“I’m having such a good day” – Lael Wilcox rides 282 miles on day one of her world record attempt. More than 17,000 miles to go…

Lael Wilcox has started her round-the-world record attempt, riding 282 miles (454km) on day one.

Wilcox holds the women’s world record for circumnavigating the globe by bike, covering 29,169km (18,125 miles) in 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes in 2024, beating Jenny Graham’s previous record of 124 days.

Now Wilcox has her sights set on breaking Mark Beaumont’s overall record of 78 days, 14 hours and 40 minutes, established in 2017.

Wilcox set out from Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, Illinois, at 4am on Sunday (June 7) and plans to finish before 6.40pm on August 24.

She’s planning to average 231 miles (372km) per day across the whole journey, but will aim to cover 240 miles (386km) for each day on the bike, to account for transfers. She’s riding with the backing of a support crew (an…