In 2024, Vedangi Kulkarni made her second attempt to break the record for being the fastest woman to ride around the world. But in the middle of Kulkarni’s 18,000 mile ride, Lael Wilcox broke the Guinness World Record. In this piece, Caroline Dezendorf writes a story of one young woman’s journey of perseverance and self-discovery on a bike ride around the world.
“You don’t have to be the best at something, but you can still do big things. You can still push on, even with setbacks. I feel like I’m a great example of that. So many things have gone wrong…”
On July 8, 26-year-old Vedangi Kulkarni set off from INS Chilika, an Indian naval base on the shores of Chilika Lake in Eastern India. Her goal was simple: be the fastest woman to circumnavigate Earth by bike. But she wasn’t the only woman in 2024 looking to set a new world record. On September 11, Lael Wilcox became the fastest woman to ride around the world in 108 days, besting the previous record of 124 days set by Jenny Graham in 2018.
This wasn’t the first time Vedangi rode around the world, or the first time that another woman had broken the record while Vedangi was en route. In 2018, at just 19 years old, Vedangi rode around the world, unsupported, on a custom steel frame built by Caren Hartley of Isen Workshop. This trip coincided with Jenny Graham’s world-record ride. Nevertheless, Vedangi completed her journey and became the youngest woman to ride the 18,000 miles required to complete the route.
In 2018, Vedangi knew very little about cycling. She grew up outside of Pune, India and only started riding as a way to escape her parent’s music on the drives to and from soccer practice. “The reason I started cycling was because I loved that sense of independence,” Vedangi recalled. “[I could] listen to whatever the hell I wanted.”
The more she rode to soccer practice, the more eager she was to test her limits. Her parents helped her purchase a Merida Speeder 100 hybrid bike which took her all over India, including climbing high into the mountains. On her hybrid, Vedangi rode thousands of miles. The bike became Vedangi’s escape; the more she pushed on the pedals, the more her confidence built.
Fast-forward to the present: Vedangi is more than 85 days and 6,000 miles into her journey around the world. Now a sponsored athlete with the support of brands including Canyon and RAB, Vedangi is better equipped to ride around the world.
“Getting a bike from Canyon and actually being sponsored, it’s absolutely crazy,” Vedangi said. “I still have that old [Merida] frame at home. I remember I used up all of the sponsorship money that my university had given me to buy the setup that would take me around the world. And I just remember thinking, ‘This is a lot of money and these people don’t even know if I’ll ever make it around the world. They’re putting a lot of trust in the 19-year-old. This is a bit crazy.’”
While Vedangi admits that she was a bit delusional in believing she could ride around the world as a 19-year-old, she is also demonstrating to the world that no matter where someone is from, and no matter the person’s background, it’s possible to accomplish big goals.
This year’s trip has not been without its challenges. From extreme temperatures causing heat exhaustion in India to frigid cold and hypothermia in New Zealand, to being hit by a car in Australia, Vedangi has experienced a plethora of setbacks that would make most people abandon the ride. As Vedangi has experienced her fair share of challenges, her self-confidence has waned. However, the fact that she is still riding proves she has the mental fortitude to brave even the toughest of situations.
“Literally two days after I got hit by a car, I got a tooth infection,” Vedangi said. “I was in the middle of nowhere in Australia. I was in the desert. I’m not going to find antibiotics here. The pain was so bad that I remember thinking if I just keep doing what I do, I will eventually get to more civilization with access to medical centers.”
Vedangi has persevered, taking each setback in stride. “The more I put myself in these uncomfortable situations, not knowing whether I’d ever make it to the finish line. The more I start feeling a little bit more confident.”
In a sense, this makes Vedangi’s journey even more remarkable. She is riding 18,000 miles around the world, unsupported. She doesn’t have a crew following her; she doesn’t have a network of people helping her navigate all the logistics that comes with riding a bike around the world. Not to mention she is doing it all on an Indian passport, which based on Visa restrictions, complicates her route even more. She went from India to Mongolia to Australia. She just finished riding through New Zealand and is on her way to Peru to ride through the Andes. After that, she will fly to Portugal and ride through Eastern Europe and Oman before ending in India for the final leg of her journey.
“I got offloaded from a flight just because a little detail on the document was wrong and then I had to wait two days until the next flight. Things like that happen. There is a bit of a disadvantage. The whole reason I have to ride from the westernmost place in Mongolia, instead of doing a little bit more convenient route, was because of my passport.”
During her Australia leg, Vedangi learned about Lael Wilcox breaking the official Guinness World Record and realized that the goal was no longer possible for her. “I set out to try and be the fastest woman to do it and somewhere in Australia it became obvious that there’s absolutely no way that I can do that anymore.”
It hit hard. She dealt with days of depression, documenting the low moments on camera, contemplating how to move forward with her ride. Vedanta said, “I spent time thinking I’ll literally be the only woman in the world failing at the same thing twice.”
Pedaling along Australia’s southern coast, contemplating how to move forward in the face of adversity, Vedangi found a new sense of purpose. “Knowing that you’re kind of failing and still being able to do those 250 or 300 kilometer days, there was something powerful about that. Knowing that you’re not going to win anything. No one’s going give you a medal.”
Vedangi’s reason for completing her second around-the-world attempt changed. No longer was the goal to break the record or be the best. It became about facing obstacles head on and learning to embrace the adventure.
“I believe that adventure has this huge capability of making people feel great about themselves and help people believe in themselves a little bit more,” Vedangi explains. “I still want to push myself as I’m out there. Yeah, I’m not in a rush anymore, but I still want to see if I can [do it].”
With still over 12,000 miles to the finish line, Vedangi has a long way to go. But with the change in mindset also comes the ability to enjoy her adventure and test her own limits at a slower pace. Vedangi just finished her New Zealand leg and is flying to Peru to cross the Andes before heading to Portugal. For Vedangi, riding through the Andes feels nostalgic and reminiscent of riding in India.
Last year she set a Guinness World Record for being the fastest woman to ride the Manali-Leh Highway, a ride she first completed on her hybrid Merida Speeder 100 bike when she was 17. “Now, because I know that high altitude and big mountains and all that is not only possible, but also fun, I want to do more of that,” Vedangi states. “That’s how my journey in cycling kind of started, right?”
There’s something poetic about being able to shift gears mid-record attempt in order to embrace unexpected challenges. Vedangi hasn’t failed. Not even close. She’s set a new precedent that doing hard things doesn’t have to be about breaking records or being the best. It can be personal. It can be about self-discovery.
“The reason I’m doing this is because there’s part of me which wants to show that just because you’re not good enough yet to achieve exactly what your goals are, and just because you’re having a whole host of setbacks, doesn’t mean that you give up,” Vedangi said. “It shouldn’t mean that whatever you’re thinking of [doing] is not worth pursuing.”