode your bike to work, you know, as a means of transportation to what you're doing now? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it kind of... It came together in a way kind of quickly. I was borrowing bikes to ride to work because I've never had a car and I don't drive. So before that, I would just walk or run. And then I had a job that was like four miles away. So I'm like, oh, that's too far for me to get to and from in a reasonable amount

of time. So I started borrowing a bike and then I'd ride to work and then I started riding all over town because I was like, oh, this is a great way to get around. And then a couple months later, I ended up riding to, I was living in Tacoma, Washington, and I rode to Seattle to visit my sister. And really, I did that because I didn't have the $2.50 for the bus fare.

I was so broke. I just didn't have any cash. um and so then i bike there and that was something like 50 miles and that's when it really clicked where i was like oh my gosh if i can ride 50 miles to the next city i could ride across the country and then it became like the most exciting idea because i'm like i could just ride 50 miles a day sleep somewhere different and then if i piece together all these days i'll get to the other side and i like the idea of not knowing

where i was going to sleep or what i was going to eat or what I was going to see. So that's kind of was the motivator. So I think I did my first bike trip like that the next fall after I'd saved some money. And then I, and then I went through this pattern of biking and then stopping to work in different places, saving money and then going on the next trip. And I did that for seven years. Wow. Okay. And I was just, I didn't think it was going to last that long.

You know, I thought, oh, I'll do this trip and then I'll move on with my life. I thought I was going to go to medical school, become a doctor. And then I just never did. I just kept biking. And then, you know, in the seventh year of it, I, well, really. Somewhere around then, I was back in Anchorage. I was working at the Rustic Goat, the restaurant. And on my two days off a week, I would borrow my mom's bike and ride as far as I could.

Okay. And I was like, the first ride was taking the train to Seward and then riding 127 miles home. And I really didn't know if I'd make it. I was like, I've never ridden that far. I started the ride from Seward at like noon. I took the train at, you know, five something in the morning. And I had worked a shift until like 11 the night before. You know, I was just like, all right, this is my time off. I got to fit it in.

And I had so much fun. I was just like I didn't bring anything I didn't have like a jacket and by the time I got to Girdwood I was freezing so I bought like a sweatshirt at the gas station and I was just like this is fun you know I liked like in a way I liked being unprepared yeah because I was like all right then I just figure it out and I think that was a big click moment where I was like I can figure it out and I can deal with

what comes up and I like being out here so then you know a couple weeks later, I was like, I'm going to bike from Anchorage to Homer in a day. And, you know, didn't leave early and then rode through the night. And it was like 220 miles or something like that. And then I make it to Homer and I was like, you know, go to the bakery and get a bunch baked goods. And then I was like, well, now I need to get home.

And I have to get back so I can get to work. So I, you know, go back up the hill and stick my thumb out and hitch a ride back to town with these like fishermen that were there on a trip to catch salmon. And I was just like, even that part of it was fun to me. I was like, I just liked how spontaneous the whole thing was. And then I'd been doing all this riding there. There was a race and it actually came back this year called the Fireweed 400 and it's 400 miles in a single go.

And a friend of mine was like, you got to do this. You've been, you've been basically training for it all summer. And I was like, what? I don't think I can do that. 400 miles in one, like in a day, is that even possible? Yeah. And then I did it and I finished in like 27 hours and I was like, oh, that was fine. I was like, I was tired, but I wasn't that tired. I think I was mostly just really hungry.

And then i think that's when i realized oh i actually this is something i i can do i like it i'm good at it you know but i i don't think i ever would have realized that if i didn't just randomly enter a race you know this going from being a doctor to, to an ultra endurance cyclist is interesting to me because they seem so different. The two paths, you know, with cycling, you appreciate how spontaneous it can be, but medicine seems more often than not very structured.

Right. But you also have to do so much problem solving. Okay. Okay. You know, and like, yeah, there's a lot of training involved and maybe that is like ultra endurance writing there's a lot of training but then you deal with what's happening in the moment you know and i my direction what i wanted to do was surgery okay but i and i still think that would be like a fascinating career but the problem i have is that i would be looking out the window oh yeah you know and that's

the thing is like my desire to like do this stuff is so urgent and all-consuming that I feel like I can't not do it. It's like I wasn't planning this path, but I just felt so urgently about all the steps that I just pursued them like crazy, and sometimes to my own detriment. But in the end, it has worked out, and I've just learned a lot about what I actually want to do and then how that'll look five months later. Yeah, if only you could perform surgery outside. Yeah, exactly.

I know, and I don't think that'll work. I mean, I think I could be like a first responder or something like that, but then sure, yeah, yeah. I think about that and I'm like, oh, well, when you're a first responder, you're just waiting for something to go wrong.

You know versus like i'm just out moving and i can kind of do more of that and i love competition i mean that's fun it's not fun for everyone and i don't think they should do it if they don't like it but for me it's a total blast do you like puzzles i do you do okay because the way that you describe cycling you know and having to pivot because of the spontaneous moments, you know my mind just kept going to i wonder if she likes puzzles yeah i do like puzzles uh i i get very like

single-minded and focused on things okay and um yeah i think yeah i think this is you know riding has become like the best outlet for me also because it is more i was a runner before and i really really loved that but i feel like biking is just a lot more sustainable on the body, it's easier on your body. I would imagine with something like ultra endurance cycling, your confidence builds over time.

