{"id":173733,"date":"2019-05-09T10:26:53","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T10:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=173733"},"modified":"2019-05-09T10:27:53","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T10:27:53","slug":"setting-a-record-just-for-the-fun-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/05\/09\/setting-a-record-just-for-the-fun-of-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting a Record Just for the Fun of It"},"content":{"rendered":"

London, December 1938. A smiling young lady is getting off her bike and heading for a reception that was organized just for her. There\u2019s content in her eyes, and why wouldn\u2019t there be: with 29,064 miles in her legs, the brave cyclist has just established the women\u2019s world record for miles covered in one year. What she\u2019s not aware of at the moment is that it will take 76 years for someone to beat her achievement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As so many legends, Billie Fleming too crossed paths with cycling by accident. She was born in 1914: as expected from a young lady at that time, Billie graduated from school at the age of 16 and started a career of a typist and secretary. Two years later, a friend introduced her to the benefits of riding a bicycle. Enchanted by the ride, Fleming decided to include pedalling in her daily routine. Back in the day, there was a lot of talk about women\u2019s health and the positive influence movement has on it, so Billie came up with the idea of promoting movement on two wheels.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The average distance Billie covered in a day was 81 miles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After contacting dozens of companies with a sponsorship request, Rudge-Whitworth equipped Billie with a new bicycle. Traditional cycling gear wasn\u2019t the only equipment Billie had on her journey. The Cadbury company was sweet enough to sponsor the aspiring cyclist as well. Every month, she received five-pound bars of fine Cadbury chocolate. On January 1st, 1938, Fleming set off on her journey decided to ride every day no matter what. And so she did.<\/p>\n

How did they check Billie\u2019s performance back then, you ask? Well, they had quite a system worked out. Each day, Billie had to fill in a checklist, have it signed by a witness, and mail it to the Cycling magazine. Furthermore, a cyclometer was installed on her bicycle. Billie had to regularly visit what was called the \u201ccycling offices\u201d, so that the officers could check if the cyclometer hadn\u2019t been tampered with.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Her quest was all about promoting health on two wheels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The year 1938 is said to have had a cold and snowy winter, while the summer was sunny and mild. On those nice warm days, Billie covered distances that were double her average. She didn\u2019t carry any bottles of water or food on her: when thirsty or hungry, the young lady simply stopped at a cafe or a restaurant.<\/p>\n

The average distance Billie covered in a day was 81 miles, which, in the end, added up to 29,604 miles covered in one year. No water, no support team, just this easy-going young woman who described her adventure as something completely common: a simple matter of the power of youth. Her quest was all about promoting health on two wheels. Later on, she was called the \u201cRudge-Whitworth Keep Fit Girl\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The \u201cRudge-Whitworth Keep Fit Girl\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After completing her quest, Billie decided to cycle across the USA. However, WWII ruined her plans and she came up with a new idea: racing on a tricycle. Fleming set three new world records, for 25, 50 and 100 miles.<\/p>\n

Billie didn\u2019t really dedicate the rest of her life to cycling, but that doesn\u2019t mean she was all done with it. Fleming simply cycled as a hobby instead of racing in an arena. The Keep Fit Girl died in 2014, aged 100 years and still holding the record. It was no sooner than two years after her passing that someone (namely Kajsa Tylen) managed to break it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London, December 1938. A smiling young lady is getting off her bike and heading for a reception that was organized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":173741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[334],"tags":[2991,2993,2994,2995,2992,538,2873],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-173733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-billie-fleming","tag-cadbury","tag-cycling-magazine","tag-kajsa-tylen","tag-rudge-whitworth","tag-women-cycling","tag-women-cycling-legends"],"yoast_head":"\nSetting a Record Just for the Fun of It - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"London, December 1938. A smiling young lady is getting off her bike and heading for a reception that was organized just for her. 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