ULTRACYCLING - UltraMarathon Cycling Association

Transcription

ULTRACYCLING
the voice of ultramarathon cycling
SPRING 2012
The Future of Ultracycling p. 26
Where Did That 500 Calories Go? p. 30
Dex Tooke’s “Unfinished Business” p. 34
ULTRACYCLING
The Voice of the UMCA | Spring 2012 | Vol. 21 No. 2
Copyright © 2011 by the UMCA, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cover Photo by John Foote. Rider, Collin Johnson.
Published quarterly:
Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
Membership in the UMCA Includes entry into
the Ultracycling Cup and a subscription to
ULTRACYCLING for the calendar year.
See membership application form located on
the inside back cover.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
REGULAR FEATURES
Letter to membership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 3
Upcoming World Cup of UltraCycling Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 4
UMCA Certified Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 32
UMCA Membership Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 35
Published by:
UltraMarathon Cycling Association, Inc.
Editor:
Michelle Cavallaro | [email protected].
Graphic Design:
Spectrum Design | Jonah Spivak
Advertising Information:
www.ultracycling.com/sections/advertise
UMCA Board of Directors:
Executive Director
Douglas Hoffman
[email protected]
MEMBER REPORTS
Bessie’s Creek 2402012 Edition, by Kenneth Jessett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 5
Riding Towards Something, by Nicole Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 6
My First UMCA Race, by Shari Heinrich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 18
UMCA RECORDS
New Overall Florida Record Established, by Valerio Zamboni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 10
Carrell Establishes Nebraska South to North, by Sara Kay Carrell. . . . . . . . . . . p. 12
Fabricius Establishes Denmark West to East Record, by Mads Fabricius . . . . . p. 15
Valerio Zamboni Sets the Bar for Italy, by Valerio Zamboni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 16
Executive Committee:
President — Douglas Hoffman
[email protected]
Treasurer — Wendell Hyink
RACE RESULTS
Directors:
Drew Clark
Doug Hoffman
Wendell Hyink
Stuart Levy
Mark Newsome
Stuart Wilson
FUTURE OF ULTRACYCLING
UMCA Chairs:
Records
Chair — Drew Clark
[email protected]
Deputy Chair — Marie Handrahan
[email protected]
Heart of the South 500 and 200, 2012 Race Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 21
Aidan Raynor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 26
Wesley Hill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 28
SPECIAL FEATURES
Race Timing For Ultra Races, by Larry Graham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 22
Where Did That 500 Calories Go? by Jennifer Vierling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 30
Tooke Publishes Book About Conquering the RAAM, by Brian Argabright . . p. 34
UltraCycling Cup
Chair (Interim): Mark Newsome
[email protected]
Calendar
(Interim): Mark Newsome
[email protected]
Year-Rounder
Chair: John Lee Ellis
[email protected]
E-Letter: Matt Haigh
[email protected]
Volunteer Recognition
Mr. A. Caneman
[email protected]
Webmaster/Database Manager
Mark Newsome
[email protected]
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ULTRA CYCLING LOSES FAN AND RIDER
see story p. 26
SPRING 2012
Letter to the Membership
MANY CHANGES AT
As you probably have noticed,
ULTRACYCLING has a new look. We are working with
a new publishing team and are thrilled with the results
so far. This is an evolutionary process and has just
begun. Personally, I love the look and have tremendous
confidence in the people we are working with. Michelle
Cavallaro, our editor can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
I apologize for the fact that this publication is coming out later than expected and assume that you will
find; it was worth the wait.
There is lots of movement on the board, but there
is not a lot to report yet. As such, this message will be
brief. The Board of Directors has been looking at some
potential new members and will be filling vacant seats
as appropriate candidates are identified. We are also
looking at appointing a Treasurer and a Secretary in
the next few weeks. As soon as anything is official, you
will be notified via e-mail to the addresses we have in
our records.
Several members have told me that they are not
getting e-mails. If this is you, please log in to your account ASAP and make sure that your e-mail address in
our records is correct. If it is correct and you are still
not getting messages, please contact our Webmaster
so that we can fix the problem. Members should expect to hear from me at least quarterly and over the
past 12 months it has been more frequent than that.
We have been reviewing the rules for the Ultracycling Cup and will be ready to submit the proposed revised rules to the board next month. After that, we will
present the proposed revised rules to the membership
for comment. No changes will be finalized before members have an opportunity to review and respond. I
want in particular to thank Kurt Searvogel for his contribution to this process. The program ideas he submitted
were well thought out and clear and served as the basis
for the new proposal.
I have had several opportunities to meet with members and get your feedback and thoughts on the future
of the organization. There was a discussion at Calvin’s
Challenge and another at the National 24 hour Challenge. All of the ideas and concerns that were brought
forward have been brought before the board and some
of you have heard back the results of these conversations. Thank you all for your contributions
In service:
Douglas Hoffman
Douglas Hoffman
—Executive Director and President
Douglas Hoffman and Victor Gallo in the Arizona desert with
PAC Tour - photo by Susan Notrangelo.
WWW.ULTRACYCLING.COM
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WORLD CUP OF ULTRACYCLING
SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
This list is limited to upcoming World Cup races. For a complete details and full listing of upcoming races,
visit our website at: http://www.ultracycling.com/sections/calendar/races.php
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Event# date (y-m-d) event
points
distance/timed
location
ultra cup
world cup
12-hr
57
58
60
61
65
70
71
2012-07-12
2012-07-13
2012-07-21
2012-07-21
2012-08-03
2012-08-15
2012-08-16
15
30
60
30
30
120
Timed
400 mi
527 mi
Timed
400 mi
2200 km
UK
Alaska, USA
Oregon, USA
UK
New York, USA
Austria
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
12-hr
75
76
79
84
85
93
99
107
109
113
2012-08-24
2012-08-25
2012-09-01
2012-09-09
2012-09-14
2012-09-27
2012-10-06
2012-11-02
2012-11-02
2012-11-24
60
60
30
30
120
60
60
60
30
30
75
1000 km
519 mi
Timed
Timed
2100 km
544 mi
500 mi
508 mi
Timed
626 km
1280 km
Switz
Utah, USA
France
Illinois, USA
Ireland
New York, USA
Texas, USA
California, USA
California, USA
India
NZ
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
ultra cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
world cup
UK Championship 12-Hour
Fireweed 400
Race Across Oregon
UK 24-Hour Championship
Montreal Double Double
Race Around Austria
TorTour NonStop Cycling
Around Switzerland
Hoodoo 500
Le Mans 24 ** new event **
Ultra Midwest 24-Hour
Race Around Ireland
Adirondack 540
Tejas 500
Furnace Creek 508
24-Hour World Championship
Team Shift Ultra BOB 626
8 laps of Lake Taupo
SPRING 2012
24-hr
24-hr
24-hr
24-hr
24-hr
UMCA Member Reports
BESSIE’S CREEK 24 – 2012 EDITION
By Kenneth Jessett
One thing about South East Texas
is we may not have the hills but we do have the wind.
Sustained winds close to 30 MPH were reported during this year’s running of the Bessies Creek 24/12/6
hour races. One rider said it was like climbing a mountain pass for the seven mile southward stretch of the
race, on each lap of the 21 mile course.
