Around the World Trial RUn
March 15th - 2oth
Tucson, Arizona to Austin, Texas
1,276 miles with 37,725’ of climbing (2,053km with 11,500 meters) in just under five and a half days.
236 miles (380km) per day
Pace: 16mph (26kph)
This is my first fully supported ride with an RV and a crew to help me with efficiency and optimization.
The goal for the ride is to test out the crew, how they can support me and how the moving pieces fit together.
The team:
Rue on media
Daiva (Rue’s mom) as the cook
Alexia for logistics
Dave as the mechanic
Maghalie for overall support– driving, hand-ups, laundry, etc.
Maghalie is a world cup cyclocross racer. Dave is her husband, mechanic and overall support. We met Alexia at one of our women’s rallies in Spain. She helped Rue during my ride up to the Arctic Ocean in Canada last year and scouting a section of the Golden Gravel Trail in Idaho.
We have 2 vehicles– a rental RV and Rue’s Subaru.
Everyone brings bikes so they can rotate jobs and ride with me. We’re thinking about the crew’s mental health and spending a few hours on the bike seems like an easy solution to keep everyone sane. If I get to ride up to 16 hours per day, they should at least get a couple.
The route:
Adventure Cycling Association’s Southern Tier
connecting from home in Tucson to Apache Junction, Arizona and continuing through New Mexico to Austin, Texas.
Day 1
I chose a middle of the road route, to see how it would mentally feel to be on long flat stretches through open country. This kind of riding is efficient on paper; less climbing is less work, meaning you can cover more ground expending less energy. I really thrive in the mountains. I’m happy in rolling terrain. I’m not a huge fan of the flats. This kind of riding is a mental adjustment for me. I’ve been working on it all winter and figured a true test should be flat. The view can be pretty similar if you never go up or down.
I didn’t anticipate how windy it would be. The first day goes great– fast pace, lots of climbing, pretty hot and a lot of fun. I’m fresh. I can crank on the pedals and it feels exhilarating. My only trouble is winding down at night. I finish hours before expected, but I can’t snap into recovery quick enough– something I’ll need to work on.
Day 2
For every following day, I feel like I’m at the mercy of the wind. It’s very humbling. My pace is a reflection of the wind conditions. I ride southeast into a headwind for 9 hours on the second day until pivoting around Lordsburg. That’s 144 miles (232km) of straight headwind. The wind kicks up so much dust that everything looks grey. I can only see the outline of the surrounding mountains. It looks like The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy is still in Kansas. Everything is black and white before she gets to colorful Oz.
Maghalie protects me for a 50-mile (80km) stretch for a bit over 3 hours. There’s no drafting permitted for the Guinness record, but this is just a training ride and I’m grateful for her help. She’s such a classy rider, a true professional.
The second half of the day includes 8,000’ (2,438m) of climbing into the mountains above Silver City. Climbing is work where you have a bit more control, plus you get descents and views. I’m all in for that.
I ride into Silver City in the late afternoon. The team from the Tour of the Gila– Jack, Jenn, and her family wait for me at the city limits. I love that community– so full of heart and positivity.
Jack says, “don’t stop for us!”
“Of course I’m going to stop! This isn’t the real thing.”
Jack points at the dust filtered mountains. “You’ve been breathing that air all day.”
I have moderately severe asthma, so this is a genuine risk. It’s bad for my health, but a good test nonetheless to see if I can persevere.
We all hug.
Jack gives Rue cowbells, she gives them all socks– she brought some gifts to hand out to kids along the way. I keep climbing. Into the dark, I look over my shoulder and see the brightest array of stars I’ve seen since riding across Australia. What a sky!
Up and up, Alexia and Rue leapfrog me as I climb and the temperatures drop. They heat up clothes on the car dash and layer me up at the high point with Rue’s down jacket and Alexia’s cotton pants– highwaters on me cause I must be about half a foot taller than her. It does the job; I don’t get cold.
I descend to Kingston and turn off the route to our rental house. Dave, Maghalie and Daiva are on the street to welcome me. Dave gets right to tuning up my bike. I eat a huge plate of chicken & rice, take a shower and go to bed. It’s another night where my mind and body keep racing when they really should be resting. I’ve got to work on that. Crossing into New Mexico, we changed time zones and I lost an hour, so I set my wake up for an hour later the following morning. Not ideal, but what are you going to do? Go into sleep deprivation to stay on schedule? We still have to figure out the time zone puzzle.
Day 3
Each morning, Rue gets up 20 minutes before me to cook my breakfast: eggs, rice and avocado. It’s great riding fuel and I never get sick of it.
