Lael Wilcox
The 29-year-old is competing in the solo category in the 4,400-mile Trans Am Bike Race, but she isn’t alone.
She’s in the lead group of three riders with 1,000 miles to go.
Wilcox is one of nine women among the 63 riders in the solo category of the cross-country race from Astoria, Oregon, to Yorktown, Virginia.
She is part of the lead pack that includes Steffen Streich and Evan Deutsch.
This completely self-supported race has traditionally been dominated by men, with a woman taking it on every now and then.
This year is different. Not only is there a ton of women in the solo field, there is a ton of talent, most notably from Alaska.
Wilcox, of East High fame, is somewhat of a celebrity in the world of endurance bike racing after breaking the women’s record in the 2,745-mile Tour Divide by a few days.
In the last seven years, she has logged more than 100,000 miles on her bike.
She has pedaled from Anchorage to Alberta, Maine to Florida and Canada to Mexico.
Wilcox owns a driver’s license but never gets behind the wheel.
“I don’t know how to drive,” she told me in the past.
She’s driving her sport instead.