Q&A with Ultra Endurance Athlete Lael Wilcox

Q&A with Ultra Endurance Athlete Lael Wilcox

In this blog we get to talk with Lael Wilcox, an ultra-endurance athlete who is known for winning the 2016 Trans Am race 4,200 miles long, and the Tour Divide 2,745 miles long. She also set the fastest known time in 2017 on the Baja Divide, a 1,700-mile route through Baja, California. 

Recently Lael has been collaborating with Bikepacking.com and Conservation International, to establish a 500km dirt route around Bogota, Colombia to bring awareness to the Paramos, a plant that captures moisture and provides all of the drinking water to Bogota, a city of 8 million people.

Lael puts in thousands of miles every year training and riding but still finds time to run a non-profit in Alaska called GRIT (Girls Riding Into Tomorrow). GRIT is a six week after school program led by local female mentors. The program is designed to get more 7th to 8th-grade girls on bikes and provide the skills they will need to ride. 

Lael’s passion for cycling and community make her a perfect fit as a sponsored Wheels Manufacturing athlete. Lael has put Wheels Manufacturing products to the test on her ultra-endurance adventures and we appreciate her taking the time to answer a few of our questions.

Q. Tell us a little bit about yourself. (i.e. Where did you grow up, favorite sport(s) What gets you excited?)

A. I grew up in Anchorage, the biggest city in Alaska, and twice the size of Texas. Half of the population of Alaska lives in Anchorage and it’s the hub for most activities. I loved sports as a kid. I ran my first 10K with my Dad when I was six. I started playing basketball when I was seven and soccer when I was eight. I still love everything active.

Q. How did you get into cycling?

A. I learned how to ride as a kid, but never saw cycling as a sport. 

I started riding in earnest when I was 20 to get to and from work in a brewery in Tacoma, Washington where I was going to college at the University of Puget Sound. I’ve never owned a car or learned to drive. I used to walk or run everywhere. My job was 4 miles away in each direction-- too far to walk in a timely manner. I borrowed a bike to get to and from work. I started riding it all over town.

My boyfriend at the time (Nick) bought me a Raleigh Rush Hour, a $500 single-speed/fixed gear with a flip-flop hub and the nicest bike I’d ever ridden. That spring in 2008, we rode from school in Tacoma to visit my sister in Seattle. The initial inspiration was that we didn’t have bus fare ($2.50) to make the trip, but it also seemed like an exciting challenge. We didn’t have smartphones or navigation. We printed directions from Mapquest at the library and followed them. It was a 45-mile ride, definitely the farthest I’d ever ridden. During this ride I realized, if we could ride city to city, we could ride across the country. I’d never heard of bike touring or of long-distance bike travel, but I could imagine spending every day on my bike, not knowing where I’d sleep. It sounded like an adventure and a great way to see the country. I wanted to start as soon as I could. I graduated college in the spring of 2008, went back to Alaska for the summer to wait tables in a cafe near Denali National Park, saved money, and set out that October. We started the trip in Portland, Maine, rode up to Montreal, Canada, and south to Key West, Florida, about 2,500 miles in two months.

For the next seven years, we followed a pattern of working half of the year in restaurants and bike shops to save money to travel for the other half of the year-- riding in the US, Europe, Mexico, South Africa, the Middle East. Within two years, we transitioned from road to almost entirely gravel and trail. We found that dirt riding led to more remote, peaceful, and beautiful places. We changed our packing strategy from racks and panniers to soft attachment bikepacking bags. My first mountain bike ride was the first half of the Colorado Trail, a hiking trail from Denver to Durango. I was in way over my head. It was really hard and I spent a lot of time pushing my bike. I learned a lot too.

Q. What inspires you to do endurance races? 

A. I started racing endurance because I was curious to see what would happen. It seemed like so much unknown-- I didn’t even know if I’d be able to complete the distances, or what would happen twenty hours into a race.

My first experience was a 400-mile supported road race in Alaska in the summer of 2014 called the Fireweed 400. I borrowed my mom’s carbon road bike. My best friend drove her Jeep as my support crew. We had no idea what we were doing, but it was incredible to be out there. I ended up finishing in 27 hours-- second overall and 12 minutes behind a guy on a recumbent. 

In the spring of 2015, I entered my first bikepacking race while riding in Israel. It was an 850-mile self-supported mountain bike race called the Holyland Challenge. I rode my touring bike, an 8-speed steel hardtail with platform pedals and friction shifting. I was the only woman. At the start line, one of the guys asked if I was going to make it through the first day. By the end of that day, I was in the lead by 25 miles. I slept for three hours on the side of the road, got up, and kept moving. I was having so much fun.