My morning routine– take my inhalers, brush my hair, eat breakfast, use the bathroom, get dressed, make sure I’ve got my lights, SPOT tracker, Wahoo and reflective vest and we’re off. This takes me 30-40 minutes each morning. I’ll definitely have to dial in that time. Once I shave my head, I think everything will be a bit quicker.
In the desert, the temp changes about 30 degrees from sunrise to the heat of the day (a 20C swing). I start the ride like a mummy. Three hours later, I’m down to shorts and short sleeves.
Rue and her mom are in the RV and track me down a couple hours into my ride. We’re trying to get into a rhythm for fueling. My go-to is a couple of bananas and then a grilled cheese hand-up.
The sun comes up and I’m riding into a light headwind to Las Cruces. Nothing to complain about here. The air quality is still poor. The jagged Organ Mountains are covered in a veil of dirt. I keep plugging away. Rue joins me for a bit on the e-bike and that’s the highlight of my day. I figure some friends from Cruces will come out, but they don’t. It’s a weekday and Rue thinks they might not know we’re here because she hasn’t had time to post updates. We keep on going.
Getting close to El Paso, Dave rides out shirtless and gives me a good laugh. He bows like a gymnast that has just landed a jump. That guy’s got some flair.
We ride a bike path into town. It kind of feels like a deserted sidewalk. It’s nice to be out of traffic.
Then we’re into the El Paso sprawl. It’s hot. Cities are tough cause there’s so much start and stop. It’s slow progress.
At one point, Dave says, I think we’re almost out of town. Then we look at the map and we haven’t even made it a quarter of the way through. This is not efficient routing to keep up momentum, but it’s good practice for when there aren’t any other options.
We talk about all the crazy cycling fueling fads– no carbs, all the carbs, ketones, and what all of this does to your stomach. My fueling strategy is to eat as much as I can without feeling like I’m forcing it down. Whatever sounds appealing is good. In the end, it’s mostly carbs with some fat, protein, fruits and vegetables– probably my best meal on the trip is a whole pack of potstickers with a few slices of watermelon.
Maghalie is the best at filling my snack pouches. I have to think that’s because she’s ridden so much. She gets it. You just have to keep eating. She surprises me with peanut butter, honey and blueberries smashed into a mini-bagel. I don’t really crave anything, but my mouth gets pretty raw from so much breathing, especially when the air is harsh. Soft food is good— think noodles, bananas, avocado. Every time I stop to use the bathroom, I chug water out of a gallon bottle. It’s hard to stay hydrated cause it’s so hot and windy. I finish each day with a Gnarly protein shake and a scoop of creatine, mixed with Oatmilk. It really hits the spot.
Alexia joins me on the bike to ride out of the suburbs of El Paso. We are blessed with a tailwind. Maghalie gets on the bike and it’s a girl group ride. We’re having fun! We get a good laugh about the winking dog photo printed onto the door of the RV. We ride the Texas-Mexican border for hours. I know Dave is worried from his conversations with Chat GPT about safety. I know this is the kind of thing we’ll encounter during an around the world ride. It’s a good test.
The sun sets.
Alexia agreed to check into the hotel with Daiva and Dave, but at the last minute, she decides to keep riding instead.
I should’ve said something, but it doesn’t really feel like my place. I’m the rider. I’m not supposed to manage logistics. That’s Alexia’s job. She doesn’t do it.
Dave and Daiva get pulled over by border patrol. Dave’s Canadian and Daiva is originally from Lithuania, but became a US citizen over a decade ago. She has a US passport, but of course this situation is still stressful.
We have to ride I-10 for about 3 miles (5km). There’s a huge shoulder for safety, but it’s still unnerving to be that close to semi-trucks. The chicas and Dave are stressed about safety. I can empathize, but to be honest, this is also not out of the ordinary for a circumnavigation. Sometimes there aren’t any other options.
Rue is waiting in the dark with her Subaru to show us a frontage road. The stress goes away and we ride the final 15 miles to our planned hotel in Sierra Blanca. It’s awesome! We talk about Alexia’s work in TV logistics and the one time she worked on the superhero Peacemaker show with James Gunn and John Cena during the pandemic. That’s a different world!
Daiva fixes me a plate of sweet potatoes cooked in onion and bacon with a large grilled chicken sausage. It’s delicious! It tastes a bit like a sweet potato Kugelis. That woman can cook! Alexia scrapes her whole portion onto my plate.
“You gotta eat!”
Daiva scrapes her portion onto Alexia’s plate.
This crew really cares about me.
My phone keeps changing times back and forth cause we’re 2 miles from the official time zone border. It’s confusing. Dave recommends putting it on airplane mode, so I’ll wake up at the right time.
