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Ex-US Marine rides 415 miles in 24 hours - on a fixed wheel bike

Joe Lawhorn from Ohio is now targeting next year's Race Across America...

A former US Marine has set a new world record by riding 415 miles in 24 hours on a fixed wheel bike – and he’s now aiming to take part in next year’s Race Across America.

In August, Joe Lawhorn of Chillicot, Ohio broke the 400-mile barrier on a fixed wheel bike at the Mid-Atlantic Ultra Cycling Race, riding 404.8 miles.

That record was subsequently broken by another rider, but Lawhorn reclaimed it last month, reports the Chillicot Gazette.

He set the new record at the World 24-Hour Time Trials in Borrego Springs, California, where he rode 415.2 miles.

"I can point to how, when I broke the record the first time, just how many people rallied behind me," he told the newspaper.

"Then, when it was broken by the other very strong rider, I had so many people tell me I could get it back.

“I had strong riders take me under their wing and tell me how to train better, how to become a better rider, teach me all their skills and just an overwhelming amount of people tell me they believed in me that I could do it, even when I had doubts about myself."

Now Lawhorn, who spent six years in as a Marine and six years in the Army and is now on the US military's permanent disabled and retired list, has his sights set on next July’s Race Across America.

His placing in the Mid-Atlantic Ultra Cycling Race resulted in him qualifying for the coast-to-coast event from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland.

Initially, he wasn’t planning on riding the event, but the support he received in reclaiming his record has led to him reconsidering his plans.

"What changed my mind? Well, I had overwhelming support and love during the World Championship race,” he explained.

“It had real-time race results on the internet and I had a lot of the Ohio cycling community watching and cheering me on.”

He added: “I had tons of non-cyclists following me and I even had a few Ohio State fans tell me they couldn't even watch the OSU football game because they were on the edge of their seats at their computers watching my lap times and figuring out what I needed to do to hit the record again."

You can find Lawhorn on Strava here.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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10 comments

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PpPete | 6 years ago
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Without wanting to take anything away from this guy's achievements, it's worth noting that he's not the only endurance athlete to find cycling a very long way can help to get off medication that was previously necessary after traumatic events.

Audaxer Mike Lane seems to find it necessary to cover in excess of 10 000 miles a year to stay off the meds needed after an RTA left him with utterly horrific injuries !

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pga | 6 years ago
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I don't have the records at hand but mileages for fixed wheel riders in English 24 hour time trials would have  been much larger than this and often on pre 1980 cycles.

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Grizzerly | 6 years ago
1 like

I think you might give more information as to precisely what world record is being discussed here.  There have been many rides of greater distance than this ridden on fixed wheels. 

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RobD | 6 years ago
2 likes

Impressive that he did it without aero wheels or an especially modern and high tech TT bike, goes to show what good training etc can do

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muhasib | 6 years ago
1 like

There's a bit of background to his circumstances in this article in his local paper: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/local/positively-chillicoth...

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s_lim replied to muhasib | 6 years ago
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muhasib wrote:

There's a bit of background to his circumstances in this article in his local paper: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/local/positively-chillicoth...

Thanks for this, the back-story makes this story more compelling. Fair play to him!

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cyclisto | 6 years ago
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The headtube paintjob looks cool but there is a cannon missing

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check12 | 6 years ago
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All those spokes!

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JohnnyRemo | 6 years ago
2 likes

Strange story. The British 24 hour record was already well over 400 miles pre-WW2 when everyone rode fixed...

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mrushton | 6 years ago
0 likes

Seen a few audaxers do similar mileage on fixed wheel. Maybe not in that time but a 600km audax is about that distance

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