Lena and Randy Ross weren’t chasing a Guinness World Record when they first had the idea to complete a 100-mile, same-day tandem ride in each of the 50 states.

But after scratching the unique item off their bucket list, they’re searching to see if it has ever been done before. 

“We are not saying that there isn’t someone who has done it before,” Lena Ross said. “I have searched, and people have done 100 miles in each state, but not a century ride — not in the same day. There’s another tandem couple who have done all the contiguous states but not Hawaii or Alaska. So we haven’t found it anywhere yet.”

Over the past 10 years, the two longtime Garfield County residents took advantage of travel opportunities, including college family weekends and work conferences, to pursue their goal of completing a century ride — 100 miles in a single day — in all 50 states.

From September 2016 to July 2026, Lena and Randy Ross rode the same da Vinci Global Venture tandem bicycle over 5,000 miles across all 50 states, carrying minimal repair supplies and relying mainly on their own planning. 

Out of the 50 century rides they did, only five were supported rides. 

Their tandem bike breaks down into two suitcases, making it much easier to travel with.

 “This type of tandem bike is built in Denver, and you don’t have to be coordinated all the time like a lot of tandems,” Randy said. “The nice thing about this model is you don’t have to be in sync. Being in sync works better, especially when climbing hills.”

Because of the bike’s design, Randy takes the front while Lena sits behind him, largely shielded from the wind. 

“He will communicate when we’re going to get ready to stand, so it’s my job to get in sync with him,” she said. 

Randy, a general surgeon at Valley View Hospital who has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for more than 30 years, has been biking his entire life.

It didn’t take long to get Lena, a local of Garfield County and a former Valley View nurse and current Grand Valley Health nurse, to become just as enthusiastic as he is. The two met while working together at Valley View Hospital — according to all reports, it was kismet. 

“I have always been a biker,” Randy said. “We did Ride the Rockies together a couple of times and it just sort of became our thing.”

It didn’t just become their “thing”; the two of them even rode into work together from Canyon Creek on the tandem bike when their schedules allowed. 

“We would ride in together every once in a while,” Lena said. “Because our schedules didn’t always match, we would ride our own bikes. I ride to work more than I drive my car.”

A college family weekend is actually what sparked the idea in 2016. The two traveled to Vermont the week preceding their son’s family weekend for a bike tour — which included the option of an unsupported century ride. 

The two laughed about looking back at the first time they had the idea. 

“One of the days on that tour, there was an option to do a century ride, so we went ahead and did that. That’s really where the idea came from,” Randy said.

“‘Well, we’ve done one in Vermont. Why don’t we do this in every state?'” they recalled asking each other. “We thought it was kind of crazy, so we didn’t really commit until after we had a couple of states under our belts.”

Although the two had already completed a century ride in Colorado, they officially knocked it off their list in July 2018, during the 30th annual Triple Bypass. The 118-mile bike course kicks off in Evergreen, then takes bikers over the Juniper, Loveland, and Vail Passes before ending in Avon. 

The Triple Bypass, an organized race, is one of just five supported rides they completed in their path to potential history. The rides in California, the Riverside Citrus Classic, and New Mexico, the Santa Fe Century, were also supported. 

“We only did five supported rides, but some of our friends supported us in North Carolina. My brother crewed for us in Montana, and we met him for lunch, but other than that, it was us planning and finding the routes,” Lena said. 

They said they were finally able to fully commit to the idea after their fourth state — Oregon. 

Whether it was Lena traveling with Randy to Florida during a work conference to knock it off their list, planning a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii in 2022, spending the last 25 miles of their Connecticut trip hand shifting because their gear cluster failed, navigating 9 miles of Garmin maps in Alaska, or having to restart their Idaho trip after facing a parts malfunction within the first 15 miles — the two of them have strengthened their love for each other through sharing unique experiences in a hobby they both cherish.

Tandem bicycles are sometimes jokingly called “divorce cycles” because of the communication and teamwork required between riders.

“Some people refer to tandem bicycles as divorce cycles,” Randy laughed. “You kind of have to work as one brain. It is definitely not for everyone; it’s one of those things that you either love it or you don’t. You have to be able to communicate and share the same riding style. It works great for us.”

Beyond the decade-long passion project allowing the two to see the country from a perspective only century rides can offer, the trip also let them witness landmarks and communities across the country.

They completed their final seven states in 2026.

“This year, we did the final seven,” Lena said. “While we were in New York, we went to Niagara Falls. In Tennessee, we went to the Grand Ole Opry. So while we’re in these new places, we’re also taking in the culture.”

The two finished the bucket list item, and a potential niche historical record, in July when they returned from Anchorage, Alaska. 

Although they have started delving deep into the internet archives to see if they were the first to accomplish the feat, there isn’t much urgency to ensure they did it first. Randy put it simply: the chance to do it at all should be cherished above all. 

“Everyone needs a vacation, so when you have a reason, and you can do what you love while you’re there, it just makes it that much better,” he said.