It’s another night where I have a hard time winding down. I have to know my equipment is ready for the morning– lights, Wahoo and phone are charged, kit is sorted, heart rate monitor and helmet. My respiratory rate is really elevated from breathing so much dusty air. My resting heart rate is 10 beats higher than normal. My body is just trying to cope.
The hotel walls are thin. I doze in and out of sleep.
At the hotel, Dave is right on tuning the bike. He shoulders it, spinning through gears, twisting and braking to test the headset, checking all the bolts for tightness, swapping for a new waxed chain and I don’t even know what else. He’s really excellent and efficient at what he does.
Day 4
Alarm sounds. Rue is up cooking rice and eggs. The rest of the crew sleep a few more hours, get breakfast together and find us four hours into my day at the Prada art installation on the way to Marfa. Rue wants her mom to get more sleep because she’s been up every previous morning. No one else volunteers to help Rue and we can’t ask people to go into sleep deprivation. Someone should have been sorting logistics to make sure there was some kind of morning rotation. Rue is supposed to be the photographer, but instead she’s the driver, feeder, route scouter and almost everything else. She’s been shooting photos, but never had time to edit. She’s getting less sleep than me with so much more responsibility.
Rue asks Alexia if she can practice driving the RV. The roads are open and empty. Alexia declines because she didn’t sign on the insurance because her flight was delayed coming into Tucson– logistical problems.
I leave in the dark– two hours behind schedule cause I’ve lost 2 time zones. We’ve still got to figure that out.
I’m climbing on the Interstate at sunrise and it’s gorgeous. I exit at Van Horn. It’s deserted like The Last Picture Show. This is my first extended time in Texas– the books, movies and culture are all starting to make a bit more sense: Lonesome Dove and all that.
Then, I’m on Highway 90 for the next 334 miles (538km). Whoa.
I pass a sign that says 74 miles to Marfa. Then another painted sign that says “Keep the lonely places lonely”. And there is nothing but the strip of straight road and wide open space.
And I’ll be damned, I have a light tailwind. Woohoo!
I gotta pee and it’s hot. I stop on the side of the road and strip down to my sports bra and tights, stuffing layers into my aerobar bag.
The full crew is at the Prada art installation– set up in 2005 it has that year’s designs and will never be changed. Twenty-one years later, it’s still impressive and very dusty.
I stop to put on a normal riding kit, eat a breakfast burrito, drink a Red Bull and Dave joins me on the bike.
The conversation veers towards this is boring and yeah, I could see that perspective. I’m also just in it.
Riding through Marfa is cool. The architecture and the vibe feel special. It’s a nice reprieve after passing through so many towns where the main structures are the Family Dollar or the gas station.
The wind changes direction, as it does just about every hour in Texas and I’m riding straight into a headwind. On the positive side, the terrain starts rolling up and down and I like that better.
Maghalie chases me down just outside of Alpine. Damn, she’s got some power & speed.
I passed through town when she was in line to buy me some pastries and we do a bit of a taste test down the road. The pocket cherry pie is good because it’s moist. The other two are a bit dry and we have a good laugh.
I remember saying things like, “I was just wondering why this place is called Alpine. There doesn’t seem to be anything Alpine about it. It’s gotta be over 90 degrees (32C). It makes sense that they have a bakery. Towns called Alpine always have bakeries.
She asks me, “Does this test ride make you more or less excited for the around the world ride?”
And I just have to smile.
After breathing so much dust, my lungs feel like I’ve been smoking a couple packs a day. My skin is sensitive from all the sun exposure. I’m hot and I’m riding into a headwind.
“Uhhh, I think I’m going to need a period of reflection after this ride. Right now, the commitment is to make it to ROKA headquarters in Austin in just over two more days.”
To be honest, I can’t really extend my focus past that. I’ve been getting 3-4 hours of sleep each night and my brain is getting a little foggy. We’ll have to work a bit on that. I don’t feel like I’m doing anything exceptional, but I have to keep moving forward to the best of my ability. A lot of the success of these long rides is time on the bike. If I can get 16 hours of riding at 15 miles per hour, I can cover 240 miles and I’m right on track for the around the world record. Sometimes I can ride faster and get it done in less time.
I love spending time with Maghalie. She really makes me laugh. She’s got such a positive world view and so much pep. She tells me that she rushed with Alexia to get to 7 different stores in Marfa and she tells me some cool facts about the town– an artist moved there in the 70s and started renovating the place. They filmed the movie Giant in Marfa with Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. We agree that we’d love to see it. I tell her that I passed by a sign that is a view point for the “Marfa City Lights” and figured it must be to see the stars. She agrees and says there’s something special about the sky and she’ll do some more research.
