It was just a brief moment in time and a picture that didn’t look out of the ordinary; a lone woman in a high-vis vest cycling through Shepparton.
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There was no plastering of sponsorship logos, no support vehicle flashing hazard lights to signal that perhaps this moment in time wasn’t just any ordinary Sunday training ride.
Lael Wilcox’s bike, to the untrained eye, didn’t look too different to any of the hundreds of cyclists’ bikes you see riding around the Goulburn Valley any given weekend.
But that beast — and the one in its saddle — had just the day before reached the halfway point of their world record-breaking attempt journey around the globe.
On Sunday — day 57 of her trek — when Wilcox passed through Shepparton for the first time ever, and what might possibly be the only time ever, she had set out from Lancefield just after 7am, heading towards Jerilderie, around 296km away.
It was a slightly higher-than-average daily distance for her, usually chewing up somewhere between 260 and 290km of road. Still, when The News spoke to her in Welsford St mid-afternoon about halfway through Sunday’s ride distance, she was going strong.
“I’ve got a good start, I’m about halfway,” Wilcox said.
“The past couple of days have been so stormy, so it’s much nicer weather today.”
When she set out for her epic 29,000km ride from Chicago in May, it was summer and the daylight hours were longer.
She rode more than 1800km in the United States and then around 7750km in Europe on long, warm and sunny days before landing in Perth to start the 9489km Australian leg of her journey.
She must continue riding long after nightfall each day in order to keep pushing the kilometres behind her and stay on track to achieve her 110-day goal.
“I was used to this really warm weather and then I got here and it was cold and dark,” Wilcox said.
“Just rain and wind and especially when it’s dark, it’s a pretty wild feeling.”
Despite the less-than-favourable weather, she said many local cyclists had joined her on Saturday as she rode between Terang and Lancefield.
On Sunday, she passed through Mooroopna and Shepparton solo, but said a few cyclists had braved the cold and ridden alongside her until about 10 or 15km before that. Other fans across Australia had stood waiting on roadsides at all hours of night and day to capture a glimpse of her and give her a cheer or wave as she passed through their towns.
The only constant support she has with her on her circumnavigation of the globe is her wife, Rugile (Rue) Kaladyte, a photographer and videographer, who is capturing the expedition to make a feature-length documentary about it when it’s over.
She travels ahead of Wilcox throughout her daily rides. The couple hadn’t seen each other since they set out on Sunday morning and Wilcox said she was somewhere ahead in a hire car; no doubt setting up for another epic photo of Wilcox riding through the Australian landscape.
“I’m so grateful she’s willing to do this trip, you know, it’s such a long one, but she’s really loved it too and she loves taking photos,” Wilcox said.
“And Australia’s incredible, what a massive place.”
It’s Wilcox’s first time in the country and she said she would absolutely be back in future.
“But maybe in a different season,” she said, laughing her hearty, whole-consuming laugh that followers have come to know as her trademark, along with the beaming smile that gives no hint of any pain or burnout she might be suffering undertaking such a feat.
She said her body was holding up well for the most part.
“I mean, sometimes my knees get a little bit sore, but I can’t believe I can actually ride this much,” she said, surprised even by her own efforts.
“It seems almost impossible.
“But after a bit of sleep, ah, it’s okay.”
At 2pm, she hadn’t yet stopped for lunch, but said people had come out to gift her all sorts of pastries, which she’d stashed in her pack and nibbled at while riding.
Unsurprisingly, Wilcox gets a big appetite with the energy she expends.
“It’s just so much eating,” she said
“But the food’s good in Australia, when I find places; there’s some pretty long stretches between them.”
She said she knew Australia was big, but was in awe of how much open space there was.
“It’s been really a fun, fun trip. Meeting people from all over the world’s been amazing, people are so positive,” Wilcox said.
“Australians are so positive too, so encouraging. It’s been really nice, there’s good people here.”
With that, she was off, heading towards the NSW outback before crossing another border into Queensland. There, she will depart Australia and head to New Zealand for the leg of her trip furthest away from her starting point.
Senior journalist