Like you wouldn't have considered doing this around the world trip in the beginning of your career. But since then, you've done so many trips that have added to your skill and your confidence. Was there a specific trip in the past that was pivotal to your growth?

Oh, totally. um the first this is so cool i decided i did an ultra distance race in israel at the end of a 10 month trip where i was first in europe then south africa and then i went to the middle east and i was riding in israel realized i would be there when this race happened and just decided let's see how it goes it was my first like multi-day bike packing race and then i was like okay my I think my head goes always like, what are the next few steps?

So I was like, if I try out this race and I like it, I'm going to fly home to Alaska and get a new bike and bike down through Canada to Banff, Alberta, take a week off and then race the Tour Divide that goes from Canada to Mexico through the Rockies.

And I was like I had kind of laid this all out like in my head I was like because I think I really love looking at like time and calendars and what could I possibly fit in and and then also how is this going to go and just figuring it out as it goes and I think I'm also just really an optimist I wasn't imagining things going wrong at all I was just like this is gonna be and it was like first of all like i'd never driven the alcan i'd never seen how alaska connected to the lower

48 so it's like this is going to be a really cool open adventure just to do that to bike on my own to carry the stuff i need and then that'll be the training for this big race um and that was in 2015. And, uh, and then I think that experience biking down, I think I took like 19 days to ride from home in Anchorage down to Banff is 2100 miles. I slept outside every night, but one, when there was like a huge thunder and lightning storm where this guy like let me sleep in his trailer.

Okay. And I saw like a hundred bears, including a white black bear, which they call spirit bears. Yeah. And then I get to Banff and I had like 10 days before the start of the race and I was still like camping out in the woods. Yeah. And then I did the race, you know, and I got super, super sick, rode myself to the emergency room. It was horrible. But then I kind of somewhat recovered and I was able to finish the race. I broke the women's record by two days.

That's awesome. I was like, oh, this is like kind of, you know, what I'm most into, most interested in. And that kind of turned my life towards that direction, I'd say. I still think about it a lot. And I've gone back a few more times to do that same race. And I rode to the start of it last year from my home in Tucson. And it also was like the first time, well, since the regular bike tours that I was like, oh, I like riding to the start.

You know, I like connecting these dots. I like competition, but I also just like the adventure of getting there. So you have to get there somehow. You know, somebody could drive me or I could take a flight or whatever. But I'm like, if I have the time, I want to ride there. Yeah.

How do you react to um you know when things go wrong do you just move past it do you kind of logic it out or is there a moment when you know you're really bummed but then you find yourself persevering yeah i think i i, Usually try not to think about the disappointment while it's happening because I'm so obsessed with time that I'm like, that's a waste of time. So I'm like, okay, what do I, what can I functionally do right now to deal with this problem?

And then try to make the best decision that I can commit to that and then try to move on. And this also goes for like, you know, I make mistakes. Like I take wrong turns and I ride the wrong direction for 10 miles and then I have to turn around and ride 10 miles back to where I was supposed to be. You know, this is so common. Or, you know, I didn't bring enough food and I'm bonked out of my mind for, you know, 10 hours until I could get something to eat.

And then I'm like, okay, just do what you can in this moment to keep moving forward, fix the problem when you can and, you know, try not to worry about it. I mean, I've had like health issues out there and I'm like, okay, you know, what can I do? Because I think that I never want to quit. Yeah. Uh, because I know that if I do, I'm going to have to come back and do it again. Okay. And then I'm like, I've already put seven days of work and effort and everything I have into this.

Like if I can keep going, I will, you know, but sometimes that includes really a lot of, uh, misery. Okay. But if it doesn't, I'm like, what a, what an amazing thing. like this around the world ride, I actually got to enjoy most of it. I had fun out there. I loved being on my bike and loved all I got to see and all the people I got to meet. And that felt like such a huge success in itself that it was actually a really fun experience. And I think, you know, I set myself up really well for that.

I slept seven hours a night. I ate a real breakfast and a real dinner. You know, I did the things I could to like, kind of sustain the time and distance that I needed to do. So that was an experiment, but a really positive result. I have questions about your around the world trip.

But before I get to those, you said something that I thought was so interesting. And that is that you're obsessed with time. Do you know where that comes from? I think it's because I know that's what's going to affect my result. Okay. And I'm thinking in competition. So, and with ultra distance, you know, it's like the way I started competing was, oh, I'm not worrying about my speed or the things that happen the day. What I'm thinking about is how much time can I spend on the bike?

Because what it's going to come down to are is how many miles can I achieve each day to get to the final goal? So I would, and I figured this out while I was riding to the start of the Tour Divide the first time I was like, oh, if I eat on the bike, instead of stopping to eat, I could save myself, you know, 20 minutes at a time and be moving forward because otherwise my riding speed goes to zero while I'm sitting in a chair waiting for a burger.

You know, instead I just pack everything to go and then eat on the bike, which is became pretty funny, you know, and like pretty messy and crazy. I'm like, everything's portable. You know, I can put this scrambled eggs into a Ziploc and eat them on the bike. But I did think about it like that because, you know, because I, I kind of felt like I had to, who because at the start line of the race, often there would be, you know, I might be the only woman.

