This article is written by Ashleigh Myles. She is the Guinness World Record holder for cycling the Pan-American Highway.
On a hike with my partner, in August 2023, I was thinking out loud about some long rides I
wanted to do: Around the world? Across Canada? Nah, I wouldn’t want to race around the
world, and I’ve crossed Canada already. But, what about the Pan-American Highway? The
longest road in the world.
We got home a few days later and I immediately looked up any records on Guinness World Records and World Ultra Cycling Association (WUCA), scoured the internet and found nothing. I applied to Guinness, and four months later received an email saying my application had been approved.
Woah. OK. Here we go.
It’s easy to have a big idea, but it’s even harder to say it out loud, and then almost unnatural to follow up making plans to make it happen. When deciding to set an ultra cycling world record, there is no how-to book - except for the WUCA verification process.
Logistics can be overwhelming: gear, bike, kit, tools, medical, hygiene, vaccines, visas, flights, routes, insurance, sponsors. During the planning process, thinking about the big picture is all-consuming, particularly while trying to focus on day-to-day life. It helped to have two years to prepare for this trip.
In 2023 I acquired a custom-built steel frame bike from Fluent Frameworks and was able to ride it with different bag configurations during multiple bikepacking trips. Everything on my bike needed to be useful because space was limited (I’m a short person). Paring down clothes, tools, sleep kit - everything - needed to be multi-purpose or an essential to get through any kind of weather (cold, rain, snow, humidity, heat, wind).
Despite being prepared on paper, I felt burnt out at the start and wrung out from all the planning. This was stressful because I now need to ride my bike 22,500km. But, hey, riding is the easy part.
In late August 2025, I began cycling from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina. It took me 118 days, 2 hours, 30 minutes, and in doing so, I set two world records: one for the fastest female to cycle the Pan-American Highway, solo and unsupported; and one for the length of South America.
Preparation for a long bike ride can be ...long. And a little overwhelming at times. Besides all the gear, kit, and route choices, you also have to train your body and mind. I found going for long solo rides with the kit I was going to use gave me the space I needed to be in my own head- important when things go sideways - and to test the gear I had with me.
Over the course of two years, I had everything dialed.
If you’d like to go on a long bike ride and don’t know where to start, I’d say, use what you have! Take your bike, gear, kit, and hit the road/trail. Nothing prepares you more than trial and error. If you’re afraid of not having the right thing(s) (bike, kit, mindset), then consciously leave the house for an overnighter and unpack those fears on the ride.
Make lists of what worked, what didn’t work, and what you might need to improve the setup. If possible, ask friends and check gear libraries to see if they have gear you can try out! Most often, if you have the ability to try an overnighter, it’s the inertia to leave the house that holds most people back from trying.
I was lucky to have the 15L Seatpacker along for the ride. It survived the mud and atmospheric river rain on the Dalton Highway, intense heat, and the wet season thunderstorms in Central America. In fact, it’s still going strong, albeit sun-faded on the top, which gives it a cool ‘we’ve been places and seen things’ patina. A lot of things can go sideways on a trip of this length, and I’m happy to say the Seatpacker never swayed once.
Ashleigh Myles
Instagram: @ashleigh.myles
