Three hours’ sleep a night and the odd McDonald’s – it’s amazing what you can get away with during a record-breaking endurance feat on the bike. It worked for new seven-day mileage Guinness World Record holder Josh Quigley though. He was indeed sleep-deprived and, yes, his crew even popped to the Golden Arches for him as he rode to an impressive 2,179 miles in a week last month.
Riding a 65-mile out-and-back course between Peterculter and Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Quigley averaged 311 miles a day on the bike, riding from around 4am till midnight and sometimes later, averaging around 16mph. He beat the previous record, held by Australian Jack Thomson, by 2.66 miles, also becoming the youngest rider to have held the record, at 29 years old.
After seven days and hundreds of hours of riding, it was a small margin to finish with, but after attempting the record back in April and having to pull out near the end due to a knee injury, Quigley simply wanted the record beaten – by how much was immaterial, he says.
“Going into this thing, if you’d said, ‘The record’s 2,177, I’ll offer you 2,178 right now,’ I’d have absolutely took that off you. I didn’t care if I beat it by 10 miles, 100 miles, 50 miles, I just wanted to beat it. All I wanted to do was beat it because of what happened the first time.”
As someone who was not only a non-cyclist seven years ago but had just attempted suicide after struggling with depression, Josh Quigley has come a hell of a long way (see box).
Denne historien er fra October 14, 2021-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 14, 2021-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
"We tore around the Sydney suburbs at 60kph in a terrifying, feral pack"
Fast, furious and furry tales from Australia
RIDDEN AND REVIEWED BROMPTON G LINE £2,499
A Brompton for running riot in both town and country
How do different gravel conditions impact your tyre choice?
There are a myriad of tyres on the market but selecting the right one is easier than you think
FEAST OF SWEDEN
Soon after landing in Gothenburg, I began to realise how little I knew about Sweden.
THE WORLD'S GREATEST GRAVEL EVENTS
Globe-trotting gravel racer Joe Laverick chooses his eight favourite events, from coastal Wales to the wilds of Kenya
THE CALL OF THE WILD
Tempted to embark on a long-distance bike adventure? Let former round-the-world record holder and author Julian Sayarer inspire you to strike out and hit the road
Saint Piran accused of using non-UCI legal bikes
Cornish team also alleged to owe former staff tens of thousands of pounds
JOE LAVERICK GETTING INTO THE FEED ZONE
I've ridden through hundreds of feed zones in my time racing a bike.
Lowden not ready to stop after retirement
Former Hour record holder eyes UK time trial scene
Pogačar makes history (again) at Lombardia
Slovenian makes it four in a row at the late-season Italian Monument