These guys, right, lining up next to me are way bigger and stronger and more serious looking. You know, I'm there in a t-shirt and smiling. And so like they think I'm a joke and it's hard for me to think that like I'm serious competition either. But I was like, that stuff doesn't matter. What matters is who gets to the finish line first. And the way I can do that is by economizing my time.

And so that's when I got this obsession with time because I was like, I don't want to lose minutes to not riding. And then it was years later in racing that I was like, oh, I can also, you know, work on riding faster. And I think I still was riding fast at this time. I just wasn't focusing on it. I was more focused on the actual action of just being on the bike more and wasting less time doing anything else. Do you think that obsession with time leaks over into your personal life at all?

No, I'm like not as good of a multitasker in my daily life. I don't even think about it. Sometimes I get so excited about whatever I'm talking about that I stop like eating or doing the other thing I'm doing. Because I think I allow myself this freedom just to be like, oh, right now I'm not on the clock.

But then if I'm racing, I'm like, I'm on the clock. But I still like around the world, I gave myself a little bit more freedom because I was like, OK, my my goals are to complete this mileage each day instead of maximizing my mileage each day.

So if I'm in like a race that takes two weeks and I stop to talk with someone, usually there's something in the back of my mind that's like, OK, don't get too into this. Keep it short. Get back on your bike and get moving. Yeah. So you're good at compartmentalizing. Exactly. And I think I also do that with pain. Okay. Okay. Like, this is only for this time. This is not going to last forever. Yeah. I can live with this. I don't care about this.

Like, all of those things. Like, I don't let it affect my overall emotions in general. Yeah, that's smart. Yeah. It's kind of weird, but it becomes, like, somewhat more normal. But I think that's because I know there's a finish line. I know that things aren't going to be like that forever. The other thing about like pain or experience is that it's constantly shifting and changing, which also gives me hope when I'm out there because it's like sometimes things can feel excruciating.

And then an hour later, I'm like, oh, I'm fine. Like this is not bothering me anymore. Or it's like extremely cold and then it warms up. You know, like, there's this kind of fluctuation that's happening that allows me to, like, accept my current state. Yeah. I heard that you have a tendency to under pack. Is that true? Totally. Yeah, that's totally true. I mean, and I used to be so extreme with this. I'm like, I don't need that. I don't need that.

And I would just celebrate leaving stuff at home or minimizing kid. I just loved it. I don't know. I was like addicted to this, like ditching stuff. And then like i'd get myself in these situations where i was like oh man i really should have brought my sleeping bag i'm like shaking on the ground cold you know so that so i've kind of like gone to such an extreme that now i'm like okay don't do that again yeah.

And you have asthma right yeah and i just got diagnosed this year this year okay my whole life wow i know how does that affect your cycling oh it's just definitely been my greatest limiter and you know the thing was i just i would just think oh i just i'm just bad at breathing and That's actually the truth. I am bad at breathing. But, you know, I was like not on medication where I should have been. And now I am. And it's making a world of difference.

That's like someone that can't see well being like, oh, I just don't see well and never getting glasses, you know, just living with it. Which, I mean, like, you can.

You can live with a lot of things, but you can also get a small amount of help that makes a huge difference. Mm-hmm. And so that's what you've done? Yeah. So I finally, actually, I got diagnosed after I raced the ITI 350 this past February. And that's, like, the fat bike race that follows the Iditarod Trail. Okay, okay. And I had such a, I'd been, last year, 2023 was like my absolute worst season of biking ever.

And I just kept having all these really strong breathing problems where I was like, you know, totally lose my voice, really incapacitated, but still finishing races just in a really, really bad state. Okay. And then, you know, trying to figure out what the breathing problem was. First, I thought it was vocal cord dysfunction. And then I did the Iditarod, and I just, whoa, I was just really, really.

Bad out there like just in a really bad state and i took some um recordings with my phone and sent them to my doctors and they were just shocked they were like whoa that is not what we thought you had really uh yeah they're like these are really profound and so i went back in.

And got a ct scan and that's when they realized that i have um pretty bad asthma uh but the the thing was like I'd taken all these like breathing tests and it didn't show up because I'm an athlete and I train so much so my breath capacity in a normal state is decent so they couldn't tell and really I didn't end up with severe problems until I'm like 24 hours into a race and then the symptoms are like I just have so much gunk in my throat that

there's like a physical block and I can't breathe it's like breathing through a little straw um so it was really really hard to kind of recreate that but then the scan showed like kind of what was happening um so what a relief yeah you know i mean like i'm sad i didn't know because i'm 38 years old you know it's like i could have been like getting help so much longer ago but at least i'm like at least i figured it out now yeah yeah definitely so how does that fit in you

know to your overall puzzle. I mean that was the thing it was like that was the thing that i'm like this is the thing that's gonna hold me back and basically i just thought oh it's just gonna hold me back forever and it's something that i work around and deal with but it's really miserable and awful and, And then now I'm on some medication and I'm like, oh, I'm not even thinking about it.

