Here’s the exact route Lael Wilcox will follow as she attempts to break the around-the-world cycling record. Not just the women’s record, but the overall record!
To claim the record, she’ll need to beat the current benchmark of 78 days. That means averaging an astonishing 372 kilometres (232 miles) every single day for nearly eleven weeks straight.
In this article, I’ll break down the route Lael Wilcox will take as she races across multiple continents over the coming months.
The Record Requirements
To qualify for the record, Lael must meet a strict set of criteria.
She needs to ride at least 28,970 km (18,001 miles) in a continuous east-to-west direction, deviating no more than five degrees from her overall course. The total journey distance, including flights, must exceed 40,075 km (24,901 miles).
She must also start and finish in the same location and pass through two antipodal points. Those are two locations connected by a straight line through the centre of the Earth. For this attempt, Lael has chosen Madrid (Spain) and Wellington (New Zealand).
You can track Lael’s record attempt HERE.
USA & Canada
Distance: 3225 km (2004 mi)
Lael begins in Chicago, heading north through Wisconsin before crossing into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie. From there, she rides across eastern Canada, passing through Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime provinces before reaching the Atlantic coast.
After roughly 8.5 days of riding, she reaches Halifax, where she boards the first of six flights on her round-the-world record attempt.
Europe
Distance: 5651 km (3511 mi)
Lael lands in Lisbon to begin a long and varied crossing of Europe. Her route passes through Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
The route passes through Madrid, her first antipodal checkpoint, before turning northeast toward Germany and then southeast to Turkey.
After around 15 days of riding, she arrives in Istanbul and catches her next flight.
Kazakhstan
Distance: 3850 km (2392 mi)
Lael touches down in Aktau to begin a vast crossing of Kazakhstan. With remote desert landscapes and enormous distances between towns, this is one of the more isolated sections of the entire journey.
Few people appreciate just how large Kazakhstan is; the country ranks 9th in the world by land area. After approximately 10 days riding across the steppe, Lael reaches Almaty, the country’s largest city, where she boards her next flight.
South-East Asia
Distance: 2076 km (1290 mi)
Landing in Bangkok, Lael swaps the dry expanses of Central Asia for the humid, bustling roads of Southeast Asia.
She rides south through Thailand before continuing down the Malay Peninsula into Malaysia. This leg combines tropical heat with some of the most densely populated regions on the trip. The roads are often narrow and busy too, making it a section that requires a little extra attention from a safety perspective.
After about 5.5 days, she arrives in Singapore and boards another flight.
Australia
Distance: 5776 km (3589 mi)
Australia is Lael’s second-longest riding leg. Starting in Perth, she follows the continent’s southern edge through vast open landscapes and remote coastal regions before reaching the area north of Melbourne.
From there, she turns north and heads inland toward Brisbane, tackling even more of Australia’s famously long and sparsely populated areas.
After approximately 15.5 days on the continent, she takes to the air once again.
New Zealand
Distance: 637 km (396 mi)
Lael lands in Wellington, her second antipodal checkpoint and the counterpart to Madrid on the opposite side of the planet.
This is the shortest riding segment of the entire attempt. Covering just 637 kilometres, the route takes her north through New Zealand’s lush North Island to Auckland.
USA & Canada
Distance: 7778 km (4834 mi)
Lael now begins the final and longest leg of her round-the-world record attempt.
Starting in Anchorage, Alaska, she rides into Alberta before crossing back into the United States. Her route then heads south toward Amarillo, Texas, before turning northeast for the final push to Chicago.
This closing section combines mountain scenery, prairie landscapes, and long American highways. After nearly 21 days of riding, Lael returns to Chicago, hopefully completing her attempt to become the fastest person ever to cycle around the world!