Seventy riders from all parts of Texas and many
states converged on the race headquarters for the
early Saturday morning start. Standard bikes, recumbents, a tandem and a lone HPV made up the field of
mostly solo racers but some two and four person teams
as well.
The recumbents from Team Bachetta carried the
honors of the 24 Hour race, clocking 411 miles for John
Schlitter and 400 miles for Jacquie Hafner. This duo together with Kent Polk and Larry Ide will make up the
four man Team Bachetta for this year’s edition of the
Race Across America.
Kirk Gentle (2011 RAAM solo finisher) amassed 398
miles to win the 24 Hour race for standard bikes and
Vickie Tyer took the women’s honors with 336 Miles.
The two person Team Tejas of Dan Driscoll and Pam
Wright led the field in that category with an incredible
408 miles. Team Petty (Steve and Peggy) soared to 441
miles in the recumbent two person team category, and
the recumbent Four Person Team of Nathan Scaggs,
Bucky Davis, David Tumlin and Bill Viering waltzed
home with 461 miles.
Kurt Searvogel clocked 240 miles for the 12 Hour
race (that’s a whopping 20 MPH average) on his standard bike. Kurt will be attacking the RAAM race in a few
weeks and we wish him the very best in that endeavor.
Ron Swift carried the recumbent field in the 12
Hour with 227 miles, Michelle Beckley rode 189 miles to
take the women’s crown and Team Neptune of Rick and
Denise Neptune racked up 189 miles to take first place
in their tandem.
It was a pleasure to have 2011 RAAM solo finisher,
Dex Tooke making the field and also for the words spoken to the assembled racers by Fred Boethling, owner
of the Race Across America.
It was an enormous honor and a privilege to host a
race with seventy of the past, present and future luminaries of the ultra-distance racing scene. Ultra distance
cycle racing clearly is alive and very much kicking thanks
to such a dedicated field of racers and enthusiastic race
directors. With many events growing around the country, it was gratifying that so many decided to come and
visit us. On behalf of all the volunteers, I want to say,
thank you, and hope to see you again next year.
Good luck to all the racers and I wish them great
success for whatever challengers they tackle for the remainder of the season.
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RIDING TOWARDS SOMETHING
By Nicole Hughes
My journey riding
towards something began about 2.5 years ago. I had
come to a crossroad in my life; my life was changing
and who I was, or who I thought I was, was changing as
well. I turned to riding as a way to challenge myself and
it quickly began to evolve into so much more for me.
My rides started out with 5 miles, then 10 and quickly
grew to 40-50-60 miles. Riding became a refuge for
me; a place to think, wonder, dream and imagine.
Along the way I started to meet new friends, new
inspirations and there began a journey for me. Where
this journey was going I wasn’t sure but I knew that I
needed to follow it. I met a fellow cyclist, Ralph, whom
I now call my mentor. He is an inspiration to me and a
true friend. During one of the many rides together,
Ralph had mentioned the Anne Marie McSweeney
Scholarship and the PAC tour - Arizona Camp. I
learned that Anne Marie had a great love for riding, a
love for riding that I myself had begun to feel. I
thought it would be such an amazing experience, but
could I do it and what chances would I ever have a be
awarded the scholarship? Well, a few months went by
and I decided to give it a try. I learned something very
important from my daughter years ago when she said
to me "Mommy, you never know unless you try!” That
has remained, and will remain, an important theme in
my life. I wasn’t quite sure where I was going, but there
was something inside of me that said "go for it", and I
had to try. I can still remember the morning I got the email from a UMCA board member; “Nicole, you are the
perfect candidate to keep Anne Marie 's spirit alive by
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participating in the PAC ultra cycling camp. We are
happy to let you know you have been awarded the
scholarship for 2012!”
WOW.... I was floored, they
picked me?!?!
That began a new part of my journey. I chose the
Century week of PAC tour Desert Camp. How exciting
and nerve racking. To be chosen to represent such a
great woman was a huge honor. My months leading up
SPRING 2012
to the camp were filled with training, both on the road
and off, doing some cross training with the mountain
bike, downhill skiing and cross country. I received so
much support; UMCA, my local race team, my friends
and family, and my local bike shop Pawling Cycle and
Sport,all helped me get to the camp.
I recorded most of my training through a blog, hoping that I could somehow inspire and encourage other
women. I began hard physical training, but I also began
discovering there were many parallels between life and
cycling. I was learning many things about myself, the
strengths that were there all a long, but I just never realized. I just needed the time and thoughts to find
them myself and cycling helped me do that.
The day quickly came when I was to fly to Arizona
to join PAC Tour Desert Camp. I left with confidence
and strength, always having Anne Marie in my thoughts;
her and the many people who believed in me and
trusted me to carry on her passion for the sport. I arrived and quickly met both Susan Notorangelo-Haldeman and Lon Haldeman. Two incredibly amazing
people. Lon was very soft spoken but was always there
to answer my many questions, some I’m sure where silly
to such an accomplished athlete. But he never laughed
and was always happy to teach me. He introduced me
to a large group of people, each and everyone of them
elite athletes with so many stories. I could have listened for hours to each one of them. Of course being
so new to the sport and the long distance part of it, I
was very nervous. But Lon introduced me to a couple
by the name of Gary and Jane. I would stay with them
for the first few days as I got comfortable. The camp
was amazingly well organized. Susan had everything
planned, organized and set in place without a flaw.
Even on our first day which brought torrential down-
pour, high winds and plummeting temperatures. After
one flat, being completely soaked from head to toe and
shaking from the cold I made it to the first SAG. Susan
was waiting there.. and firmly with a smile goes “Get in
the van” haha… I think she was thrilled to see I made it
that far under such conditions! I quickly jumped into
the van. They flawlessly got everyone to our destination over the next few hours even with the limited
transportation available to them for 60 attendees and
their bikes of course..
Over the next 5 days, PAC tours took amazing care
of us, providing all we needed for successful rides. The
routes chosen were breathtaking, each and everyone
of them. So challenging although you wouldn’t really
know it as the world around you was more beautiful
than you could have ever expected. At lunch the girls, I
call them the “girls” were waiting for us with huge
smiles and great food to re-fuel us. Any products we
needed sunblock, lotion, drink and of course the many
words of encouragement, anything a cyclist could need
was there and at all the SAGS along the way. The
evenings were filled with entertainment and other cycling seminars. I enjoyed the mornings the most as we
all gathered to fuel up for the day and it gave us the
chance to chat a while. Each morning I sat with a new
group of people.
I learned a lot about Anne Marie, through friends
she had made over the years of attending the PAC
tours. She had an incredible passion for the sport and
for life. She loved children and loved to read. She was
always exploring and always learning more; she lived
with great passion. Living with passion is a gift that
some of us over time realize. Too often lives go by without truly looking at the many things in front of us. We
tend to get too busy with our day-to-day lives that we
Continues on page 8.
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Continued from page 7.
forget to live. Anne Marie was not one of those
people. Anne Marie “LIVED”.