I mean, that's incredible to actually like be in such good shape breathing wise that I'm not even thinking about this limitation that's like held me back for the rest of my life. So I'm like, oh, how cool. And, you know, if I go back and do this tour divide race, like, can I actually get through it without that awful aspect to it? And the other crazy part is like, I even, I still loved what I was doing.

I was just like, oh, this is just something that happens every time I'm out there, you know, and maybe it doesn't have to. So I don't know. I'm pretty hopeful. Yeah.

Okay. Okay, so the trip around the world that you just finished was 18,000 miles long, and it took you 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes to complete. How are you emotionally after a trip like that? Are you exhausted? Are you elated? Are you happy it's over? Oh, I was just so thrilled. And I finished almost three weeks ago, and I've just been kind of in this incredible wave of positivity and excitement.

And I think my immune system is really low, and I think it's finally catching up with me, where I've been biking and going really hard. And then last night I was like, uh-oh, I think I might be getting a cold.

And uh and so i'm like back to reality i'm like i need to rest more i need to like sleep more and you know kind of take it easy so that's where i'm at but it's been it's just been incredible you know and and i did feel like a huge sense of relief too um because there's so much that could have gone wrong and mostly things went well i mean i had my setbacks but nothing catastrophic, so like while i was riding towards the end i was so excited to be getting to the finish i started the three

days out i was just riding faster than i'd been the whole trip and just so focused and really driven and it was just this incredible feeling where i almost felt like oh i could just keep going forever but then at the same time i thought i'm so happy this is ending because it's actually worked out, you know, and my biggest concern was getting hit by a car, you know, riding roads for that much time with that much exposure. It's like something like that could have happened and it didn't.

So I think I just felt this incredible gratitude that it all kind of came together and I was able to do it. I was able to finish strong and I was able to enjoy it. Did you have a plan if, you know, God forbid, something like that did happen? I mean, I think, you know, that's so case by case, but always in my mind, it's like, no matter what, I'm going to try to finish this thing. So it might just, the timeframe might just change where I have to take time off and keep going when I can.

Or you know i mean that was like with if i crashed or if i had an equipment failure or if my bike didn't show up when i was flying or you know any of these things i i never really accepted the idea that i might actually have to stop because that would that would have been devastating to me and that always is i think you know of the dozens of races i've ever done i've had to quit maybe three.

And I hate that. I really, really hate that, you know, because I'm just like, it's such a, it's just hard for me to accept that I physically can't continue. Yeah. You know, so and sometimes it's the right choice. And I think a lot of people take that with a lot more grace than I do. I just commit so hard that I will do anything to like finish, you know, and that's not, I don't have to be winning. I just, I just have to finish the ride.

So then if I can't, because of my breathing in the past or something like that, then I'm just so bummed out that, you know, I always, I always try to live to the finish line if I can. Music.

When you're planning a trip that someone has already done before or has done one that's similar, how often do you consider or analyze the route that they took? I mean, for around the world, I had to make my own route. And so I looked at what other people did, but I also was like, yeah, I'm not really. I I wanted to make my route based on like the kind of riding I like to do which is A lot of climbing in the mountains and I knew other people wouldn't have chosen that because uh, it's slower.

It's harder, you know, but i'm like that's the kind of riding that really inspires me and makes me excited So I was like, okay, i'm just gonna do it my way, Um, but then for other races, you know a lot of these events they're on kind of historical routes so I am following in the footsteps of others like riding the Iditarod trail you know and I think that's part of the reason I'm so drawn to it is the history of the trail and what

it means now and and the places I'll see along the way you know so there's there's quite a bit of both honestly I I don't enjoy the planning process I just like the experience yeah so I wish this stuff was just ready to go and I could just get out the door and do it. I like looking at maps a bit, but I don't like doing it for hours and hours on end. I just like to look and think and then go for a bike ride.

Do you ever pick a destination or a route because it scares you?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think this around the world, that was part of the reason I was so excited for it was because it's cured me because because it was so long i was like i have no idea how this is gonna unfold and it would wake me up at night and i'd be like you know like my nightmares were like all the things i could go wrong and that happened also for the iti last year um, you know it's just because the conditions are so extreme you know it's like

that a lot more exposure, a higher risk for cold, frostbite, you know, mechanicals are so much more serious out there. But then I think, That's also part of the reason why it was such a special experience for me because everything felt so much like you had to take so much more care. And I learned a lot from that because I'm so kind of impatient. I like to I'm just like, I don't want to wait. I don't want to sleep. I just want to go.

And then for something like the Iditarod, it's like, no, you have to dry out your clothing because otherwise it's just frozen the whole time and your body temperature could get too low. But I also liked learning about how warm I could stay while I was riding and how quickly that would change when I stopped. And, like, it felt like being on another planet. I was like, oh, when it's negative 40, my tires are basically frozen solid and feel like Velcro on the snow.

Or, like, the sounds that it would make when it was that cold versus, like, not hearing any wind or any animals. It was so kind of odd. Yeah. And beautiful. And so beautiful that it would make me just cry. Just to be out there. And then sometimes it was so beautiful, but my goggles were so fogged up, I couldn't see a thing. And then I'm like, I am in the most beautiful place in the world, and I can't even see it right now.

I mean, it just seemed like a lot of just these wild emotional swings of comedy and kind of intense feelings.