I start thinking, we really should just have one vehicle. The second vehicle seems to be only for the crew to sleep in, go shopping and spend time away from the ride. They give me extra hand-ups, but I really don’t need them. If there was only one vehicle, Rue wouldn’t have to drive and she could focus on her media work– or even better, catch up on a little sleep.
Maghalie leaves at some point. I have a stop to change layers. Rue tells me something has gone wrong and Alexia is joining me on the bike and that I should ask her about it, so I can keep moving forward.
Alexia rides with me and we talk it over. Basically, Rue and Dave had an argument.
Rue was looking ahead at the route and distance covered and considering booking a cabin for the following night 30 some miles earlier than previously planned cause I had lost a couple of hours from the time changes and she wanted to make sure I got some sleep. She asks Dave and Alexia what they think of the new plan. Dave asks if she wants his opinion.
“What happens if Lael gets behind during the real around the world ride after two weeks and you realize you’ve spent all this money and resources and she’s not going to get the record?”
Rue responds, “You can’t think like that! She’s going to get behind, she’s going to get ahead, it all depends on conditions. We didn’t account for the time changes.”
As I’m nearing Sanderson, Rue gets on the e-bike to join Alexia and me. She’s shooting photos and in between, we’re all talking.
I say I think Maghalie and Dave don’t really believe in this project cause I can tell they think it’s boring. In retrospect, I regret that judgement. It’s not for me to say and I’m sure my interpretation was addled by my reduced physical and mental state. I was probably just projecting my own insecurities.
I explain to both Alexia and Rue that I think we should just have one vehicle.
Alexia says, “What about buying groceries? What about when you fly to a new continent and you have to leave the airport? What about…?”
She’s poking holes instead of finding solutions.
At one point, I think Alexia is really brilliant at understanding human dynamics. She has such a huge heart. But when I think about this, I’m a little bummed because she did zero to help Rue. It’s like she was on vacation when she had signed up to work. The Subaru was just a recreation vehicle. You can’t break the around the world record on vibes only.
And then there’s Rue. She’s been crying. Maghalie comes into the RV to tell her that Dave feels like she disrespected him. And I can imagine the scene– Rue is my mama wolf and she won’t let anyone even hold the space of thinking I’m going to fail. Dave has a point, what if I’m off track.
I think, well, in these kinds of long rides the real deal is constantly assessing the situation and making the best decision possible considering the circumstances. That’s what we do in bikepacking. Sometimes we think we’re going to make it 200 miles and then we’re in bad weather or a head wind or we get a mechanical and we lose time and we reassess and we decide to cut the day short, to sleep early and set the alarm early and try to make it up the next day.
Dave & Alexia think we are married to the 6 day plan to Austin. It’s a plan that I scribbled out on a couple of post-it notes– just a brainstorm, not a blueprint.
I say, “Huh? The whole idea behind the test run is to see how the crew works together and how the crew can support me.”
Rue and I have had brief calls with Alexia, Maghalie and Dave before this trip to explain this, but I guess it never really sunk in. I take responsibility for not re-iterating the goals and mission of the trip, but the truth is, we’re all busy with family, work and other projects. I can’t expect the crew to take more time than I’m already requesting.
This was never designed to be a fitness test for me. Whatever gains I get out of this ride are bonus and I gotta make it to Austin.
I do what I always do when things are unsettled and people are questioning my ability. I can’t underperform. If anything, I have to overperform. I know this is not a healthy headspace, but I’m in it. I keep riding. I show the crew my Wahoo– my pace is 15.3mph. I explain that we’re off because of the time zone change. They all agree with me. Yeah, you’re right on record pace. Whatever.
Everybody except Rue stops at the motel in Sanderson to get a good night of sleep.
I ride another 30 miles to a pullout that I found on satellite view and Rue meets me there with the RV. The only problem is that it’s 11:30pm instead of 9:30pm because of the time zone change.
248 miles for the day (399km) with a ride time of 16 hours and 5 minutes and an average pace of 15.4mph (25kph). I’m right on track.
It’s our first night sleeping in the RV and it feels romantic.
I’m not going to lie, it’s a mess in there. Gear is everywhere. I’m not surprised. We’ve never done this before. My background is self-supported bikepacking. I usually have a minimal kit packed on the bike. At most, Rue and I have done some car camping trips. We packed all kinds of contingency gear in the RV cause we had no idea what we were doing– including a pillow and blankets for each member of the crew in case we all had to sleep in the RV.
I keep my riding essentials charging in my helmet. I take a shower and it feels incredible. I waste time washing & brushing my hair. Gotta get that buzzcut.
Rue’s mom made me a bowl of ravioli and chicken to go and I scarf it down. It’s delicious.