Over the next week I met more than a handful
of amazing people -- too many to mention. Each and
everyone of them touched my life that week. They
were all patient, helpful, interesting, inspirational and
tons of fun! We talked and laughed for hours, complete
strangers at first. And when it was time to go, we all
walked away as friends. I learned more that week from
Lon and Susan and the rest of the group than I would
have over years of cycling. Beyond the many, many
things that I learned about cycling, I learn so much
about myself; what I was capable of doing, never letting
go, never giving up and believing in dreams.
And so as I end this part of my journey, I start that
of a new one, taking with me friendships, knowledge of
the sport, and a new understanding of who I am becoming. What I’ve found is that there is no end to this
journey for me. “Riding towards something” is the journey. It's passion of life, ever changing, ever evolving,
and while I’m still here I hope, never ending, this thing I
call Life.
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Thank you UMCA for an experience of a lifetime,
Anne Marie for the passion that even in your passing
still lives and thank you PAC tours for making my journey what it was. I will always remember it.
SPRING 2012
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NEW FLORIDA OVERALL
RECORD ESTABLISHED
Zamboni Soldiers on Through Two Frigid
Florida Winter Nights and a Day
By Valerio Zamboni Edited By Wendell Hyink
When I established
Rider:
Valerio Zamboni, UMCA member #5911
Bicycle Category and Division:
Standard, men 50-59
Start date:
January 14, 2012 at 0200
End date:
January 15, 2012 at 0220
Elapsed time:
24 hours, 20 minutes
Mileage, Average:
397.8, 16.35mph
Start location:
FL/AL state line on US 98 bridge over Perdido River
End location:
End of Atlantic Blvd. in Neptune Beach
Officials:
Mark Andrews, Darrel Smith
Crew Members:
Gregory Rumpel,
Jakub Lorek,
Eduardo de Camillis,
Paulina Kwasnicka,
George Monroy
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my race calendar for the 2012 biking season, I considered three main goals: improve my race time at RAAM,
defend with dignity my position at RAI, and keep an
eye on the Word Ultracycling Cup. With this in mind, a
few areas had to improve: sleep deprivation, digestion,
and speed. Therefore, my training scheme changed a
bit and I contemplated a few more 24 hour races, compared to the 2011 season.
I am usually in Miami until mid January, so I thought
it was a good idea to try to do a record in order to provide some motivation. I had a few chats with Fred
Boethling about his West to East Florida State Record.
He was very enthusiastic about the idea and gave me
some important hints on how to avoid the same problems he had during his record.
To avoid the typical Jacksonville daytime traffic jam,
I decided that ETD had to be at 2:00am EST from the
Alabama border, considering that my ETA at the end of
the Atlantic Blvd, in Neptune Beach would have be
around 2-4am. I flew from Miami to Jacksonville late in
the afternoon on Friday January 13th and after a quick
dinner I went to sleep in the RV at around 7.30pm. I
woke up at 1am and went straight to the departure
point sipping a coffee and eating a cookie on the way.
Departure was as planned at 2 am, with an outside
temperature in the lower 30's. The first 100 miles were
a piece of cake with a light but steady tail wind and all
flat. The second 100 miles stretch was a different story,
with the terrain starting to be slightly hilly, just enough
to break the pace and require shifting to avoid too low
of a cadence. The low temperature also started to penetrate my bones, but eventually kept me awake and I
managed to reach the 200 miles mark after 11:15.
Besides a few “under constructions” that forced us
to change our route, Tallahassee was crossed without
any major problems: just light traffic and a few unfavorable traffic lights. The third 100 mile stretch of any event
usually brings out the thin line between a rider and an
ultracycling racer, and I kept a careful watch for any sign
of discomfort from either digestion or hard effort.
SPRING 2012
At the start.
The Crew.
The cold weather caused me a sort of neck and
shoulder cramp that had to be fixed with a temporary
neck brace and hot patches. Unfortunately, these
patches sometimes work in erratic ways and at the end
I had a clearly visible burning on the side of my neck,
but even this was preferable to the pain. Also the wind,
still light, changed direction and was not of any help at
all, actually a bit disheartening.
I was at the 300 mile mark after 17h51m and my average speed was around 16.8, even after I was asked to
slow down a bit from the "situation room." In the last
100 miles the cold had been so intense for so many
hours that I asked the crew to raise the temperature in
the follow vehicle, and I stopped for 3 minutes and got
inside to warm up. I received more requests to to slow
down, and when it was time to accelerate again, we
were unfortunately crossing Lake City, a very nice town
with no traffic considering it was night time, but with zillions of traffic lights, all red of course. This slip in strategy was enough to slow me down and put me below
the magic number of 16.7 MPH, and even if I tried to
push as much as I could in the last 10 miles, traffic lights
and a few bridges did not help me out to finish under
24 hours, which was my goal.
What we did good and what we did wrong: starting
at 2am was the most important decision, slowing down
in a no traffic light stretch and then trying to accelerate
during the Lake City crossing was a mistake.
I would like to say many thanks to: Mark Andrew
(owner of the famous 24hrs of Sebring) and Darrell
Smith (chief official for Sebring) who agreed to be my
officials, Gregory Rumpel, a very experienced race director, Jakub Lorek, a veteran of crewing me, Eduardo
De Camillis and Paulina Kwasnicka, also part of my regular crew, and George Monroy. Alessandro Colo'
helped us from Italy in a few circumstances and
Leonardo Piepoli, also from Italy, who did not sleep for
24 hours. Thanks also to Fred Boethling for his advices
and Alberto Blanco (RAAM 2011 rookie of the year) and
Doctor Robert Hernandez for urging me to use Spitz. A
final thanks to the UMCA Records Chair Drew Clark,
who gave us the final green light to proceed. Thanks
also to Light Weight Wheels Italia, Scott Bike and
Castelli Sport for the marvelous products supplied.
My infinite gratitude goes to
Alessandra, my wife,
for coordinating all of the above with meticulous precision. Alessandra, along with my sister, Luciana Zamboni,
were both of great help in one way or the other and
are two of the most important people in my life.
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CARRELL ESTABLISHES
NEBRASKA SOUTH
TO NORTH
An Exercise in Rumble Strip and Rubble Avoidance
By Sara Kay Carrell
Rider:
Sara Kay Carrell, UMCA member #4196
Recumbent Bicycle, womens 49 and under
Start date:
August 27, 2011 at 0716
End date:
August 27, 2011 at 2001
Elapsed time:
12 hours, 45 minutes
Mileage, Average:
218.9, 17.17mph
Start location:
US 81 at NE/KS state line near Chester, NE
End location:
NE/SD state line on US 81 on Missouri River bridge
near Yankton, SD
Official:
Lyle Nordhooek
Crew Members:
Mark Dickey and Helen Hands
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State crossings are just a blast.
I have had some not-so-ideal weather on a couple of
my state crossing records, but I still love them!
Nebraska's scheduled date didn't forecast terrible
conditions, but they were not ideal either. North and
Northeast winds were predicted all day long, all the
way up and down the state. And that is what the
weather was. No "wait 5 minutes and it will change"
happened! As usual, I didn't let that hamper my day. It's
all part of the game. I train hard for these, and the
weather is one of the factors that I can't change, so I
roll with what I have. I can at least be very thankful that
they were not 35-40 mph headwinds like I have experienced before on record attempts!
So, out I rolled out on the cool and calm morning
from the county road junction before the state line
sign. It took but an hour before the breeze picked up.
