Kajsa Tylen on course for Year record at 3 month point

Kajsa Tylen is now more than a quarter of the way into her attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the greatest distance ridden by a female cyclist in a year – and with 8,255 miles clocked up so far, she’s well on track to beat the late Billie Fleming’s record which has stood since 1938.

That year Fleming – known at the time as Billie Dovey, the surname of her first husband, and who died in 2014 a month after her 100th birthday – rode a total of 29,063 miles.

Tylen, born in Sweden but now living in Nottingham, is aiming to push the record to 31,069 miles, or 50,000 kilometres from 1 January to 30 December, a total of 365 days with 2016 being a leap year.

This coming Saturday 9 April sees one of the big landmarks of her challenge, and Tylen said: “I will be delighted to reach the century landmark of cycling 100 days since the start of the year.

“Everything is going well in my world record attempt so far, I’m feeling good and have been out every day of the year, averaging about 90 miles on the bike each day.

“So far the going has been pretty tough – the weather has thrown just about everything possible at me, except for too much snow, for which I am grateful.

“I’ve been averaging about 90 miles per day so far without major incidents. There have been the occasional near misses with cars and lorries and I’ve suffered with muscle overuse issues, but it hasn’t stopped me as yet.

“I’ve met some fantastic people over the last couple of months and hope that people continue to support me throughout the rest of the year.”

She added: “Apart from highlighting the tremendous achievements of Billie Fleming last century and hopefully setting a new world record, I am hoping that this challenge will be a life-changing experience and will open many doors.”

While most of Tylen’s riding will be done in the UK, she will also be heading to the continent including her native Sweden to make the most of the extended hours of daylight in the summer.

You can follow her efforts through her A Year In The Saddle website, which also has links to her social media and Strava pages.

Alicia Searvogel, whose husband Kurt earlier this year beat Tommy Godwin’s year record of 75,075 miles, set in 1939, has also announced her intention to attempt to beat Dovey’s record.

> Alicia Searvogel to attempt Billie Fleming's Year record

However, her plans received a setback last week when a dog chased her on a training ride, causing her to crash, the result being a fractured clavicle.