Ultra Cyclist

Wilcox, who grew up in Anchorage, ran cross-country at Puget Sound while earning a degree in French and natural sciences. In her senior year, she lacked the $3.50 bus fare to Seattle and decided to bike the 40 miles to visit her two sisters. Today, at 37, she still doesn’t drive or own a car.

And she not only makes a living from endurance cycling—she’s the sport’s most famous name.

Her legend grew in 2016 when she was the top finisher—man or woman—in the U.S.’s coast-to-coast Trans Am Bike Race, beating some of the world’s best men.

Her superpower: a relentless positive attitude, and her zeal to bring others into cycling. She runs a bike mentorship program for middle-school girls in Alaska that ends with a three-day ride.

“We don’t all have to be racers,” Wilcox says. “I find so much joy from riding and camping and spending time outside that that’s something that I desperately want to share.”

Her goal for 2024: break the Guinness World Record for circumnavigating the globe. The women’s record is 124 days—more than four months of riding. There are airline flights between continents, but riders still put in the work, and then some: By the time Wilcox is finished, she’ll have biked a mind-boggling 18,000 miles.