Since 2015, it’s been a mix of racing and touring, helping to design bikepacking routes, and working on projects to encourage more people (especially girls and women) to ride. I’ve been a fully sponsored rider for the past two years and I’m really grateful-- this gives me more time to follow my dreams of racing, riding, and working on community projects. For the past four years, I’ve run a girls cycling mentorship program in Alaska for 12-13-year-old low-income students called Anchorage GRIT. I’ve hosted a couple of women’s scholarships to provide all of the equipment for a woman to complete an adventure ride, first in Mexico on the Baja Divide and second a 1,000 miles in Alaska. I’m planning on releasing two more scholarships this October for a new route in Colombia. I also guide endurance gravel camps with The Cyclist’s Menu in Southern Arizona. 

I love endurance racing, but feel like a diverse schedule of events, rides, and community programs keep me inspired and motivated. Cycling can take so many different forms and weave into our lives in so many different ways. It’s adventure and competition and community. It’s transportation and a vehicle to explore the world and breathe fresh air. I love all of these aspects and sharing them with others.

Q. What races do you have planned for 2020-2021?

A.So much has changed in the past six weeks. At this point, I'm extremely grateful that I still get to spend time outside every day and I'm really excited about my new summer plan. I'm flying home to Alaska on Saturday to follow up on a project from 2017 when I rode all of the roads in Alaska, a total of 4,500 miles. This time, our aim is to document these roads and put together a video to share the experience.

We'll ride re-ride some of my favorite stretches and I hope to ride some new island roads on Kodiak and Prince of Wales. I'm fourth-generation Alaskan and this was my effort to get to know my home state and connect the dots. By sheer size, Alaska is huge (more than twice the size of Texas), but the road system is very limited.

The highways are literally numbered 1-11, about 2/3 paved and 1/3 gravel. I initially got into endurance riding in 2014 by riding from home in Anchorage as far as I could on my days off from work at a restaurant. I was an avid runner, but due to an Achilles injury, I couldn't run. Long-distance riding became my outlet. I'd borrow my mom's road bike and aim for different communities-- first Seward, then over Hatcher Pass, then home from Fairbanks, then out to Homer in a day. I started getting interested in looking at maps. Where could I go? That's when I realized the limits of the road system and the vastness of the state.

I set a goal that someday I would ride all of the roads in Alaska. I spent the next few years traveling and racing-- setting a women's record on the Tour Divide, winning the Trans Am, helping to design and publish the Baja Divide. In the spring of 2017, I realized I had an open summer. It was the perfect time to pursue the Alaska roads project. I bit it off in chunks. My first ride was 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Deadhorse, on the North Slope in late June. Daylight was endless. I could ride through the night. I was easily averaging 150 miles a day and meeting new people in different communities along the way. It was one of the most fun things I'd ever done. I'd go out to ride for a week or two and come back to The Bicycle Shop to work and save money to fund the trip. The owner of The Bicycle Shop is the oldest bike shop in Alaska. The owner, Mike Shupe, is in his 70s and still bike commutes to work every day, seven days a week. As an old-time Alaskan, he was really excited about my project. We hung a big map of Alaska in the shop and he gave me the leniency to work and ride on my own schedule. This was incredible support! I'm thrilled to go back and revisit this project and share it.

Q. Tell us about the most challenging race you ever did and what made it so challenging.

A. I rode a time trial on the first 300 miles of the Arizona Trail last spring. It took me 51 hours without sleep-- probably the most physical effort I’ve ever accomplished.

In the summer of 2016, I won the Trans Am Bike Race, a 4,200-mile road race from Oregon to Virginia. We started in early June and there was a heatwave across the entire country. Most days were above 100F. I finished in 18 days and ten minutes, averaging 237 miles per day. That was definitely the most mental ride. It was just so long and so hot.

I rode a time trial on the Baja Divide in 2017, a 1,500-mile mountain bike ride down the Baja Peninsula in Mexico in 11 ½ days. This was definitely my most painful ride. I think I chose the wrong equipment-- I should’ve ridden full suspension and had easier gearing. I also didn’t bring a sleeping bag or sleeping pad and woke up shivering with cold most of the nights. I kind of want to go back and do it again, just to have a better experience.

Despite the hardship that I experience during these rides, there is so much beauty too. Seeing all of the sunrises and sunsets and sharing space with wild animals is so special. I really feel like I run the full spectrum of emotions and physical capacity and for the most part, I really enjoy myself. There will always be hard moments, but they definitely don’t dominate my experience.

Q. What is your favorite trail food?

A. The longer the ride, the more I rely on real food. It’s different in every country. In France, during the French Divide, I ate mostly croissants. In Mexico, I ate mostly little burritos-- sometimes I’d buy ten at a time. In Colombia, I ate empanadas and arepas. It’s hard to beat a good pastry. For the Trans Am, I drank a lot of chocolate milk. In Kyrgyzstan, I was just happy to find Snickers bars. It was pretty hard to find food there.

Q. Would you rather encounter a grizzly bear or a swarm of mosquitoes on a ride?

A. I’d rather see a grizzly bear from a distance. I’ve seen lots of bears while riding in Alaska and through Canada. I feel really fortunate that I’ve never had any problems with them.

