Imagine spending an entire day riding your bike. Now imagine doing that every day for an entire year.

That’s exactly what Kurt Searvogel has done, and in the process he smashed a decades-old record that many said was unbreakable.

Since 1939, the Highest Annual Mileage Record has been held by an Englishman named Tommy Godwin, who, when he was in his 20s, rode his bicycle 75,065 miles over the course of a single year. It's an achievement many said would never be surpassed.



But the 52-year-old Searvogel disagreed. Last January, he set out to see if he could be the one to do what many thought was impossible.

On Monday, in Tampa’s Flatwoods Park, the ultra-endurance cyclist did exactly that.

“It’s 75 years old and supposedly an unbreakable record, so I’m gonna prove them wrong,” Searvogel said during a short break before he set off for the last handful of miles in his journey.

Kurt Searvogel smiles moments after breaking the Highest Annual Mileage Record Monday afternoon in Tampa's Flatwoods Park. (Caitlin Constantine)

Starting last Jan. 10, Searvogel, who goes by the nickname “Tarzan,” rode his bike an average of 12 hours a day, often covering more than 200 miles a day. He rode in Florida, in Arkansas, in Wisconsin, then returned to Florida, where he’s spent much of the last several weeks riding laps in Flatwoods Park.

To put it into perspective, Searvogel rode enough miles over the last year to cross the United States 25 times. He could have cycled around the globe three times.

MORE INFO: UMCA Highest Annual Mileage Record spreadsheet

On many of those rides, the Arkansas man was joined by local cyclists, some of whom were following his progress on Strava, a social media site for endurance athletes. The final day of his ride was no different, as more than a dozen local cyclists came out to Flatwoods Park to take those final laps of his journey alongside him.

Several local cyclists came out Monday to support Kurt Searvogel as he finished his record-breaking ride. (Caitlin Constantine)

“It’s great to have all these people out to help me go through the finish,” he said.

Searvogel’s biggest supporter, however, is his wife and crew Alicia, who has not only cycled alongside her husband but has also handled the logistics for his historic ride. When Searvogel set off for the last five miles before breaking the record, Alicia was the only one by his side.

Alicia Searvogel described the adventure as “epic.”

Searvogel's wife, Alicia, described the experience as "It's been really hard...but it's been really great." (Caitlin Constantine)

“We've gotten to travel all over and meet people with the same common interests as us,” she said. “And it's just a great goal. It's something amazing, and he did it!”

Searvogel hopes his ride inspires other people to dream big, and to work to pursue those dreams.

“You can do anything you want to do,” he said. “That’s pretty much it. You decide you want to do it, you just go do it. If you believe you can do it, you can do it.”

One of Searvogel's supporters stands in front a banner hung to commemorate the end of his ride. (Caitlin Constantine)

Now that Searvogel has broken the record, he said he’s on to do something different.

“This is it,” he said. “This is enough. I’ve wasted one year of my life. I think I should go back to doing something different.”

But even though Searvogel just spent the last year riding more than 75,000 miles, he wasn’t done yet. He and his fellow cyclists celebrated by heading back out on the trail.