Then I kept seeing the vegetation wisping around. The
first flag I passed indicated it was indeed a light headwind. Headwinds did not pick up more than 15mph for
the duration of the attempt. Thank goodness.
The least favorite part of the ride was the road
conditions. Never would I have picked this route for an
attempt. The traffic was terribly busy. That factor would
not have bothered me if I would have been able to actually ride on the shoulder. This route does have a nice,
wide shoulder, but to ride on it became a hazard in
most places. Deep expansion cracks every 8 feet. Wide
dips every 15 feet. Rubble strewn patches that were unnavigable. Broken, rutted patches that were un-ridable.
Over the 219 miles, I rode on the highway 97% of the
time. Towards the end, I had a seven mile section of
SPRING 2012
Final preparations before the start.
brand new asphalt that was heaven sent. I had 40 miles
left in the ride and I was sure hoping that would last 'til
the end. My luck wasn't so good because that didn't
happen.
"Most people don't find
they have a second wind
because they never
start their first."
I did this record attempt because I love doing
them. There are a few reasons I chose Nebraska. I already have 3 records for Kansas, so naturally I want to
start branching out to neighboring states. Nebraska
was an easy choice because there was not a women's
record. The timing of the record put me at a halfway
point in my training for Furnace Creek 508 solo.
Record attempts are great training markers! But, gotta
be honest here. There is a recumbent record that I
needed to go out and break. John Harthoone will still
have his men's recumbent record, but I needed a faster
recumbent time up on the page so people would know
Bacchetta's are fast and dangerous ultra racing
weapons! I had decent enough weather and the right
amount of training to go out and post a faster recumbent time.
I also did some new product testing on the record
attempt. The new stuff worked great! The sun
sleeves/arm coolers and knee coolers kept the sunburn
away and reflected the heat! The new Kinesys sunblock
did not give me hives. And the best part, Infinite Nutrition was the absolute BOMB!!! It did not let me down!
It worked better than anything I have ever used. Infinite
kept me strong the entire 219 miles. I never once had a
weak moment. That was awesome.
And as always. Thank you to the crew. Mark Dickey
and Helen Hands: you were wonderful. I can not do
these events without you: you make it happen. It is not
just me out there soloing across the prairies of Nebraska. We race as a Team! And thank you to Lyle, my
Official. There were times you were quieter than a
mouse that I thought Helen and Mark had you bound
and gagged back there! But you were always there,
doing your job, making notes, and staying out of the
crew's way as not to distract them from Rule #1: "Do not
run over the rider!"
Next time I do Nebraska the short direction, it will
be North to South! Get those big long hard hills done in
the first 45 miles when I am fresh!! Whew! Yes, Nebraska threw out a nice little surprise at the end. The
last 45-50 miles put one hill after another in front of
you. Before I knew it, I was gazing across the prairie
and there it was! The bridge over the river that separated Nebraska and South Dakota! At just the right distance the sprint to lay it all out there on the Nebraska
road began. Finally, after the 6th bridge pillar, I saw the
green state line sign. After chasing county line signs all
day long, I finally put the most important one behind
me!
You know a state crossing attempt has gone well
when I am already debating which state record to
chase next before I have finished pedaling on one.........!
Still fresh at the finish!
13
14
SPRING 2012
FABRICIUS ESTABLISHES DENMARK
WEST TO EAST RECORD
Half a Loaf Better than None
By Mads Fabricius
This record attempt was
Rider:
Mads Fabricius, UMCA member #5785
Standard, mens under 30
Start date:
May 14, 2011 at 1325
End date:
May 15, 2011, at 0128
Elapsed time:
12 hours, 3 minutes
Mileage, Average:
224.3, 18.61mph
Start location:
Fyrvej 106, 5867 Blaavand. The parking lot at the
lighthouse at Blavandshuk Fyr
End location:
Prins Knuds Daemning 2, 2791 Dragoer. The parking
lot at Dragoer Fort
Officials:
Martin Thomassen, Fleming Bach
a “first of the season” race, to determine the fitness for
the upcoming races.
The start was a little delayed due to heavy rain. It
rained quite a lot for the first 4-5 hours of the ride and
there was a 10-15 mph wind from south west. Temperatures around 15 degrees C in daytime and below 10 degree C after sunset. Cloudy and no moon.
The ride went well. There was no crisis at any time,
and the fast pace was unexpected. About halfway
there was a flat, but that was quickly fixed. There was a
lot of focus on consuming the right amount of energy,
since that mistake was the biggest hurdle during the
last record attempt from south to north. Mostly liquid
energy drink, some energy bars, and some sandwiches.
Most of the ride was done on a Kuota Kueen-K
timetrial bike with Zipp Sub9 and 1080 frontwheel. A
fast bike and perfect for the flat course. As the backup
I used a Kuota KOM roadbike with Zipp Zedtech 4+8
wheels. It was used during the flat and a few smaller
sections to get into another riding position.
Even though the pace was high and the legs were
strong the crewchief decided to stop the ride at the
turnaround at Dragoer Fortress, due to some miner
pains around the knees. The argument was that it is
more important to be ready for a RAAM qualifier three
weeks away.
All in all a good ride, and even if the double crossing wasn’t a success I am very happy about how well it
went.
15
VALERIO ZAMBONI
SETS THE BAR FOR ITALY
Pushing on Through Exhaustion
By Valerio Zamboni
The day before my Italy west to
Rider:
Valerio Zamboni, UMCA member #5911
Standard, mens 50-59
Start date:
March 10, 2012 at 0200
End date:
March 11, 2012 at 1016
Elapsed time:
1 day, 8 hours, 16 minutes
Mileage, Average:
451, 13.98mph
Start location:
Piazzale de Gasperi, 18039 Ventimiglia, IM (Italy), at
border with France
End location:
Strada per Lazzaretto, 34015 Muggia, TS (Italy) at
border with Slovenia
Officials:
Piero Dal Maso, Enrico de Angeli
Crew Members:
Marie Duverneuil, Kzrysztof Monuszko, Jakub,
Paulina, and Alessandro
16
east crossing record attempt was not a good day. It was
a full working day including some hours of driving, and
the sleep I had planned to have on Friday, 8pm until
Saturday morning around 1am somehow didn’t happen:
my usual measures to obtain sleep didn't work. On top
of this, the weather forecast was definitely not the one
I expected; the low pressure on the east of Europe that
was supposed to go away was still there with easterly
winds of around 10/15 MPH and overnight temperatures in the lower 30's. Also, in order to make my life
even more miserable, my trainer decided that I had to
keep a fast pace until I was done with the hilly part of
the route at around the 8 hour mark. The goal was to
stay awake as long as possible, keeping a decent pace
for at least 25% of the whole race.
The first 9 hours were spent in a rolling terrain and
went as planned with my HR at around 90%, until we
got to the summit of the only high climb of the route of
850 meters (2790 ft). Once the downhill part began,
there were no more mountains to even slightly protect
me from being completely exposed to the head wind.
The descent was very long at a very slow gradient and I
was forced to pedal until I reached the flat ground. The
next 10 hours were just as forecasted, with a steady
head wind of around 10/15 mph. At the 20 hour mark I
started to feel exhausted but I managed to stay on the
bike until 25 hours, when I decided I needed a power
nap of 5 minutes, which did not work out as well as I
thought. At the 26 hour mark I got another 8 minutes of
SPRING 2012
The entire team.
