French cyclist Thierry Suptil last month became the first person to travel the 2,400-mile length of Route 66 in an ElliptiGO, an elliptical bicycle.
According to a news release from the bicycle company:
Averaging 47 miles per day, it took him just 52 days of riding to travel from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California, ending at the Santa Monica Pier on November 19, 2013.
Designed by runners, the ElliptiGO is the first outdoor, low-impact, fitness device specifically designed to emulate the running motion. It allows athletes of all levels to get a high-intensity workout without experiencing the repetitive impact of running. Healthy athletes and injured athletes alike have found it the most effective way to get an outdoor running experience without the usual pounding on their bodies.
The release said a journalist asked Suptil to test the bike. After 20 minutes aboard, Suptil immediately thought of giving it a long-term test on Route 66, which he’s done before.
“I only had one flat tire on the ElliptiGO the entire time and the bike itself handled the trip well with no mechanical issues at all,” said Suptil. “I also managed to avoid rain and any major weather, so that made the trip even more enjoyable.”
Here’s a video from ElliptiGO, showing how it works. It’s kinda freaky looking, but you can quickly see its benefits:
I generally don’t publish stories about long-distance challenges on Route 66 because there are so many of them. However, this obviously is a unique situation.
(Image of Thierry’s elliptical bicycle at the Glenrio exit off Interstate 40 in Texas)