And I think that's a big part of why I want to race to gnome next year but i'm also in in ways terrified okay you know it's like because also like with winter riding the conditions can change so quickly you know it's like hardback snow machine trail and then the wind kicks up and then the trail is just soft and you are walking at a mile an hour for hours you know or fresh snow comes down same thing happens so uh you know that's kind of,

adds an element, I guess, to it. But also, I mean, I grew up in Anchorage. I've thought about the Iditarod my whole life. I can't believe I actually might get to travel that land. Yeah. Do you listen to anything when you ride? Music, a podcast, a book, or are you using that time to think? Oh, I do both. When I started, I didn't listen to anything because I just had a flip phone and and just turn it off. And I also thought that's a distraction. I don't need that.

I was so kind of severe about like not wasting any time. I was like, I don't need to waste time getting headphones out. I don't need to have a distraction. And so I did like the first, you know, three years of racing. I didn't listen to anything, which is crazy for me to think about now. It's a lot of time out there.

And now I'm like, oh, you know, I'll listen to some music, some podcasts i got really into books for a while uh especially in the dark okay oh it's so nice to have a story through the night yeah you know i listen to like epics like lonesome dove or east of eden or and they're just such gripping stories that i love that but i'm kind of back to like a mix of of all of it but not all the time too and then and then this around the world ride i invited people, anybody to come for any stretch.

So I ended up talking with a lot of people and that was fun too. I mean, the time goes a lot faster with company. Yeah. Yeah. So I heard that planning the European section of your trip took the longest to plan out.

Why was that? because it's so complicated there with roads so europe is you know such an old place that there are just thousands of roads from different generations um so that in a way that's a really really good thing for riding because there's so many different options but then you know sometimes it's like oh it's nice when there's just one or two options like alaska because you know the road's going to go through it's going to be fine those that's

the choice that you can make um but for europe i asked two of my close friends that live in italy that are excellent route builders to put together the route and they probably took 200 hours working on it oh wow okay uh i mean they're perfectionists yeah okay so they wanted it to be really good and i'd put a lot of trust in them to make it and to make it good and safe and uh also make sense you know because sometimes like Like you look at maps and you think, oh, there's a road here.

She could just take that. And then the actual experience is that road is heavily trafficked. There isn't a shoulder or, you know, for one reason or another, it's not a good choice. So they wanted to make sure that everything was good. And they did such a good job. I had such a nice ride through Europe. And that was definitely a highlight for the trip. Was there a section that surprised you or unexpectedly challenged you?

Yeah um i had a pretty tough time in turkey okay and i had really been looking forward to it because i'd never been to turkey i was like oh this is gonna be cool and then i got there and it was um a pretty heavy traffic and it's kind of a transport route and it's a transport area You know, this is connecting Europe to Asia. A lot of big trucks, and it was pretty hot. I was along the Black Sea. There was a shoulder, so it was safe, but it just was kind of hectic and hard.

And it had these road tunnels and sometimes they were like you know two kilometers three four in inside of them it was the road got narrower there wasn't a shoulder in it there were red lights on the walls it was dark with just red lights and like my taillights red so it's like the trucks wouldn't be able to see me and that was just kind of a terrifying experience and you You talk about noise, like take a huge semi and put it into a tiny tunnel. Yeah.

Deafening. Yeah. And then they had like this tiny little, I don't know if it was like a safety path for people maintaining the tunnel, but it was like –. Uh this really narrow kind of walkway but there it was made out of like cinder blocks basically so they weren't on the same level and then i basically started riding those so i could be off the road because i was like these trucks can't see me they're just gonna hit me so i'm riding this

like uneven cinder block ledge i was like this is terrible you know but i was like Like I'm in the middle of it. So I'm like, well, I just have to get there. So that, you know, there were moments where I was like, this is really not a life experience I want to have, but I just have to get to the other side of this, you know? So I had this like high vis reflective vest on and I'm like, dear God, I hope they see me.

Yeah. You know, what's interesting about that is in that moment, you made a decision between time and safety and you chose safety always yeah yeah i'm like i don't want to die on this ride yeah no i'm like i mean like yeah i like the ride i want to do this and i'm committed to it but i was like ultimately my own personal safety is way more important than any of this.

What was the most interesting or maybe even concerning place you slept at along the way, oh there was nothing too weird i was mostly staying in like hotels or airbnbs or sometimes i would stay with people if they invited me and the timing was right but in the past i've stayed in so i mean like in other races i've seen so many funny places you know sleeping in a cave or oh man my first like long race in Israel it was pouring rain and I was stuck in this terrible mud

so I couldn't move and I just slept under a tree on a hillside and it was like kind of a steep hillside so I had to push my feet into the tree to kind of like lengthen out my body and then I'd wake up and I'd kind of have like rolled down the hill. I mean, but I also was like, I don't think I've ever slept anywhere where I was like, this is really terrible.

You know, I've had to sleep in like a couple of pit toilets. Oh, this one, one of them, I was like hiking the, um. Pacific Crest Trail. And it was a really bad storm where it was like snowing. And then I had to, or I slept in my tent. But in the morning, I was like packing up the tent and there was a pit toilet. And I went in there to cook breakfast and the toilet had been ripped out of the ground. So it was just like a hole. But the weather was so bad that I was in there like cooking pasta.