The route across Italy.
sleep. Every race has a different story, and in this one
short power naps were not enough, so at the 28 hour
mark I took another 28 minute nap, which this time
made enough sleep for me until the end.
This ride was the most difficult one I ever did in this
period of time. The combination of lack of rest before
the crossing, an initial fast pace, and then head wind
was terrible and it left me completely worn out. Also,
the fact that there was no previous record or other racers to challenge was for me a new situation which required a lot more focus. I really have to thank the moral
support of my whole crew.
Now some fascinating facts:
that makes these things possible, with a special mention
for Drew Clark, one of the most patient people I had
the pleasure of dealing with in my life.
I wasted 25 minutes because
of 34 red lights.
I drank 10 liters of SPIZ and about 2 liters of water. As
solid food I just had 5 small boiled potatoes, a few
cookies and one energy bar. The feeling when you are
on a liquid diet was really uncomfortable, and the craving for something solid became so strong that I had to
ask the crew to avoid eating when the following car was
approaching me for hand-offs. The liquid diet is effective but you need a lot of experience to handle it; it’s a
challenge within the challenge.
As usual, a skilled and experienced crew was entirely part of my achievement. Jakub, Paulina, Marie,
Kzrysztof and Alessandro are their names; incredible
people who make these kind of accomplishments
achievable. Piero Dal Maso and Enrico de Angeli (RAAM
veteran and a strong ultracyclist) were the officials who
monitored the performance on behalf of UMCA. I
would also like to thank the the UMCA Record Panel
17
MY FIRST UMCA RACE
By Shari Heinrich
I couldn’t have asked for better
weather or company for my first Calvin’s Challenge attempt and my first UMCA event—even if it was a baby
step as the 6-hour race. Sure, I’ve done many rides over
the years that took 6 or more hours of riding time. But
I’ve never done them where every break counted
against my time. In my amateur racing days with Savage
Hill, I think my longest road race was 50 miles.
My goals for Calvin’s were simple and measurable:
Complete 100 miles; minimize off-the-bike time to bottle changeouts; and if I really had to, one port-a-potty
stop. I had my time-trial bars on, mentally set for six
hours of riding solo if need be. I had a cooler set up
with the four additional bottles of Accelerade I should
go through, along with three smaller extras in case I
drank at a faster rate than I expected. In my jersey
pocket were six “Sport Leg” tablets to help my body
fight lactic acid, for hours 2 and 4. In my “1 hour pre
race” baggie were the first three I’d take, along with
preventative ibuprofen. In my race cooler was one
lemon for fighting inflammation post race. Under my
wheels: countless hours of riding in this amazingly mild
winter, including my multiple TOSRV training rides of
60+ miles solo or with friends. My best solo average
had been 17.3 mph, but I had taken a 15-minute break in
18
Prospect. If I had to ride solo today, 100 would be a
challenge. But if I could ride it with friends, it should be
within reach.
The day started well, with my getting up on time, on
the road on time, and at registration minutes before
Race Director (and friend) Christine Graham would
open it for 6-hour racers to pick up their packets. The
Grahams and the Stephens had a great setup with volunteers, and checkin and transponder pickup went
smoothly.
An excellent contingent of friends who are part of
WBC and Roll made their way to the starting line.
Thanks to my experience from my Savage Hill days, I
knew to be near the front and to “mark” the people I
really wanted to ride with.
The gun went off. The tailwind and balmy temps in
the high fifties meant we got a fast start. I was fine at 22
mph, and let faster racers ride away from me, past me.
Once I caught the wheels of Mike Perakis and Amy Rees,
I was exactly where I wanted to be. Mike is an awesome
rider, and even on his single speed I knew I could trust
his wheel. Amy used to be part of Savage Hill, and I still
get to ride with her at times. I knew this other friend was
another great person to ride with. Bill Dilts got up the
road, which was a shame, but I didn’t want to overextend
myself too early to catch him and then stay with him.
SPRING 2012
I remembered Race Director (and friend) Larry
Graham’s advice from a week before, supplied at the
Harlem Township chicken dinner: ride faster than you
plan at the start so that if you need to, you can drop
back and hook up with another group; but don’t go so
fast that you’re burned out at 50 miles and end up lying
near the school, tongue hanging out of your mouth as
you try to recover. I was faster than I wanted for my distance goal, but not so fast that I felt lactic acid building.
Perfect start!
Someone Mike had met last year, Don, was in our
impromptu group that was forming. Others who had
gotten off to a fast start were jumping on as we passed
them. At our highest, I think we were at fifteen. I would
have been content to be a wheelsucker—it was, after
all, a race! However, Don and Mike quickly organized us
into a rotating paceline. Since I’ve done rotating pacelines before, that was nothing new, though I was admittedly out of practice. We taught the others the
concepts as fast as we could; some caught on pretty
quick, while others never figured out how to keep the
pace constant in the working line. The best reaction
came from 15-year-old Alex, who realized how much
faster he was traveling with the group, but expending
the same energy as when we had come upon him.
I didn’t want to stop at the 28-mile checkpoint, but key
members of our paceline did. I knew better than to
head out. Half the group ventured ahead without us.
Within a few miles of our having resumed the race, we
passed every one of them. Without Mike, Don, Amy
and me, their paceline had fallen apart, and each had
expended too much energy as they rode solo. Only one
was able to jump back on our paceline, but we lost him
a few minutes later.
We made our next stop, and second split, at the
conclusion of the 50. Amy needed some food, so Mike,
Alex, and I stopped. I wouldn’t see any of the others
who rode on until Don lapped me on the 7-mile course
with a few minutes to go in the overall race.
We four talked it over and decided to start the 7mile course, since our speed had fallen in the past few
miles, and we were a smaller group. Better to be ensured of smaller chunks, rather than risking something
out on that 50-mile lap. After three laps, it surprised
me that I was still going strong and didn’t want to stop,
while Amy and Mike wanted a quick breather. I said my
farewells, grabbing a new bottle and rolling as they
stopped. Since I had pulled much of that third lap, at
the speed I hoped to hold through the end of the race,
I knew it was time to drop into my own time-trial mode.
I’d ride based on perceived effort, how much lead I felt
in my legs as lactic acid built, whether I felt tell-tale
asthma signs. I needed to push myself just below that
magic “redline.” My fluid consumption was perfect. I
ride with huge bottles, 32-oz, and go through roughly 1
every hour with the conditions I was riding under. Having done a bottom bracket and chain changeout along
with 2 new tires a few nights before, I knew I had the
best setup I could have for a race. Everything was textbook perfect. Almost too perfect…
After the race, others spoke about the allure of
resting or even quitting the race early because of the
frequency of seeing the school on the 7-mile course. I
had no such problem. Though I hadn’t meant to, I had
slipped fully into race mode, and only a mechanical was
going to slow me down. I had already coached myself
on aspects of the race:
• At 6 hours, I wasn’t attempting a total ride time
any longer than I’d done before.
• With a goal of 100 miles, I wasn’t attempting my
longest distance.