We lay in bed talking about the crew conflict. We are together and we hold each other tight. Rue didn’t want to tell me about the disagreement because she wanted me to stay focused on my ride, but, she doesn’t have anyone else to talk with, besides her mom. We’re both so exhausted we have a hard time managing our emotions and this results in more tears.
I say to Rue, “We’re so good at doing so much with so little. I’m not sure if this goal is worth changing the system. We can’t ever expect people to work as hard or care as much about our projects. Why would they?”
Rue is crying and I know it’s because she’s worried that if we don’t do this, I won’t achieve my full potential on the bike.
I’m crying right now just writing this because of how much she cares about me and my work and how hard we’ve fought to make a way of life in this deeply sexist sport.
This kind of crying is cathartic. I don’t regret any of it.
Eventually, we fall asleep.
Day 5
6am alarm. Rue is already up making me rice, eggs, avocado and hot coffee. It’s delicious as always. I never get sick of riding my bike and I never get sick of eating rice.
I take my inhalers, put on my clothes, turn on my lights and get riding.
As the sun comes up, I cry. This time, it’s about my cousin that recently committed suicide. When we were both teenagers, he got into a bad car crash, ended up in a coma for weeks and it altered his brain. I saw him last fall and everything seemed good. I know life was a struggle, but to me, he was a gentle giant with such an aptitude for kindness. I missed his funeral last week because I felt like I had to focus on this project. I cry about my sister who is living with ALS.
“a fatal neurodegenerative disease that destroys motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, causing progressive muscle weakness, paralysis, and respiratory failure, usually within 3-5 years of diagnosis”
When she got diagnosed a couple of years ago, she told me,
“I don’t have time to be depressed. I have to do what I can now.”
She threw herself into writing and sharing her story– a display of courage imprinted on my heart. Of course it’s not okay, but it’s life. We’re planning to visit her after this trip.
A couple hours later, the Subaru rolls up and Maghalie pokes her head out the window.
“Do you need anything?”
“I’m okay!” I smile.
And then I cry again because she’s wearing metal framed glasses and she looks like such a mom– full of care and concern for me, carrying such positivity and love.
And in an hour, the Subaru and the RV are parked together. I stop to use the toilet and change into bibs and a jersey and Rue is talking to me about the conflict and I say we all have to talk about this.
Awkwardly, I step out and say, “I think we have to have a team meeting.”
Alexia says, “no, no, no. Not you.”
And I say, “Yeah, I need to be here for this.”
We talk it out.
In the end, Rue takes a verbal beating. Dave says, “I know you’re not a mean person, but you attacked me for an opinion.”
And I say, “I can see how this would happen because Rue is so fiercely protective of me.”
And Rue is frayed in so many ways from lack of sleep and stress and frustration from not getting to edit her beautiful work. Nobody backs her up. They’re here for me, but they don’t understand that to be here for me, you have to be here for Rue too. I can’t fix this in the 20 minutes we take to talk. I have to keep going.
We resolve it. We all hug. I cry again. I’m hiding behind my sunglasses.
What they don’t realize is that Rue has been sacrificing herself to make sure they get extra sleep and they get a chance to ride. She’s been up every morning before me and awake past my bedtime. She’s been behind the wheel and her camera and she’s been making all of the logistical decisions to ensure that there are four beds each night and everyone’s well fed. She can’t help but worry about her Mom, the only other person that’s getting up in the mornings.
From that point on, Magahlie drives the RV and Rue gets to work. While exporting video postcards, she gets a few minutes of sleep in the back.
Maghalie is a pro– filling bottles, packing snacks without a question. She runs after me with a hand-up– both Birkenstocks come off and she’s still running forward in her socks.
A bit before Del Rio, I ride over a reservoir and all of a sudden, the air is different. I’ve ridden into a new climate. It’s humid. Hurray! So much better for my breathing.
On the bike and into the wind, the temps aren’t bad. It’s hot, but it is a little wet and the breeze makes it feel almost like light air conditioning. When I stop, I realize how hot it is.
I gotta eat. While I’m shoveling potstickers, Daiva uses the massage gun on my shoulders. Whenever I take a sip of Coke, she stops the gun. It’s really funny. For the duration, she’s made sure that every meal I eat is hot and made with love. When she gets home, she realizes she lost 2-3 kilos (about 5lbs) on the trip. She’s literally working her ass off. Rue and I are concerned, but Daiva is pumped!
Gotta go! Maghalies pour water over my head and body. She teaches me that pouring water over my wrists is the best way to cool down because of all the veins. It makes life on the bike better.
Into Texas Hill Country, the terrain starts rolling. Thank God!
Julie and Eugene find me with their Tiger RV. These two angels saved me when I had to quit the Tour Divide because of wildfire smoke last summer heading into the Great Basin. They drove me to Jackson, Wyoming, took me to the pool to take a shower, to the bike shop to get a box and to the airport to fly home.