A yeah god that's a low i mean that is terrible you know it's like i guess if that's your benchmark you're like well i guess it's not gonna get worse than that yeah that's a that's a good positive spin on that i've slept in bunkers in like albania and ukraine that's weird yeah i bet but there but You know, you start, you change your perspective on what's a shelter.

And then now biking, I'll be like riding and I'll see something that looks like a nice pavilion or, you know, a little picnic area with a picnic table. And I'll be like, oh, that'd be a great camp spot. Yeah. Your brain automatically goes to like, could I sleep there? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's really interesting. So when you're riding, that is always kind of in the back of your mind. Where am I going to sleep? Yeah.

Yeah. Well, especially like if the weather's good, I don't think about it because I'm like, oh, I'll just find something that's fine. And if it's like a, I mean, for around the world, I would think in the morning I would think, okay, I'm going to pick a goal of a place to get to.

And usually i'd want like a minimum of 170 miles but probably less than 200 okay unless i had i was having like a really good day um so then i would just be like okay there's a town in that in that zone i'm gonna go there i could book something on like booking.com or airbnb and then i just had a destination i'm like i'll just keep going until i get there and that actually was like kind of made it mentally easier in the day because i kind of knew where i was going um for like shorter

race i'll just be like well i if the weather's good i'll just sleep on the side of the trail basically.

Yeah do you think traveling visiting different cultures seeing new places meeting new people is important to you oh yeah totally i mean i think that's like a huge part of my drive, and when I kind of started doing this around like 2008 I was like that's what excited me the most the bike part I wasn't even really into I didn't even like biking.

I mean I was like you know I just thought oh this bike is like the easiest means to to doing that to being out to being kind of on this adventure I can the bike was the vehicle And then when I started racing, or when I started really pushing my endurance that summer in Alaska, that's when I... That's when I really realized I actually liked the riding aspect. Because I had been, I think when I got into it, I was like, well,

it's just like a means to an end. It's just a vehicle. So I didn't really realize like, oh, this is a sport. I can get my heart rate up. I can compete. I can like, you know, kind of ride however I want to. I can ride fast. And I think I'd been more kind of conservative before that, where I was just like, oh, you just keep pushing the pedals and you get there. And then when I started pushing my own limits, then it became really exciting.

What do you think you can learn about a place by cycling it rather than walking it or driving it? I feel like it's the speed where you get to see a lot in the days. It's more similar to walking, but you just get to go farther. So it's easier to get to resources. It's easier to get to food. You get more compressed in a single day and you get descents. So you get a break. You know, walking, you don't get a break downhill. You're always walking, you know, on a bike downhill, you can coast.

It's easier to carry equipment because you can actually strap it to the bike instead of carrying it on your back. I really do like walking, but gosh, I don't know. after like a three-week hike, I'm like, my feet hurt.

You know, something I was thinking about is throughout your travels, I'm sure you've encountered plenty of cycling cultures. What have been some of the most robust? Oh, the biggest is Columbia. Okay. They're crazy about biking there. And I didn't know until I went there. I was doing this trip that was a project with Conservation International where they were like, oh, we can connect people to their water source with a bikepacking route.

And I was like, oh, that is cool. You know, because around Colombia, they have the Paramos, which is like these special ecosystem that captures water from the air. And that's the drinking water for Bogota, a city of like 10 million. Okay. And so they're like, if you show these people where the water's coming from and they're riding through it, then they'll care more about the water and they'll care about protecting this place.

And I was like, oh, this is a really, really cool idea. But what I didn't know is that they're totally bike crazy. Even in the city of Bogota, they close off like the main streets every Sunday from 7 a.m. To 2 p.m. and they're only open to bikes and pedestrians. Really? Okay. It's like this total street party. Wow. And they've been doing that since the 70s. I've never seen so many cyclists in my life. They're so into it.

And they're all going up the steepest climbs and taking on these challenges. And I was like, this is really cool. And I think part of it is just as a vehicle, farmers ride bikes. And then also they've had like really strong world tour racers. And I think this is kind of like almost a legend in Colombia is like, you know, these rural kids working on farms were scouted by, you know, these professional teams and then became the best in the world.

So they have this kind of tradition of like kids wanting to become, you know, win the Tour de France kind of thing. And I was like, oh, this is really, really cool. That was by far the best I've seen.

I read on your social media that you have an easy time loving people, but you have a hard time trusting them. Yeah. Why do you think that is? Oh, I think I just find so much good in other people and I'm just like crazy about them. But I feel like my level of, you know, if they let me down, that really hurts so bad that I'm like, I can't trust them again. And I think that's like a personal problem. I should have a better level of forgiveness.

But I think also like my attitude more is like I can take care of myself. And that might be why I'm so good at like self-supported racing is because I'm like able to survive with like whatever I have with me or, you know, with my own mental toughness. So I think that I'm used to just relying on myself because sometimes I think, well, nobody else is going to care as much as I do and they shouldn't, you know, it's for me. But I think hopefully as I'm getting older, I'm softening a bit.

I'm not so severe and strict about it, you know, because trusting people and, you know, having them in your life is such a better life experience.

