American rider Amanda Coker has successfully set a new women’s Annual Cycling Mileage Record.
Coker began her challenge on May 15, and after 130 days of riding had managed 29,774 miles – beating the 1938 record of 29,603.7 set by Billie Flemming.
Coker is of course still riding – and she’s aiming to smash the record to keep it standing for as long as possible. The 24-year-old’s story to the start line has been far from plain sailing, too.
Back in 2011, Coker was knocked off her bike whilst out cycling with her Dad. Suffering brain and spinal injury, she also suffered with a broken leg. After months and years of painful rehabilitation, she’s back in the saddle as a long distance cycling queen.
Strategically choosing her course, Coker has been cycling loops of Flatwoods, near Tampa Florida. With roughly 12 hours per day in the saddle, the World Record breaker is able to clock up over 200 miles per day. She has been uploading her daily rides to her Strava account and posting a daily log on Facebook.
Whilst Coker is riding double centuries, she’s also encouraging others to cycle alongside her – joining the ‘100 club’ and sharing pictures on her Facebook page.
The USA athlete is not the only woman attempting to beat the record this year. We’ve been following the incredible miles that Kajsa Tylen has been pedalling in order to beat Billie Fleming’s 1938 world record, too. Tylen set out on January 1st to break the 77 year old record, she’s currently clocked up just over 23,000 miles.
As well as completing her own ride, Tylen is encouraging other women to complete their own ‘Sweat Pledges’ and push through the boundaries they’ve set on their own abilities. In doing so, she’s inspired many women to achieve things they thought they couldn’t. This refreshing attitude meant Tylen got a huge number of nominations in the TWC Awards category ‘Unsung Heroine’ and she collected the award on Friday.
Kajsa Tylen is also attempting to break the same World Record, but with 3 months to go, can she beat Coker?
If Coker maintains her current daily mileage, she’ll obliterate the World Record and no doubt set a new one that will withstand the test of time. Both these cyclists are pushing the boundaries of their limitations to achieve a feat of strength that not many can compare to.
You may also enjoy:
