People quit on the route all the time.
I mean, I can see why, it's really tough.
If I complete it with the focus I have, I will probably break the record.
Last year, the men's record is 7 days, and the women's record is 14. That's twice as
long. There's some room there. It's almost not even considered a race.
It's not a sanctioned event. It's a gentleman's agreement to show up, ride your hardest, 750
miles to the end. The trail's the Arizona Trail, and it crosses
the state from the Utah border to the Mexican border. It goes through pine forests, and
eventually you end up in the desert, go through the Grand Canyon. It's all different climates.
It just became a National Scenic Trail in 2011, so it's really pretty new. I think only
four women have completed it. This style of bike packing a race is self-supported.
That means you can't receive anything from any individuals you know, or people even that
just come and meet you on the route. If you're bike breaks down in the middle of the trail,
you have to be able to try to fix it. I carry some spare equipment, and then enough food
and water, and a shelter, to take care of myself.
No knife. No sunscreen Why no sunscreen?
I never wear sunscreen. It's bad. I'm carrying an insulated bivy, so it's plastic.
It's probably about 12 ounces. Isn't that just like a trash bag?
Basically, but it's a hearty trash bag. That's not touching anything.
33. It's really good.
It's pretty good. It's the same as your Tour Divide bike.
Nick helps me with all my racing. He takes care of everything. He helps me with navigation.
He sets up all my equipment. We're not going to be using that seat in there,
so ... For the past 7 years, we've been travelling
about 6 months on a bicycle, and then working for about 6 months. It's kind of like a feral
existence. I started racing this past April. We were
riding a route in Israel called the Holy Land Challenge. It was an 850 mile mountain bike/backpacking
race. Everybody thought kind of thought I was a joke. I was wearing tennis shoes and
spandex shorts, and I went out the first day, and by the end of the first day I was 25 miles
ahead of the next guy. After that, I figured that I'm going to fly
back to Alaska, and in a week I'm going to get a new bike and I'm going to ride from
Anchorage to Banff in a month, to the start of the Tour Divide, the race.
All right, Lael, you routinely competed in one, The Tour Divide, a 2,700 mile bike race
from Alberta to New Mexico. Can you talk a little bit about the sense of accomplishment
that you must feel after doing something so grand?
It was fantastic. I broke the women's record by two days.
Do you wish you were going out to ride right now?
Not really. You want to race? You want to race?
Okay, so I get advantages, all of the muffins. There's not enough muffins for the both of
us to race to Mexico. What time we got?
5:24. You want a good even number, or you want to
go? Let's go.
Okay. You set the clock. You decide when you're
going to start, and then you record the time when you finish. In this race there's no entry
fee and there's no prize to win. It's just about being out there and riding fast.
I feel the most relaxed when I'm moving, and when I'm doing things. I kind of get anxious
if I'm not. Have you ever done 10 day meditation courses?
No. I've thought about it, but that's a lot of sitting.
I'm out here to try to set a fast time. I want to do the best. I'm not just out there
just to be out there. Basically, I just look like a crazy person, racing around, buying
a bunch of junk food and taking off on my bike.
Lots of peanut butter, cookies, bars, chips. I'm packing my bike on my back, because I'm
not allowed to ride it through the Grand Canyon. It's about 5:00, and I'm in the Grand Canyon,
just leaving Cottonwood. I feel great. The more time I spend alone, the more I feel
comfortable being alone. It's a pretty quiet camping [inaudible 00:05:08].
The second day, I was on my way to Flagstaff, and I was feeling great, but I started hearing
my voice wheezing as I was breathing. Progressively, through the afternoon, my throat just kind
of closed up. I rode like crazy mad, and I am at Snow Bowl,
up at 9,000 feet, descending to Flagstaff. Felt really, really good, but unfortunately,
I'm starting to get really sick. I'm really having a hard time breathing, so I'm just
going to put all my clothes on and get into my bivy.
I want to try fast. I'm not riding fast. I'm calling it. That's it.
The racing's just a sport. Our lifestyle is on a bike, travelling, seeing things, doing
things. The racing isn't that. You just fast forward through a trail.
I took it on because it was a huge challenge, and pretty exciting, and that's why I take
on any challenge, because it's something that I can't predict.
I mean cause some level of shame, and some level of maturity, and some level of looking
forward, which is what I'm doing now.
Yes, I'm going to race again. I'm racing the Trans Am next June, and I'm really looking
forward to it. I think it'll be a bad ass race, and I think it's a classic, racing across
America.