Alicia Searvogel ready to challenge the women’s Highest Annual Mileage Record: reports

The couple that challenges together stays together, especially in the cycling world—and that appears to be very much the case with U.S. power couple Alicia and Kurt Searvogel, the latter having made history last month by cycling a record-breaking distance in a single year and setting the Highest Annual Mileage Record.

Now it’s Alicia’s turn, she says.

As Canadian Cycling Magazine reported in January, Kurt “Tarzan” Searvogel earned a prestigious place in cycling history—and in the Guinness Book of World Records—by riding 76,076 miles in the course of 12 months, or 122,432 kilometres. His ride shattered Tommy Godwin’s near-80 year old record of 75,075 miles set in 1939, long presumed to be unbreakable. On the women’s side, meanwhile, Billie Fleming of Great Britain set the currently standing record of 29,603.7 miles a year earlier in 1938.

It’s that record that Alicia Searvogel, who married her husband in October, 2015 while his record-breaking ride was underway, wants to break. On Feb. 19, she made her intentions known and official by posting a Facebook photo of her registration form for the Highest Annual Mileage Record.

Before they were married, of course, Alicia was Kurt’s crew chief during his own attempt, which gave her a unique understanding of what’s required in challenging such a lofty, seemingly unbreakable record. Like her husband, she plans to diversify her gear, for example, using both standard and recumbent bikes. More than anything, though, what she shares with her husband—something that fostered the evolution of their relationship—is her dedication to endurance riding, a discipline she prefers to more competitive cycling.

“I’ve been active my whole life,” she wrote on Facebook. “Those who know me personally know that I’m not into competing. I’m not a racer, yet I am a decent athlete. I’ve always felt it was more important to others to win. I love cycling and I am drawn to ultra-cycling.”

Taking to the saddle in challenging Fleming’s record, she said, is also the realization of a longstanding ambition. “A century a day for a year,” she said, “is something I’ve been entertaining for some time. After spending a record breaking year with Kurt and understanding how it can be done, this is my chance. If I can do it, it might as well count, right!”

Swedish-born rider Kasha Tylen will also make an attempt at breaking Fleming’s 1938 record.