With each lap, I stopped only if I needed a bottle,
and I carried as much speed as I could between the
scoring mat and my cooler. I even left a set of skid
marks! Some laps, I remembered to say a quick inner
thanks to the bike gods that I hadn’t flatted. I looked at
my spare wheelset: there if needed, but so much the
better if not needed. Although I rarely acknowledged
the cheers I heard for me, I soaked in every one of
them. Knowing someone is watching me has always
been a motivator.
As the time counted down, I knew my goal of 100
was easily reachable. One of my dad’s phrases came to
me, “I can do that standing on my head.” Doh! Don’t jinx
yourself, twit!
Miles ticked up as minutes ticked down. 100 met, I
believed 106 was in reach as long as I didn’t give up
much more speed: I had seen how the section with the
baby headwind was causing me to give up 1 mph more
than on earlier laps. When I crossed the line the final
time and Christine Graham told/asked, “3 minutes to
go, are you continuing on?” my answer was a resounding “of course!” Why would I quit the race early? As
Mike had told me before the race, “Don’t stop until
someone walks in front of you and stops you.” Once I
made the turn from the school, I’d be on the slight
downhill, slight tailwind section of the course. I needed
to put my head down and just ride, dumping anything
left into the pedals. One more mile was doable.
When I approached Larry Graham at mile-marker
one, indeed, he motioned me to stop. I gasped out, “do I
get credit?” Woo-hoo, yes! I had done it, 107.5 miles. My
first “ultra” race, even if a short one, was successfully
under my wheels, perfect in every aspect. I’ll be lucky if
the next UMCA race stacks up so perfectly, in fact.
19
20
SPRING 2012
21
In the WBC tent, riders slowly re-convened. Lee
Smith and Nikhil Shah were already there. My racing
buddies Amy and Mike arrived a bit later, and eventually Mike Rea, Kathy Petrucci, Bill Dilts, Sue Olander,
Craig Casdorph, and others arrived. We cheered the
12-hour racers we knew, looked at them frantically
downing food or refilling bottles. Heard them motivating each other and themselves—Pascale Lercangee’s
self-talk carried to us as she growled to herself to keep
riding hard. It worked—she tied with two others for the
women’s high of 235 miles, and set the new record for
the 45-49 division. Our talk turned to how we couldn’t
see ourselves doing the 12-hour race. Ever. Someone—I
think Mike Rea or Amy, recognized that now probably
wasn’t the time to make that decision.
How right they were. A few weeks out, and I have
proudly worn the Calvin’s T-shirt twice. I’ve wondered
how I’d feel if I had done the 12-hour race. Just like that,
my mind started playing with that idea. A few years
back, before the last two car-accidents had required
more physical therapy, I had set a long-range goal of
earning the title as the “Cross Ohio East-West”
22
women’s champion. It’s still not out of the question,
since there are no women who have completed that
challenge. A step in that goal was riding 12 hours, and
the step in front of that one was riding continuously for
6 hours. With Calvin’s, I had just met that first goal.
Why not try the 12-hour race in 2013? I don’t have any
aspirations of beating Pascale’s record. But I do have
the aspiration of challenging myself, and seeing what
I’m capable. How strong my “stuff” really is, and
whether my mental toughness can handle the 12 hours.
If I can do that, then I’ve come one step closer to seeing if I have what it takes to race across Ohio.
For now, I must once more decrease my riding time
and return my attention to house projects. If I focus on
them, I can finish them in 2012. And then we’ll see what
the 2013 riding season brings: Calvin’s 6, or Calvin’s 12!
SPRING 2012
HEART OF THE SOUTH
500 AND 200, 2012 RACE RESULTS
HOS 500, 517 Miles
Male Solo
Kurt Searvogel
Valerio Zamboni
Kelly Parham
Ed Garrison
Steve Bugbee
Jay Yost
Sheridan, AR
Montecarlo, Monaco
Gainesville GA
Cordova, TN
Pittsfield, MA
Mahomet, IL
Female Solo
Lori Dailey
Rincon, GA
Riding for “Effingham County Navigation Team”
Male Two Person Team
Southern Comfort
Tim Haskew
Doug Gibbs
Male Three Person Team
Roadworx
Mark Pattinson
Daniel Medina
Charles Combs
Age
49
58
53
51
57
40
42
Peachtree City, GA
Luthersville, GA
41
52
Westport, CT
Oyster Bay, NY
San Diego, CA
42
50
57
Male Four Person Team
HTHH, Hang Tough Hayley Hart
Austin Hofmeister
Tallahassee, FL
James Thompson
Tallahassee, FL
Halsey Beshers
Monticello, FL
Brady Irwin
Tallahassee, FL
30
35
41
30
Des Moines, IA
Des Moines, iA
Des Moines, IA
55
40
45
Above and Beyond Cancer
Robert Irving
Brandon Sickler
Sean Arndt
HOS 200, 197 Miles
Upright
Chris Shelton
Greg Jacobs
David Stango
Jim DelVecchio
Recumbent
Female
Maria Parker
Peggy Petty
Male
James Parker
Steve Petty
Patrick Barnett
Time
32+04
35+38
38+29
39+50
DNF hailstorm medical
DNF medical
DNF medical
30+16
28+05
24+24
33+25
Age
50
31
35
56
Time
Lumberton, NC
Frisco TX
49
11+59
13+47
Lumberton, NC
Frisco TX
Lumberton, NC
48
49
25
11+55
11+56
DNF medical
Birmingham, AL
Haverton, PA
Aston PA
St Augustine, FL
11+34
13+47
13+47
DNF mechanical
23
RACE TIMING
FOR ULTRA RACES
By Larry Graham
We often hear requests for more
ultra style races when new riders discover our niche in
the sport after participating in one of the 12/24hr races.
The question arises; “Why aren’t there more races
of this kind?”
Over the next few issues I’ll attempt to address
some of the challenges in producing a 6/12/24hr race
from my perspective as one of the owners of Calvin’s
Challenge. My focus will be on loop races that are of
the fixed time variety where as the participants try to
ride as far as they can in the allotted time.
Whether you are a curious seasoned ultra racer or
someone that has some interest in starting your own
event, I hope you will read on to understand just what
goes into making a great race, or what may be lacking
to prevent a race from becoming more successful.
What differentiates a local century ride or even a
Randonneuring event from an ultra race? The ability to
accurately score the racer’s mileage. This is a fundamental requirement for the 6/12/24hr races. For the
500 /400 /200/100mile races the distance is known
and only a racer’s time from start to finish is measured.
More on why this is important later.
Why start out the discussion with race scoring and
timing? Because the decisions you make on how you
are going to score your race will drive many of the
other decisions you will be making - from course layout,
to the number of volunteers you will need to produce a
successful race, to what the cost will be to produce the
race. If you are looking to start a 6/12/24hr race, I
strongly recommend you plan for success by thinking
about your scoring and timing right from the beginning.
This was our 4th year using electronic scoring and this
is by far the single biggest challenge we have faced as
race directors. By all accounts we have all of the other
challenges of producing a first class event well in hand,
except one - the one that matters most when it comes
time to hand out the awards.
There are 3 basic ways to keep score and I’ve been
a racer at each. Each has some positives and negatives
to be considered.
