Seven-day wonder: How Josh Quigley set the record for the most miles in a week

Weekly mileage is a fixation for many a cyclist but Josh Quigley has taken it to a new level. He tells James Shrubsall how he did more than anyone has ever done in seven days

Josh Quigley
(Image credit: Thomas Haywood Aerial Photography)

Three hours’ sleep a night and the odd McDonald’s – it’s amazing what you can get away with during a record-breaking endurance feat on the bike. It worked for new seven-day mileage Guinness World Record holder Josh Quigley though. He was indeed sleep deprived and, yes, his crew even popped to the Golden Arches for him as he rode to an impressive 2,179 miles in a week last month.

Riding a 65-mile out-and-back course between Peterculter and Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Quigley averaged 311 miles a day on the bike, riding from around 4am till midnight and sometimes later, averaging around 16mph. He beat the previous record, held by Australian Jack Thomson, by 2.66 miles, also becoming the youngest rider to have held the record, at 29 years old.

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James Shrubsall

After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.

Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.

A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.