“You don’t have to stop!”
Of course I stop to hug them. Julie asks if she can ride with me for a stretch. Alexia is with us too. Let’s go!
She tells me that the area is known for big game stud breeding– zebra, antelopes, ostriches, etc. You can tell because the fences are high. It reminds me of riding across South Africa over ten years ago in another lifetime.
Eventually, Julie gets a flat and we realize she doesn’t have tire plugs and I have absolutely nothing. Alexia says she’ll stay with her and I get back on the bike. A minute down the road, I see Eugene coming with the Tiger RV towards us. All good!
Alexia chases back up and we cruise. We’re having fun!
Getting close to sunset, Rue joins me on the e-bike and I’m in love and I’m happy. I’m riding in Texas Hill Country at the most beautiful time of day with my favorite person in the world.
She tells me she has a plan. She says I can keep riding until 9pm and then I have to get in the RV and head with her to the Airbnb to minimize sleep deprivation and make it to ROKA tomorrow by 4pm. That means, I’ll miss 45 miles of the route. The normal me would get stubborn, would get cranky, would be too rigid about the route. But this is just a test and I’m not the boss and I’m fine with the plan. I’m learning to let things go.
And that’s what we do.
The Subaru crew leaves to get dinner by themselves. I drink a protein shake and get in the back of the RV. Rue drives us to the accommodation. I don’t sleep. I just lay there with my eyes closed thinking, it can’t work like this.
It’s a winding road and takes over an hour to get to the accommodation with dozens of deer in the dark. The road is so windy and I can’t help, but think it might’ve only taken three more hours on the bike. I gotta let it go.
Later I learn that Rue and her mom were stuck on the side of the road for half an hour. Originally, they thought they had lost the RV keys and then learned that the Subaru crew took them by accident when they left for the restaurant. More stress. Daiva missed her chance to cook dinner and has to wait until we get to the Airbnb. We could avoid all of this if we just had one car. We gotta simplify.
I get out of the RV. Just one more day. I gotta make it to ROKA by 4pm. Dave, Maghalie and Alexia are there and straight into work mode– fixing the bike and washing dishes. I go take a shower and get into bed. Rue brings me a stack of veggie patties and I eat a couple. Then, I close my eyes and doze off. She comes back with a plate of potstickers. I eat one and I’m done. Time to sleep. One more day. Daiva comes in and she’s disappointed.
“You didn’t even eat.”
“I know. I’m just going to sleep.”
Even in the moment, I know I should’ve eaten the plate. Just one more day. I just have to get there.
We fall asleep talking about the day. Rue thinks this trip is a shitshow and we have to do better.
Day 6
The alarm goes off at 5:15am. Rue is already up making breakfast. Her mom is up too.
“Wear more layers than you think. It’s still cold out there.”
They’re right. I head out in an insulated jacket and tights.
Most of my route through West Texas to the middle of the state has been on chip seal, meaning I have constant vibrations coming into my hands. My bike is so forgiving, big soft tires and suspension in the stem. The aerobar position is the secret weapon.
Daiva is on grilled cheese patrol. We’re getting a rhythm. She tells me to wipe my hands after I eat. I laugh because I know I’ve been giving her the ick every meal. I’m messy, that’s me.
She’s a survivor. She grew up in Soviet Lithuania, was forced to learn Russian, became a journalist, had kids around the time the Berlin Wall fell, got out of a bad marriage and immigrated to the US to give her and her kids a better life. She spent years waiting tables because her European college degree didn’t count over here. Later in life, she went to school for massage therapy and changed her life. Life isn’t always easy. The best thing that comes out of this whole trip is Rue spending time with her mom. Since childhood, they’ve never had so many days together. They never fight. They mostly laugh. I hope they’re not bored and they tell me they’re having fun.
The Subaru crew catches up 4 hours later. Maghalie becomes the RV driver and they’re my support until I get to the outskirts of Austin.
In the rolling hills, under the beating sun, I see the Tiger RV. Eugene and Julie are back! This time, they’re both coming to ride with me. Hell yeah!
The road turns onto a highway pretty quickly and Eugene is heading back.
“Do you want to keep going?” Eugene asks Julie.
“Yeah, just a couple of miles.” She responds and she hangs in there for another 30 at least.
I really like her company.
I ask if she’s always been an athlete.
No. She has a career as a rare book librarian. She used to spend all of her free time studying dead languages– “Latin, Hebrew, etc”. She spent a year depressed and crawled out of it with exercise classes. She got a hybrid bike and she couldn’t understand why everyone kept passing her. She invested in her first nice road bike and started racing triathlons every weekend in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She loved the community. Julie trains all winter swimming in a 55F (13C) pool in a wetsuit. Sounds like an ice bath to me! This summer she’s racing the Tour Divide, self-supported from Canada to Mexico. We talk about gear. She’s got this!