24
Punch Cards.
This is what we might
call the standard way
to score a multi loop
fixed time variable distance race. Each racer
is issued a bib number
that is attached to the
racer and has boxes that
corresponds to checkpoints on the route. As the
racer reaches the checkpoint
the appropriate box is
“punched”. Somewhat foolproof
you might say, however, there are a
number of drawbacks to punch cards.
First, racers hate them. They hate having to
stop at each checkpoint. If the race has a short
night loop that could mean a racer might have to stop
every 15-20 minutes. Race organizers hate them because they are volunteer extensive. The cards need to
be made nearly bullet proof as we found out during our
first year running Calvin’s when we had heavy rain and
30+mph winds. Many racers came off the first loop
missing their numbers. At the bigger drafting legal
races the lead pack might be 50+ strong and there
might only be 5-10 volunteers punching the cards. This
causes a massive sprint into the checkpoint and subsequent bottleneck that can leave many waiting in line as
the leaders roll down the road. Punch cards have to be
accessible. The race might start out cool with racers
wearing a jacket, so they either have to pin the bib
number to the outside of the jacket and then remember to transfer it if they remove the jacket, or pin it
under the jacket and then having to pull the jacket up
at each checkpoint. Then there are the tabulations,
missing punches, missing cards all together, and those
that might add a punch trying to gain an advantage. It is
still the system to beat if you have a large number of
volunteers to man the checkpoint and to keep bottlenecks to a minimum or have less than 100 race partici-
SPRING 2012
pants. The National 24
hour Challenge is the
best example of how
this system is done
right, but they have a
volunteer army of 170+.
Call Out Your Number.
This is pretty much self
explanatory. As a racer
passes through a checkpoint they call out their assigned number. This works well
for non drafting races and races
with fewer participants. The cost is
minimal, but for drafting legal and races
with higher number of participants, large
numbers of volunteers are essential to be able
to score each rider as they come through the checkpoint. Racers have been known to start calling out the
wrong number or start speaking in an unknown dialect
as they speed by leaving the checkpoint marshal trying
to figure out who just went by. Most every race I’ve participated in that uses the “Call Out Your Number” scoring system has had issues at some point. The Ultra
Midwest and the Saratoga 12/24 both are examples of
how this can work well.
Electronic Timing and Scoring.
After our first year of running Calvin’s Challenge and
having the issue with weather damaged punch cards we
sought out a local timer of running races thinking “How
hard can it be”? I had participated in the Sebring 12/24
and they seemed to have perfected their system. Also,
after taking ownership of the race from the Dayton Cycling Club we lost nearly the entire volunteer base. We
had to find a system that minimized our volunteer
needs to punch cards and clear the bottle necks at the
checkpoints. I strongly feel that this is the key ingredient for those seeking to produce a 6/12/24hr race as it
greatly reduces the volunteer need.
As it turned out, those famous first words of “How
hard can it be” turned into “Why is it so hard?” There is
a big difference between a race with a fixed distance
run over variable time, and a race that has a fixed time
in which racers will be posting variable distances. It is
seemingly a minor difference, but it turns out to be a
major tripping point for the two scoring vendors that
we have worked with.
There are two systems commonly used; The MYLAPS Cycle ChampionChip system, (previously known
as ChampionChip), and RFID which stands for Radio
Frequency Identification. Based on what I’m reading,
the RFID is where all the advancements are being
made. It also looks to be the most cost effective because the RFID tags don’t have to be collected after
the event where as the chip do, and at about $30 a
piece you better collect them all!
To say we have found the perfect race timer would
be an exercise in exasperation. In the last 4 races we
have used two different vendors. One used the RFID
tags and the second one using a chip system. Surprisingly each vendor did the best in their first attempt,
with their second try considerably less actuate, if not
an all out failure. At this year’s race our scoring vendor
recorded 20,000 tag reads, but the program they
wrote failed and was not able to put the tag read with
the correct racer. The equipment seems to be up to
the task, but the program to process the data is the
likely tripping point.
I feel that the timers we have worked with just
don’t understand that I’m not interested in time or how
far until the end of allowed race time. When rider #25
crosses reader #1 he is to be scored having completed
lap A, and every time they cross reader #1 I want them
to be given credit for scoring another lap A. When the
move to lap B, I want them to be scored a lap B every
time they cross reader #2. Since I know the value of lap
A and lap B then it is just a matter of a simple calculation of adding up all the A’s and B’s to give me a total
mileage for that racer. Sounds simple and straight forward to me, but as with many things in life we seem to
Continues on page 24
25
complicate the simple and simplify the complex.
In my trial by fire I’ve discovered some tips that I’ll
be taking what I have learned as I seek out prospective
scoring providers:
• Does the system use generic EPC Generation 2
class 1 readers and tags? They are the most cost
effective.
• Does your system use both either overhead or
mat readers AND a side reader?
• I will insist on double tagging - one tag on the
bike and one tag on the rider accuracy goes to
99.97% with double tagging.
• Can your system be equipped with an auditable
tag read confirmation? That lets the racer know that
they were read, and more importantly, not read.
• I will not allow the vendor to change the format
of the race to suit their system as did happen this
year at Calvin’s Challenge. I still have nightmares
over that.
• We will have a back-up system punch card in
place in case of vendor failure.
• I’ve looked into the SPOT GPS enabled system
and I feel that it is not applicable to multi loop
races. The cost also is prohibitive.
Buy my own system? While we would have control
of this very important part of our race, it would take 710 years to realize any return on that investment. Or,
we would be forced into scoring other races to help
pay for the cost of the system. Just like other once a
year races, we cannot justify heading in that direction.
In my research I’ve found that there are a number
of race management companies that offer a whole
array of management software services, from racer registration to post race reports, but they all seem to be
geared toward “Fixed distance variable time” events.
This could open the conversation with established
race owners about the need for the dirty word of
“Standardization”. It really doesn’t make sense for each
race director to re-invent the wheel for each race on
the calendar. Remember, there is strength in numbers.
We stand a better chance of a race management company taking notice of our niche in the cycling world if
we can present a united front and show that our numbers deserve attention. Ultimately this would open the
door for us to work with these race management companies for the mutual benefit of ultra cycling.
I’d also like to throw out the challenge to all those
who deal with data collection and write programs to
sort through it. I’d like to see a program developed just
for multi loop ultra style races that anyone could take
to their local race timer and get successful results at
minimal cost.
If we want to see ultra racing grow, we need to
work together to make it easier for upstarts to produce
new races in underserved markets and help the established races become more successful by reducing cost
and allow for growth.
I hope that at your next race you will have a better
understanding of the challenges race directors face
when trying to score your mileage and will work with
them as they face this sometimes daunting task.
If you would like to join in on the conversation with
other race directors there is a Google group:
http://groups.google.com/group/ultra-events?hl=en
ULTRA CYCLING LOSES FAN AND RIDER
The Ultra cycling community has tragically lost a dedicated fan and talented rider.
