RockyMtnMerlin

From RoadBikeRider.com

"At the end of each December, we've updated you on the streak owned by RBR contributor Jim Langley. He's now in his 14th year of riding (indoors or out) at least one hour every day.

Imagine riding 4,797 days in a row. That's Jim's total today.

We've said that his streak may be a world record because none of us had heard of anyone claiming a longer string of consecutive days.

Well, it turns out that Jim, 53, has a ways to go.

We've learned that Scott Dickson, a 57-year-old former college professor in Newark, Delaware, has a steak that will reach 24 years in May. He's approaching 8,700 consecutive rides -- and counting.

All of Scott's rides have been outside despite living where winter is harsh in Iowa, Kansas and Ohio. (Jim is in Northern California.) Even Delaware is no day at the beach in February, as those of us living in the East were reminded last week by a crippling winter storm.

From 1988 to 1998 Scott's minimum daily ride was 20 miles (32.2 km). It's been 3 miles (4.8 km) since then, meaning Scott could keep his streak alive on just 21 miles (33.8 km) a week and little more than an hour of effort. Jim, meanwhile, would total at least 7 hours of pedaling during the same period.

Do not, however, even begin to think that Scott would take the easy road. Get a load of his astounding career stats (as of late January):

---710,000+ lifetime miles (1,143,100 km) since January of 1973.

---549,000 miles (883,890 km), 1,472 centuries, and 381 race victories since his last day off the bike.

---23,200 average annual miles (37,352 km) for 25 years.

---27,513 miles (44,296 km) in biggest year, 1987.

---21,397 miles (43,449 km) in smallest year, 2001.

---1,826 century days (days with 100+ miles, 161+ km).

---At least one century per month for 301 consecutive months.

---Feb. 28 & 29 and Dec. 5 & 13 are the only calendar dates on which he hasn't ridden a century.

---442 race victories since 1965, including three first-place finishes in Paris-Brest-Paris and three U.S. masters championships.

Scott says the idea of riding every day was born in 1973 when he read a news bit in a bike racing magazine. The clipping has been in his cycling log ever since: "Merckx's other golden rule is never to let a day go by without riding the bike, no matter what the weather."

We hooked up Scott and Jim, figuring that if any two roadies had something in common it's these guys.

Scott was pleased to make contact, and told RBR, "All these years I pretty much kept the streaks to myself thinking that nobody else would ever be into this, let alone understand."
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tlc20010

I consider it a good week if I ride 6 days......

Trsnrtr

I raced against Scott in the '80s many times. I remember one time finishing a road race in Iowa (I think 54 miles) and he was trying to get people to go back out with him for another 50 or so.

Artkansas 

I ride about an hour a day usually, seven days a week. But unbroken? I don't care. A day off every so often is good. Still, such obsession is impressive.

Big Paulie

What was the first Merckx Golden rule???

Bud Bent

Do unto others before they do unto you?

John E

Impressive. (I thought I was doing well with 100k miles / 160k km of cumulative on-road distance, including one double century and a couple of centuries.)

oilman_15106

I saw that and the only way I join that club is if someone is signing a check for me to do it.

RockyMtnMerlin

A check would be nice but I still could not do it.