A Decade on Two Wheels: One Missouri Cyclist’s 3,650-Day Ride Streak

Todd Narrol of Columbia, Missouri, has cycled the circumference of the Earth nearly five times and pedaled almost halfway to the moon.

Ten years ago, on Dec. 29, 2015, he vowed to ride his bike every single day without fail. Since then, he has logged more than 122,000 miles over nearly 3,650 days of pedaling.

Averaging 33.65 miles a day, he has ridden when temperatures are as high as 114 degrees and wind chills are minus 60.

He has cycled in 42 states, including Alaska, and around Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Occasionally, he’ll take off and ride to St. Louis.

“I’m the bike streak guy,” he said. “It’s created an identity for me, which means it’s going to be very rough to give it up someday.”

He Just Never Stopped
Narrol, 54, knows that many people think his commitment is strange, perhaps even crazy.

“They think I’m nuts,” he said.

In the beginning, he set a modest goal to ride every day for a year. But his determination evolved as he began to clock the days and count the miles. Once the days started to pile up, he said he couldn’t break the streak, even when he was sick, injured or out of town.

“If my body is able, my mind is willing,” he said.

Narrol’s most impressive ride was a 138-mile trek to a music festival at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Eureka, Missouri, about seven years ago. He started at 7 a.m. so he could arrive by 6 p.m., stopping only once to fix a flat tire and eat lunch.

“The last 38 miles were all hills, so that made it more difficult,” he said. “But I wasn’t even spent, so I was able to dance and watch music and have fun all night with my family.”

Instead of taking a toll on his body, he has found that cycling is kind, especially to his back.

“There’s no impact with cycling compared to running or golf,” said Narrol, who has scoliosis. “Some people find the bicycle position to be uncomfortable, but that’s how my back naturally goes, so it makes sense.”

He hasn’t been able to avoid the occasional mishap. He’s been hit by a car on his bike twice, and a dog attack led to a crash that left him with a broken rib.

Even then he couldn’t break the streak.

“It was hard to lift my left leg and get on the bike with my rib there,” he said. “But once I was on, I was good to go.”

Six Bikes to Choose From
Narrol owns six bikes and chooses the one to ride based on the day’s weather and road conditions.

The “sports car” is a 22 Trek Domane AL 5, an aluminum endurance bike, but the “Cadillac” of his fleet is a Salsa Colossal 2, a responsive bike with a steel frame that’s perfect for a nice, smooth ride.

His Trek 520 touring bike is a heavier option, but his favorite for getting around town is the ’91 Cannondale R3 road bike manufactured the first year aluminum bikes were developed.

He calls the fifth one his “old man bike” because it has a shock absorber below the seat.

His sixth has 36-inch tires that make it suitable for rain, sand or ice storms.

The one bike Narrol said he’s dying to have some day folds into a suitcase so he can stash it on a plane — something he has never done over the last 10 years.

“I gotta have a bike, and I hate flying,” he said. “There’s plenty of places in this great country you can drive — or bike — to.”

Narrol shares daily ride updates on Facebook with a small group of distance cyclists he met online. A decade ago, there were around 30. Today, 12 or so still post their numbers, along with motivation and encouragement.

“It’s not really competition,” he said. “We all encourage each other to rise to the level of your own smile, whatever that is.”

The group also introduced Narrol to his most important influence — Carl Morrison of Wisconsin, a cyclist who once maintained an 8½-year streak of his own.

Narrol has never met Morrison, but their connection has helped shape the last decade

Morrison completed 3,325 consecutive days before he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He beat the cancer, but the streak did not survive. What stuck with Narrol wasn’t the number — it was the grit.

Morrison maintained his streak through two knee replacements and a new hip, inventing a partial-rotation recumbent bike so he could pedal the day after his surgery.

When heavy snow threatened Morrison’s streak, Narrol encouraged him to find a way to continue. Morrison hired a buddy to plow a portion of the parking lot near the hospital, allowing him to ride back and forth until he hit his daily mileage.

Watching Morrison persevere — until cancer made it impossible — shaped Narrol’s own perspective.

“I’ve had it easy compared to him,” he said.

Tracking the Miles
Narrol knows his daily distance down to the hundredth of a mile because he’s tracked every one he’s ridden since 1997. He logs the data in four or five locations — his phone, a notebook and monthly spreadsheets — so they won’t get lost.

“I’m constantly emailing a spreadsheet to my wife, saying, ‘Just put that in your saved file in case something happens,’” he said. “I want to be able to have all of this throughout my life.”

Because of this dedicated statistical preservation, he’s found that 60% of the time he bikes at least 30 miles a day, and 80% of the time he eclipses the 20-mile mark.

He’s also ridden 100 miles in a single day — a century ride — 57 times since he began keeping track. His goal is to ride 100 centuries before he hangs up his helmet.

“Cyclists riding a century is a big deal,” he said. “And I can still do it. If it’s a nice day, I can set my mind to it and go do it.” 

It’s Not the Numbers
For Narrol, the accomplishment isn’t just measured in numbers. It’s the company, whether it’s the music from his speaker or the people beside him.

He listens to music on a speaker fastened to his bike, but he makes sure to be respectful of his volume and the time of day. His eclectic tastes range from Dixieland jazz to soul, R&B and rock and roll, but it’s the shared miles that matter the most.

He’s ridden about half the days in the last decade with his 22-year-old daughter, Jordan, who plans to ride with him Dec. 28 when he celebrates the 10-year mark.

“Being able to share this journey with family has been the biggest blessing of my life,” he said.

When he’s not on the road with his bike during the day, Narrol works on the Ivan Tomato Rescue Project with his wife, one of two family-owned businesses she operates.

At home, evidence of the streak is literally written on the walls of the laundry room, where unfinished wooden shelves are covered with dates and miles. His son has deemed it “the Sharpie plaque.”

More than a record of miles, the shelves mark the persistence and discipline behind every ride. Among the accomplishments on the list are 100 straight days riding 40 miles and reaching 100,000 lifetime miles on June 18, 2018.

His own health reflects the work he puts into it. During one annual physical, he said his doctor was baffled by his conditioning.

“She said, ‘Your standing heart rate is that of a professional athlete, but honestly, you’re a little bit heavy,’” he said.

Narrol simply told her he enjoys food and drink, but he also rides his bike every day.

“It’s kept me in really good health and in good spirits,” he said. “Even when there’s negative circumstances, there’s always a bike ride to look forward to.”

Looking Ahead
On Dec. 28, Narrol marked his accomplishment at home with friends and family, playing music until midnight and then riding a few celebratory miles with his daughter and others.

“It’s been the ultimate delayed gratification,” he said. “Sometimes it takes 10 years to accomplish what you’re setting out to accomplish.”

There are no plans to stop, even after a decade of nonstop riding wraps up.

“I will celebrate 10 years of cycling by waking up early to start year 11,” he said.

Top image: Todd Narrol bikes along the Cosmo Fitness Trail at Cosmo Park in Columbia, Missouri. (Elia Mast/Columbia Missourian)

Story by Coby Spratte. This article was reprinted with permission from the Columbia Missourian newspaper. For more information, visit columbiamissourian.com.