Super steep descent and an equally steep climb out of a rutted road. That’s when I really feel the heat kick up and soon Eugene is there to pick up Julie. I keep going a couple of miles until I see the RV. Time for real fuel. I eat the leftover potstickers & veggie patties.
“You were right, Daiva. I should’ve eaten this last night.”
“I know.”
We laugh.
And then I enter the finishing shoot. About another three miles down the road (5km), there are three cyclists waiting for me in the shade across the traffic light.
I put away my airpods and they slide in around me. I have 41 miles to the finish and about 3 hours to get there. No stress!
Drew is in a Specialized kit. We met 7-8 years ago when I was doing one of my Mount Lemmon challenges– climbing the mountain five times in a day. He was out on a 2 year bike trip and joined for a lap. I guess I dropped him pretty quickly, but he’s back and he’s fit as a fiddle. Mid trip, he landed in Austin and stayed. Working first at a hostel and now at Specialized Austin. He’s basically my tour guide into town. He’s asking me questions and eventually I tell him I think I’m going to lose my voice cause it’s pretty raw. Then, he says, no problem and continues to tell me interesting facts about the area.
More riders join the group. They tell me we’re on a bad road. A few of the drivers honk at us and one of the chicas gives them the finger. Another is a teacher and he says he toured this route in a t-shirt on a cheap bike with a heavy trailer.
“That must’ve been tough! The grades are so steep.”
“It was, but everyone was nice to me.”
Different days hold different experiences.
And we’re cruising! One more steep climb, more people will join and then we’ll be in Austin!
And they do! We’ve got a good crew. We get off the Adventure Cycling Route and onto the ride up to ROKA Headquarters. Only 15 miles to go. Dave and Alexia get to me right before I turn off route for a hand-up water bottle. Impeccable timing!
We make a detour to avoid a technical mountain bike trail. Later I learn that this cool mom was trying to track us down– cross referencing my tracking with Drew’s Instagram posts and even buying and downloading Adventure Cycling’s Southern Tier Route to try and find us. And find us she did. Top detective work!
Drew asks if we can stop at the bridge for some photos. We’re over an hour ahead of schedule. Let’s do it!
First one of me solo, then one of the whole group, then one of me with every rider.
Drew said he promoted the ride, telling people that it’s like getting to play basketball with Michael Jordan. Ha! Definitely not, but I sure feel welcome.
We take some little trails, bike lanes and neighborhood streets up to ROKA. We have a killer tailwind blowing us to the finish. There’s major construction in front of the building. Let’s go try to find it.
And we do!
Lucy from ROKA is there getting everything ready. She made a special trip from California to meet me for the first time in person. We’ve been working together for over a year. She greets me with open arms.
It’s hot and windy and we’re all thirsty.
Lucy has catering– cold drinks, tacos, chips and fruit. It’s perfect.
I’m done!
Rue had sent a message an hour before. I wasn’t able to check it cause I was so busy talking.
“The crew made a great plan. They are going to the hotel to work on getting everything out of the RV so they can return it today so I won’t have to worry about it tomorrow. That said, we are all heading to the hotel. I don’t think I’ll beat you to ROKA but I’ll be there.”
Smart!
I’m in good hands. I’m talking with the locals and the ROKA employees and they are all full of kindness. I start feeling pretty tired, but I’m in great spirits. Lots of laughing that becomes pretty nasty coughing, but I don’t care beyond feeling a little embarrassed. I'm supposed to be an athlete, right?
Rue makes it with Alexia and Maghalie. We all hug. They give me a cold protein shake and have to get back to unpack the RV. Rue stays. We tour the facility– it’s a showroom up front and a full gym with an infinity pool in the back. They cut all of the glasses in house– both sunglasses and prescription. It’s really impressive. It’s funny, but I think about how fun it would be to lift weights here. I’m in no shape for that.
ROKA has offered glasses to anyone in my family or helping me along the way. These are the first sunglasses that Rue’s mom has ever worn that don’t hurt her nose or strain her eyes. I couldn’t agree more. I’m really grateful to be working with such a 360 degree caring company. Another perk, no more croaky for Rue that looked like a rat tail. Lol. The glasses stay on her face.
I take a shower and get dressed in a fresh ROKA t-shirt. Just about every day, I feel like I could pinch myself. I can’t believe I got to become a professional athlete. It was really a childhood dream and I never could’ve expected how it would turn out. I can’t believe people are nice to me or care about what I do. It’s always personal and it always blows me away.
Is it worth it?
