Just when you thought ultra-endurance racer Lael Wilcox couldn’t go any further, any faster, she manages to surprise you. On Sunday, the Tour Divide winner set off on a new adventure: an 18,000-mile journey around the world by bike. Her trip kicked off in Chicago, Illinois, and her goal is to complete the trip in 110 days.

Two days in, she’s already covered 525 miles, riding through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, heading towards Pennsylvania. “The first day, I rode into a headwind with dark skies and thunderstorms — a lot of rain, but it wasn’t too cold. Since then, the weather has been perfect,” she shared on Instagram.

“The ride has just felt like a celebration. People are coming out to meet me and telling me that I’m riding right by their house. This ride feels special — I’m riding through people’s lives.”

Wilcox’s goal is to ride the 18,000 miles—the distance required to set the official record—in 110 days. First, she’ll head to Newark, NJ, then fly to Portugal to roll across Europe to Tbilisi, Georgia. From there, she’ll head to Australia and New Zealand before returning to the US by way of Anchorage, riding south to Los Angeles, then back over to Chicago. Obviously, this trip doesn’t actually go ‘around the world’ but covers a good chunk of it. And to set the official record, Guinness simply demands a route of 18,000 miles that is done continuously and in one direction. You can follow along on the live tracker here and scope the entire route.

What is her ride for this challenge? A Specialized Roubaix road bike kitted out by SRAM with front and rear storage and (gasp) no chamois. That’s right, Wilcox eschews the padded bike shorts that most riders would consider a non-negotiable. “Yes, I’m still shammy-free. I’ve just never had problems, but I’ll tell you after it,” Wilcox told Cycling Weekly.

While she doesn’t get into her sartorial choices in this video, you can see exactly how she’s set up her bike for performance, efficiency and comfort:

Wilcox isn’t the first woman to attempt this feat, by the way: She’s going for the official women’s World Record for Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Bicycle in the Guinness Book of World Records, which currently stands at just over 124 days. It was set in 2018 by Jenny Graham after being set originally in 2012 by ultra-endurance racer Juliana Buhring.

But women have been making this attempt long before Guinness made it official and set the rules. Annie Londonderry (not her actual name; she was paid by a sponsor to use their brand as her last name for the adventure) made the first women’s around-the-world cycling attempt in 1894. Yes, you read that right. 1894. (That said, much of her journey was done via ship, and her actual mileage remains a bit questionable, but still. Impressive.)

If Wilcox is on record pace, she’ll finish around September 12, 2024. To do that, she’ll need to ride over 160 miles per day—and so far, she’s comfortably ahead of that pace. Stay tuned to her Instagram and the live tracker to keep track of her progress for the next three months!