Q. What is your favorite piece of bike gear?

A. Right now, a good suspension fork and Hope brakes. I recently came back from a five-week trip in Colombia to establish a new route with Conservation International and Bikepacking.com. The route is 262 miles with 36,000 feet of climbing-- the terrain in Colombia is incredibly steep and quite rough. Good brakes and suspension made a world of difference for both my comfort and safety.

Q. What bike will you be riding this year?

A. For the Alaska Roads project, I'll be on a Specialized Diverge. It's a gravel bike suited to the mix of dirt and pavement. I rode the first model of this bike for the project in 2017. It's a great bike. The rest is pretty up in the air-- I'd love to make another attempt on the Tour Divide record (on my drop bar Specialized Epic Hardtail) and on the Arizona Trail (on the new Specialized Epic Evo)-- but it all depends on the freedom to ride across the Canada-US border for the Tour Divide and through the Grand Canyon for the Arizona Trail-- we'll just see what happens. I'm just happy to be pedaling and I'm always dreaming of possibilities. 

Q. Tell us about your Wheels Manufacturing components and how they have been working out for you.

A. Last fall, a friend helped me install Wheels Manufacturing bottom brackets on both my hardtail and full-suspension bikes. They have been exceptionally durable and reliable. I also always carry a spare Wheels Manufacturing derailleur hanger, just in case. On a ride in Macedonia a few years back, I broke a derailleur hanger riding through mud. It’s essential to carry a spare as there are so many different kinds. In addition, the folks at Wheels have been super helpful with technical support. I’m not a great bike mechanic and often struggle to figure out compatibility for parts. Having a knowledgeable mechanic break it down for me has been really great. 

Q. If you could change one thing in the world what would that be?

A. Something I work really hard on is providing encouragement and hope. I hate the idea of people feeling like they’re not capable of accomplishing (or attempting) goals-- that they’re not strong enough or good enough to take on a big challenge. I don’t have solutions for social justice or the disparity of wealth between rich and poor, but really want people to feel a level of positive self-esteem.

Q. What projects have you been working on lately?

A. In January and February, Rue and I spent five weeks in Colombia for a project with Conservation International and Bikepacking.com. The main idea was to establish a week-long bikepacking loop starting and ending in Bogota (the capital) to highlight conservation corridors. Bogota is a city of 8 million with a clean and natural water source. Eighty percent of its water comes from the Paramos, a high altitude cloud forest that captures water from the air that is filtered through vegetation and fills reservoirs. By establishing a bikepacking loop, Conservation International is providing a sustainable way to learn about this land and foster positive relationships and ecotourism between locals and riders. Over a couple of weeks, with two different teams from CI and Bikepacking.com, we scouted the full loop. I went back at the end of February to ride the route as fast as I could-- 39 hours for 262 miles with 36,000’ of climbing. Rue documented the project and rides with video and stills. A 45-minute video, the route, guides, and a couple of scholarships for the route will be released in October.  

This was my first time in South America and I had a fantastic time. Colombia has the largest and most enthusiastic cycling community I’ve ever seen. We’ll premiere the video in Bogota in early October and plan to go back in January or February 2021 to host a group start on the new route. It will not be a race, but more of a social event where people will start together and continue to ride the route at whatever pace they choose in a self-supported fashion. The intention is to encourage more locals to try bikepacking in a safe, community setting.

 I am also going into my fourth season of Anchorage GRIT, my middle school girls cycling mentorship program in Alaska. Each year, with the help of other local female mentors, I work with 15 new 7th grade girls (12-13 years old). We ride together for six weeks (mid-April to late May) and work on skills to prepare for a 60 mile, 3-day adventure ride from their school in East Anchorage to the wilderness. Girls from previous years come back as student mentors. Due to Coronavirus concerns and travel limitations, we’ll have to modify the program this year-- our current idea is to have one on one or two on two adult to student mentorship this year until we’re able to meet as a larger group. The main idea is to get girls active and outside and we’ll try to do that in whatever responsible capacity that we can.

Q. Any new videos in the works?

A. Yes, Rue is currently working on a ten-minute video about last year’s Anchorage GRIT program that will be published on PEARL iZUMi’s YouTube channel in early April. She has footage from all three years and you can visibly see the girls grow up.

In addition, Rue’s video about our Colombia route building project with Conservation International and Bikepacking.com that will be released online in October. I’m very grateful and proud to say that Wahoo, PEARL iZUMi, Komoot, and Wheels Manufacturing are our partners for this video. It’s going to be a great story!

Q. Favorite type of bike ride (Gravel, Road, Mountain), and why?

A.  I love variety, but if I had to pick one, I’d go with gravel. I love dirt road riding for the places it takes you. It’s generally quiet with little traffic in beautiful places. I especially love riding dirt mountain passes-- so many views and so much change. The riding is a little technical but also gives me the opportunity to space out mentally, go through my thoughts, and look around.

Photo credit - Rue Kaladyte