Laying in the RV on night number 4 I asked Rue,
“If I break this record, will it change anything? Will people believe more in women? Will they hesitate instead of doubting the little guy? Will it lift up the culture?”
The answer is, we don’t know. We can’t even know if I could accomplish it. We don’t know if the flights would be on time, if I’d stay healthy, if I’d avoid getting hit by a car on the next go-round.
But then, there’s a chance. And there’s always a story. And we always root for the underdog. That’s sports for ya. That’s part of why we love them so much.
It’s just a bike ride.
During adolescence, testosterone levels in males increase 20–30 fold, driving significant muscle growth, skeletal changes, and deepening of the voice. In contrast, females experience a slight, plateauing rise in testosterone, resulting in levels that are up to 15 times lower than males by age 18, leading to less dramatic physical changes.
– National Institute of Health
In an around the world ride, can women even try for the overall?
Of all female athletes, Billie Jean King is the greatest example. What she did in the tennis world bettered women’s sports forever.
We still have a long way to go, but it’s so much better than it was.
And here’s the truth. We haven’t raised half the money we’d need for this ride around the world. Our plan isn’t fully fleshed out.
I don’t regret any of it. We’re not there yet, but we’re learning. I have my start date set for June 7, that’s 75 days from today. I honestly don’t know if we’ll get it together by then. I can’t know if we’re doing the right things. All I can do is put my hand over my heart, take a deep breath and tell the truth as I see it. All I can do is try as hard as I can.
Is it all worth it? A supported ride is a team sport where the results ultimately hang on my shoulders. I can only do my piece. It will take everything I have to ride under 78 days and I still might not make it. But that’s not all. Rue never had time to edit photos cause she was always driving and feeding me. I can’t imagine how frustrating that must’ve felt.
If it’s not meant for me, I’m happy for someone else to give it a shot.
I’m also happy to just spend the rest of my time trying to be good to Rue and helping her share her beautiful photography. I’m turning 40 this summer. I’ve had a really good life. I’m probably past my prime.
We take a cab to the hotel, lay in the dimly lit room talking with Rue’s mom. Somehow, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Rue does some research to make sure we get a good dinner. The Asian Fusion restaurant won’t let us have a reservation, but we can order delivery. Bingo!
It’s delicious.
The full crew sits together to eat. We share stories and we laugh.
I feel like Rue and I have been running a family business, the kind of restaurant that’s a bit rustic, but the food is fresh and it usually tastes like it was made with love. This around the world record goal is the equivalent to the two of us going after a Michelin star. It’s expensive and has to be precise. It’ll nearly kill us to achieve and we can’t do it by ourselves. And we still might not get it.
My background is in bikepacking. My strengths are improvising and doing the best with what I have. I'm a run-and-gun; a scribble instead of a spreadsheet. We're facing tight margins. I love a good challenge.
In the morning, we’re all flying out except Rue. She has a 13 hour drive, a direct route home.
I take a cab to the airport with Daiva. In line for security, I realize I don’t have my photo ID. I explain that I rode here, they verify my passport through TSA security and let me through– talk about white American privilege. The plane is delayed because they’re missing some small piece. I’m bound to miss my connection in Denver. I’m just trying to get back quickly to spend time with my brother who’s visiting from Alaska. Then, the pilot comes out. They’ve found the small piece. We’ll take off in 15 minutes.
We land. The next flight is scheduled to take off in 10 minutes. Boarding must be closed, but I run to the gate in my sandals anyway. I have to try. There are two women at the gate.
“Am I too late?”
“No, you’re fine! We’ve been waiting for you.”
I rush onto the plane. The flight attendant pats my shoulder and says they had a notice to wait just for me. Would I like something to drink? I chug the glass of water she hands me. I could cry. Instead, I find my seat.
My Dad, mom and brother pick me up from the airport at noon. It’s over 100 degrees (38C). We go straight to their condo pool and we’re together and everything is good.
I sleep through the whole afternoon. I wake up in the night and I know Rue is coming. I sit in the dark in front of the house. At 9:20pm, she makes it home. She drove straight through, taking a single break for a hot dog at a gas station.
We’re together and everything is good. I couldn’t ask for anything else from this life, but I’ll keep going.
I know there’s a lot to criticize here. You’re right, I should probably stop flying. I should probably stop in general. Maybe I will. We’re taking some time to process the trip. It feels good.
Looking at options, we might have to postpone until the summer of 2027. It’s not what I want to do, but it might be the only way forward. We’ll keep working.
Thanks to Rue, thanks to the crew, thanks to Rue’s mom, thanks to everyone that came out to ride with me, thanks to everyone reading this story. Your support really matters. We’re sensitive and we’re doing our best.