Experience and maybe i was also like kind of holding people to too high of a standard where i'm like what do i what do i need to trust them with you know like this ride around the world it's like i'm riding 10 miles with them like i just want to be in that experience and and enjoy it i don't have to like think about is this person going to be able to save my life if i need them to you know like the relationships you have in your life they

they kind of come and go and that shouldn't be a bad thing either how do you think you love someone if you don't trust them, i mean maybe it's like a less complex love. You know because i feel like this feeling of like caring about these people and i think, yeah I think I think I just feel a lot and I think I'm really sensitive but I haven't thought about it too much. Who do you trust the most? my waifu, And then pass out my family.

How do you think that they have gained your trust over the years? I think it's through shared experiences and the amount of things we've experienced together and the hard things we've been through and kind of how we've responded to those things. And, you know, I think this is like maybe this clarifies it a bit, but, you know, I'm like I'm always kind of ready to dive into the deep end. And I'm like, who has ever with me?

Let's do it. And then, you know, the way you get to get to know people the best is by being in stressful and extreme situations together, which is like a bike trip. You know, everybody's like pushing themselves as hard as they can. There isn't much shelter.

Access to food isn't always great but it's like this really rich experience so like you get to know somebody so quickly through that and then you know with rue it's like we've done that a thousand times over so you know then then we have and then we also have this bank of shared.

Experiences where we take those into whatever we encounter next so i think that's kind of like built my trust over time maybe like the real thing is I with that I love people quickly it's like I also trust them quickly but then if they let me down it's over yeah and then I come to that pretty quickly with a lot of people because you know I live kind of an extreme lifestyle and I'm excited about the stuff that is,

kind of scary, you know, and then that's maybe that's not for everybody else, you know. So I've started like hosting events where it's like the format is more forgiving. Like I'm like, hey, want to come ride with me? And, you know, this is the start date. This is the route. But along the way, we're not going to be together all the time. We'll see each other, but you get to choose what you want to do and modify the trip and try to make it to the finisher party at the end.

And then that allows people to make their own choices and also feel like they are succeeding because that's the other part of this is like you don't want people to have to quit because they physically can't do it that's not what this is all about it's about pushing your limits and enjoying the challenge.

So i think i've like kind of learned a bit from that too and and also like i don't need to hold everyone else to my own standard you know and i don't need to expect that they're gonna like excel in that space. I don't recommend ultra endurance racing because it's really hard and you have to sacrifice a lot. I'm like, that is not necessarily exciting to everybody, but I do think like adventure in some capacity is exciting to everyone. Spending time outside moving is also exciting to everyone.

And that's like some of my favorite kind of response to what I do is like people write me and say, I was following your race and it got me to go outside ride in the rain and walk for half an hour. And I'm like, oh yeah, that's totally it. Yeah. You know, and like, I don't have like, that's, they're not doing exactly what I'm doing, but we're kind of engaging in the same idea of like, it's okay to be uncomfortable to experience the natural world.

You said that you and Rue have gone on lots of rides together.

Do you have a ride that you hold close oh there's so many i mean the first ride i really went with ruan i invited her to ride the denali park road with me and so she met me up in cantwell and then because i was biking there this was the summer i was riding all the roads in alaska and then we took the bus to wonder Lake and then rode out to Kantishna and rode back to, the entrance to the park and I mean that's one of my favorite roads in the whole

world you know and we saw four bull moose lined up across the road and we saw bears and we camped out and. It was so so cool and Rue like came from a background of road racing she'd never carried stuff on her bike I don't know if she'd really been camping but she was like yeah I want to do it and she so easily just, went into it and loved it. I think I had a one person tent in one sleeping bag and we shared it. Okay.

You brought all the gear. Yeah. Well, cause she wasn't even like thinking about, you know, sleeping or not sleeping or whatever. I bought a bunch of food at the gas station. Yeah. In Cantwell. And then, uh, you know, she loved it. She was like, Oh, this is awesome. I mean, you know, you, you never know if somebody is actually going to like that. But then since then, it's like, oh, we got to do like a trip in Kyrgyzstan together. And that was so much fun and so crazy.

It's like mostly above 10,000 feet. Oh, okay. People in the summer are still nomadic. So they set up yurts and have like some kind of, you know, livestock, whether it's like horses or yaks or cows, and they're just up there, living up there. And so then we're like camping nearby in these beautiful valleys, doing these crazy mountain passes together with like, you know, you descend into a valley for pretty bad food. Okay. Climb back. I mean, you're like lucky to find like ramen, basically.

Okay. You know, we were buying like cans of peas and tubes of mayonnaise. Oh, okay. But still having like the greatest time because it was so beautiful and so fun. Yeah. So, and we went to Columbia together. I mean, like basically now we always travel together. Sometimes I race on my own, but it's, if I'm not racing, then, then hopefully Rue can be there too and we can just ride it together. Or if I am racing, sometimes we pre-ride the route together just to get a sense for the place.

Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Do you have a regular bike ride that you do to keep you sharp where you know it so well that you're able to experiment and push yourself in different ways? I mean, the most common ride for me is I live in Tucson and I ride up Mount Lemmon and I do it usually multiple times a week. And it's like whenever I have like a free afternoon or, you know, I'm waking up and feeling good, I just like look out the window and there's the mountain and then I just ride up there.

