Saskatoon cyclist crushes 734 kilometres in a day en route to beating world record
CBC News | Posted: November 11, 2018 5:29 PM | Last Updated: November 11, 2018
Meaghan Hackinen placed second overall in the 24-hour World Time Trial Championships
Through the changes of the bright moon and coyotes howling, to the rise of the sun beating down on a +35 day in the desert, Meaghan Hackinen just kept biking.
And in the end, she chalks up her record-breaking performance not to the ability to ride fast, but rather the will to outlast her competition.
"It was really a journey of discovery. I didn't know how far I could go in that time period," the Saskatoon cyclist told CBC Saskatchewan's Afternoon Edition.
She found the answer when she cycled 734 kilometres over the day, when she and another cyclist beat a course record at the 24-hour World Time Trial Championships in California.
Hackinen would end up placing second overall in the women's solo division, and winning the women's age 30 to 39 category in the Oct. 26 to 27 event.
While she's done 400 kilometre bike trips in the prairies before, Hackinen said she wasn't sure how things would go over a 24-hour period.
"I was kind of worried that something would go wrong, that my Achilles would start flaring up or I would have a terrible pain in my shoulder or something."
Then there was the fear that she'd doze off, crash into a ditch and not be able to finish the race.
But during the event, she could feel herself maintaining her pace through the night, energized by her surroundings and the odd person passing her, reminding her she wasn't alone.
It was a real struggle to stay hydrated and stay cool and not let my power drop. - Meaghan Hackinen
As the day went on and the heat rose, the challenge grew greater.
"It was a real struggle to stay hydrated and stay cool and not let my power drop," she said.
Over the course of the race, she estimates she took only a half hour total in breaks, whether it was to use the washroom, hydrate, or put drops in her eyes to cope with the desert dust.
Her level of dedication might be unfathomable to some, but Hackinen explains that long-distance biking holds a deep appeal, and she revels in watching the world change around her.
"I like seeing the sunrise and the sunset on the same day. It's just kind of a cool feeling to be moving like that and watching your surroundings change," she said.
For Hackinen, long bike rides offer her the space to clear her head.
"I just feel stronger and more empowered and kind of able to deal with my own life. So it's kind of like my therapy actually."
with files from CBC Saskatchewan's Afternoon Edition