Though she is no stranger to tests of adversity, Leah Goldstein is certain that the Trans Am Bike Race across the United States is the hardest thing she's ever done.
The 55-year-old Vernon cyclist traversed nearly 7,000 kilometres in just 20 days, at times with one hand on her handlebar and pepper spray in the other to fend off wild dogs nipping at her heels. She crossed through 10 states, sometimes in blistering 40 C heat. She slept a mere three hours a night and cycled through the resultant hallucinations. In one perilous moment she survived being charged by a bear, her saviour being a man who had the wherewithal to drive his car into the fast-approaching bruin and scare it away, allowing her to ride on... and on... and on...
And at the end of the 20 days, Goldstein was the first woman to cross the finish line 鈥� a full 600 kilometres ahead of the next fastest female, a cyclist from Poland who finished two days later. Only two men finished ahead of Goldstein, and both had a significant age advantage.
"Put their ages together and I'm still older than them," Goldstein said with a laugh, speaking to The Morning Star after finishing the 2024 Trans Am in June.
Goldstein claims she is now officially the only person to have competed in three of the hardest cycling events in the world: the Trans Am, the Tour de France Femmes, and the Race Across America (which she's completed four times). Of the three, she says the Trans Am takes the cake in terms of difficulty.
Aside from being one of the longest bike races in the world, The Trans Am is one of the toughest tests on a bike because it is a self-supported race, meaning support teams are prohibited and the cyclists are entirely on their own, having to navigate and perform bike maintenance themselves.
"I'm not great with navigation, I'm surprised I didn't end up in Alaska," Goldstein joked.
It was her first time entering a self-supported race, so the learning curve was steep.
"Because I'm just so inexperienced with that, I lost like two days with mechanical issues and navigational issues," she said, adding her inexperience left room for improvement for when she competes in next year's Trans Am.
"When I crossed the finish line I was happy I came in, there was only two guys in front of me, but it was frustrating when I knew I could have ridden it faster," she said, explaining she now knows to invest in tubeless tires, as one example, after suffering up to 12 tire punctures during the race.
Goldstein said the bike takes a beating over the course of 7,000 kilometres. At one point her brake fell off; at another point her shifter came dislodged. "My cockpit was basically all duct taped together until I found a bike shop at one point," she said.
She made it through a 10-day heat wave 鈥� risky conditions when there are 100-kilometre stretches of nothingness.
"A couple of times I had to knock on people's doors just to beg them for water."
Tough decisions had to be made, such as how much weight in bottled water she should carry before climbing 20-per-cent gradients, when she didn't know the course and where the next stop would be. And to make up time for her mechanical issues, she made the decision to cut her sleep to 90 minutes 鈥� which may have backfired.
"I was starting to hallucinate really bad, that's where a lot of my (navigational) mistakes were taking place, because I had a potato for a brain."
The race started in Astoria, Oregon on June 2. By the time Goldstein reached Kentucky, the dogs became a problem. At one point she was being hounded by five dogs at once, and was having to conserve her pepper spray.
"My most feared state was Kentucky just because it's known for dog attacks. Many riders have got bitten, they just pop out of nowhere," she said. "But I can honestly tell you that the drivers in Kentucky were the most patient, the most courteous and gave me the most room."
Kentucky was also where Goldstein had her closest call on the road 鈥� not with a driver, but with a bear. She had her head down going up a steep incline at the time and at first thought it was another dog charging her.
"All of a sudden this car hits the dog 鈥� it wasn't a dog, it was a black bear that was charging me (she realized after the fact)鈥� and he hit it so hard that it basically flew across the road ... it kind of freaked the heck out of me."
She thanked the man for "saving my life, basically," got back on her bike and continued on.
Post-race, Goldstein is now in a well-earned period of recovery, but is looking forward to taking on the 2025 Trans Am with more suitable equipment, a better understanding of the course and, hopefully, fewer animal encounters.