And it's like, you know, yesterday I rode it. I think it's like 8,000 feet of climbing. And from home, I can like ride to the top and back in like six hours or something like that. And I just love it. It's like 30 degrees colder at the top. And then from the base, you start in the Sonoran Desert with Saguaro cactus in the top. It's like Canadian pine forest. And you go through seven biomes. That's pretty wild. It's so beautiful. And I've seen like bighorn sheep up there.

I've seen Coatamundi, which is like kind of a mix between a monkey and a raccoon. I've seen like so many cool different animals on my way up. Gila monsters um so you know that's always like if i have the time that's like my day ride and probably why i live in tucson if the mountain wasn't there i don't think i'd live here okay. You know, I know you just finished this really intense journey around the world, but have you started thinking about your next trip?

Yeah, I mean, I'm more thinking about next year. So the rest of this year, it's like I have several friends coming down to visit, so I'll do different little trips with them.

Um and then i'm hosting a women's bikepacking rally so that'll be a week in november we ride like a 400 mile route but we start together but people kind of choose how far and fast they want to go and where they want to stay um and then i'll probably be back up in alaska in sometime in january getting ready for the iditarod and that's next february starting on the 23rd, and that is probably the scariest thing i'll ever do but also so exciting and then

and then even this morning i was starting to think okay that's like one thing a big adventure but then you know my real strength in riding is um climbing so possibly racing the tour divide again and then there's this race across europe called the transcontinental where you ride from like the west to turkey basically and make your own route but hitting checkpoints um and i've never done that one so i'm like oh that sounds kind of like around the world but just europe um so i think

you know if i can do tour divide and that which is like you know mid-june and then end of july then that would be a pretty good good goal for me for the year.

What do you think keeps riding fun for you oh gosh i think it's just gotten more fun because i actually just like enjoy the physicality of it more it's also become like, kind of the most normal thing for me to do so i'm instantly in this like really good headspace where i can think more clearly i'm more excited about life the time i get to ride with other people is the best time for me. So I think it's just gotten better and better as I've done it.

Throughout the Around the World trip, you invited people to ride with you for a bit. Do you have any stories of people that made it out? Maybe ones that, you know, really stuck with you. Oh, there's so many. I mean, just right when you said that, I was thinking of this guy that pops out in New Zealand when it's like 30 something degrees and he's wearing shorts and on an e-bike. And he's like, I'm a farmer. These are my sheep. And I was like, how many sheep do you have? He's like, 800.

And then he's like, I've been having a really rough like three weeks. So I'm so excited you came through because it gave me something to look forward to. Oh, that's awesome. And he probably rode with me for like 10 minutes. But I was like, that is so cool. Yeah. And I think that was kind of the overall feeling of this project was people saying, and I recorded a podcast every day, so people were following that.

And they were just like, this time in the world, it seems like there's so much to kind of feel sad and disappointed about that they just looked forward to either riding with me or listening to my podcast because it was like the five, ten minutes of their day that they knew would be like a positive break.

And I was like, oh, that is cool. yeah you know because i mean like what a gift for me to get to do this ride and then for people to feel like they could see some good in the world through my experience where they could be part of it in a way you know people were like skipping work they were like taking their kids out of school they're like it's worth it yeah you know like just to show up like it was like a holiday.

And I was like, that's that kind of energy is really cool. And that they had to come find me because I had like a tracking page. So they had to become like kind of detectives of like, when is she going to get here? How can I intercept her? You know, so it was kind of like a like a scavenger hunt. Yeah. And I thought it was so cool. And sometimes people would show up and they're like, I tried to get to you yesterday. I missed you by two minutes. So I came back, you know, and then there's stories

I'm just hearing now. of people missing me and me finding out about it later. Because like, I had absolutely no idea because I didn't know where they were. You know, for me, every time they showed up, that was like a surprise. There is a guy that found me in like rural Illinois, and I was going inside the McDonald's to fill up my water bottles. And he came in and he was like jumping up and down with excitement. Really? And I was like, this is so funny. Like in this like random McDonald's

in the middle of the day, it's like 90 degrees outside. I'm like, I need water. And then this guy is like, yeah, I found you. One time I was like in a public bathroom in New Zealand. And I come out and there are like three people there cheering when I came out of the bathroom. I was like, this is so funny. It never gets old.

You know, it was like this super tall guy in switzerland on the side of a mountain pass that he must have been like six seven and he's like jumping up and down like crazy i was like i wish i had like a video just recording people's reactions because they're the genuine like joy and excitement was so cool yeah that's so awesome and it's just like me just on a bike ride you know i'm like not part of like an official race or event so it's like it just was like something happening

and then people are like i gotta be there you know and i mean that just made it so much more colorful and fun for me yeah. Well, Lael, those are all the questions I have for you. I want to thank you for your time, your energy, and congratulations on your world record. Oh, thanks so much. This is so much fun. Music.

For more information about the Anchorage Museum, visit anchoragemuseum.org. This podcast was produced by me, Cody Liska, for the Anchorage Museum. With additional help from Julie Decker. Chatter Marks Music is produced by Keys Open Doors. Music. Thank you. Thank you.