Joan Joesting-Mahoney
Nov 6, 1937 - Apr. 19, 2014
Tribute: Download or watch on YouTube.
In 1979 and again in 1991, Joan Joesting-Mahoney bicycled solo and unsupported around the 9600 mile perimeter of Australia. She has bicycled solo perimeters of 24 countries total: the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium, England, Wales, Slovakia, Czech Republic (photo 1) (photo 2), Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Hungary, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, and Malta.
Joan holds world records for the greatest number of perimeter rides (1386) and the greatest number of distinct rides (123). She is first in the world in total perimeter mileage, with 109,519 miles, having passed former record holder Bill Mueller in 1999. In 1995, Joan completed a perimeter in each of the 48 continental United States, the only person to have ever done so.
Perimeters from 1991 to 2000
Perimeter from 1998 to present (including start/finish times)
Perimeter world records
Perimeter accomplishments
J (as of Sept. 4, 2011)
A perimeter is a bicycle ride of 50 miles or more around a geographical entity, such as a country, state, county, lake, city, etc. Records are recognized by the Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, 630 N. Craycroft, Suite 127, Tuscon AZ 85711.
Joan has also finished Ironman Hawaii 3 times, Ironman New Zealand, and the Great Floridian triathlon 3 times. Photos.
Joan has rowed a total of 37,465,790 meters (23,280 miles) as of her final logbook entry on Apr. 7, 2014. She has indoor rowing records as follows:
- 100 km, female 60-69 lightweight, 16:40:31.0, Dec. 9, 2002, age 64.
- 100 km, female 70-79 lightweight, 23:32:00.0, Jan. 4, 2008, age 70.
- 24 hour, female 60-69 lightweight, 101,775 meters, Jan 5-6 2005.
- 24 hour, female 70-79 lightweight, 103,099 meters, Jan 3-4 2008.
- Longest continuous row, female 60-69 lightweight, 30 hours, Jan 5-6 2005, age 64 (also the longest for any female of any weight class until 2013).
For the Love of Running, a 20 page collection of poems written in 1978.
Book: Bicycling Around Australia without Booze, Drugs, or Flat Tires (1995, plain text).
Homonyms, Homophones and Other Word Challenges (PDF), 2006.
Our wedding photos from the 1993 Great Floridian. After Joan finished the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run, we had a quick ceremony before she went to the medical tent for an I.V. (Her official finish time was a few seconds under the 17:30 cutoff).