Dr. Gary Holdiness of Kosciusko, Mississippi was struck by an SUV and fatally injured on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The accident happened on Sunday, May 6th,
around 12:40 pm just south of Kosciusko. He was struck from behind and according
to Park Rangers there is no evidence that Gary was riding unsafely. The seventeen
year old driver did stop and called 911. Gary and his family were huge RAAM fans,
working at the time station in Kosciusko in 2001 and 2002. Gary’s son, Samuel,
went on the road with RAAM for several years, making a complete crossing and
helping out in numerous capacities. Dr. Holdiness was a proponent for the three
feet passed in Mississippi in 2010. Ironically he was wearing his bright yellow three
feet jersey when hit. Gary was training for the Fireweed in Alaska this July. He was
planning on the doing the 200 mile race to Valdez.
26
SPRING 2012
27
The Future of UltraCycling
8 YR. OLD
AIDAN RAYNOR
SETS RECORD
Rider:
Aidan Raynor
Age:
8 Years
Place of Residence
Beeton, Ontario Canada
When did you start Cycling?
I started cycling when I was 3 years old.
What got you interested in Ultra-Cycling?
My dad has done it for a long time, and I have been to
some races like Sebring, and Calvin’s. I really wanted to
see how far I could go. Last year I entered the fun category at Calvin’s and rode the record distance in my category. My dad and I talked about it and we figured that
I could beat the record this year.
How much do you ride?
I ride every day except Friday. I do road training on
Monday, Time Trials on Tuesday, Mountain Bike races
on Wednesday, and Mountain Bike training on Thursday. Then I race in the Ontario Cup series for both
road and mountain bikes on the weekends, in the squirt
division.
What do you like about cycling and how do you keep
motivated?
I really like the energy when I cycle. I would like to beat
Eddy Merckx record and be the greatest cyclist in the
world.
You rode 151.5 miles in 12 hours. The previous record
was 70 miles. You are only 8 years old, how did you
ride so far?
I just kept going till they stopped me.
28
Did you have a plan coming into the race of how far
you wanted to go?
I planned on doing 120 miles, but then we lost count of
how many 7 mile loops we had done, and just kept
going.
What were your favorite memories from the race?
The hardest part was when I wanted a break and then
when my Dad and I came through the loop, Jeff announced that I had just broken the record and everyone started cheering. I couldn’t stop with everyone
cheering so I just kept riding through and went out for
another lap. My favorite thing to do was to try not to
get passed and if someone came up to pass me, I sped
up and tried to hold onto them for as long as I could.
If you had a piece of advice for other young riders out
there or parents of young riders, what would it be?
I would say to the young riders to just keep riding, the
more you ride the faster you will get and the further
you will go. To the moms and dads I would say: I love
riding with my dad, and we ride as much as we can. We
get to travel all around and see lots of places and then
ride in those places. I like that my dad wants to ride
with me and not just with his riding buddies. Ride with
your kids.
What event would you like to do next?
I would like to do the Sebring race, and ride on the
track. If I don’t do Sebring next year I would like to do a
Randonneur 200 brevet.
SPRING 2012
9 YR OLD
WESLEY HILL
RIDES 92 MILES AT
CALVIN'S
CHALLENGE
Rider:
Wesley Hill
Age:
9 Years
Place of Residence
London, Ontario Canada
Hi, my name is Wesley. I'm nine and I got to race in
Calvin's Challenge 12 hour ultramarathon last weekend.
Before Friday I didn't know that they had 12 hour bike
races, let alone that they'd let kids race in them! It was
really cool and I had a great time. I learned a lot about
biking and about myself. I can't wait to race in another.
The race was hard, but I'm so glad that I stuck with
it. My dad had told me that the record was 71 miles. I
thought I could break that, but I wasn't sure because
the farthest I'd ever ridden before was 50 miles. But I
did! I set a goal of 72 miles, and I rode 92! For my next
race, I'm going to go for 150!
My dad said that I'd be excited at the beginning
and ride harder and faster than I could sustain. He was
right. I was going fast and passing a bunch of people,
but I started to get tired after six miles. So my dad and
I slowed a bit and found a more comfortable pace. It's
going to be a long day, my dad said, so there's no point
in wearing ourselves out in the morning.
I found out that the biggest challenge was eating.
Dad said to eat before I got hungry, but that was really
hard. We had some gels with us. I'd never eaten a gel
before, and I wasn't really sure that I wanted to. So
when my dad told me to eat, I refused. But in a little
while I started to feel really tired and crappy. By the
time we got to the checkpoint, I was ready to quit. Dad
said it was because I wasn't eating, so I ate a little bit at
the checkpoint. It helped, but it took awhile to start
feeling better. Plus, stopping made me cold. I was glad
to get going again to get warmed up even though I still
wasn't feeling great. A few miles later my dad made me
eat a gel. I picked tropical fruit punch. YUCK! It tasted
terrible. Dad said it was pretty much all sugar. Who
would have thought that sugar could have tasted so
bad? Dad said that we'd find flavors that I like and try
other things when we train in the future. The gel did
give me the energy that I needed, however. Although I
don’t think I like gels that much, I learned why they are
important and am going to eat them when I need to in
the future.
My other big challenge was what my dad called
"negative thinking." He said I'd "hit a wall," and start
thinking that I couldn't reach my goal and that I didn't
29
really want to. He was right again. That was really hard.
The biggest thing I found was first to quit the negative
thoughts. Dad said that I could tell my legs to "shut up!"
if it helped me to get rid of the bad thoughts. The other
thing was to begin thinking positively and concentrate
on reaching my goal. That was hard too, especially
when I wasn't feeling good because I ran out of energy.
But my dad and I worked together on thinking positively, and by the time we finished the 50 mile loop, I
was feeling really good and confident again. Actually
breaking my goal later in the day was also a great
boost. Even though at the end of the day my legs were
completely worn out, I felt better and was more eager
to go than in the morning. It's amazing what you can do
when you keep telling yourself that you think you can!
One of my biggest disappointments happened
after I completed the 50 mile loop. My dad had me
take a break while he rode the loop again. I now wish
that I'd kept riding. When my dad got back, it was hard
to get back on the bike because I was nice and warm
playing video games in the car. Again, I didn't think that
reaching my goal was so important. But I'm glad that my
dad wouldn't let me quit, and my favorite part of the
race was the afternoon. The sun came out and it got
nice and hot. And I just had a ton of fun racing around
the short loop. I did "attacks" on my dad and all the
other riders were really nice to me and encouraging. It
was kind of cool to be noticed by everyone.
I did something else that was really cool, although it
got me in trouble with my dad. He suggested that I take
another break and eat while he rode a lap by himself. I
did that, but then I saw my new friend Aiden ride past. I
thought I could catch up to him and ride a lap with him,
so I got my helmet back on, got my bike, and left. I
never did catch up to Aiden and his dad, so I did the
whole 7 mile loop by myself. My dad was pretty
steamed that I left without telling him. I can see why he
was mad, but I think it pretty cool that I did the whole
loop by myself. And I know that secretly he was pretty
proud of me for doing it, even though he was mad. Next
time I'm going to ask to be allowed to ride some loops
30
on my own because it was so cool to be independent.
Our final lap was the most fun. We weren't sure
that we'd have time to complete it. But we decided to
go for it. The race officials kept counting down the time
at each mile marker — eleven minutes, eight minutes,
six minutes, three minutes…. We pushed hard and
crossed the finish line with just seconds to spare! I was
super excited about that. And I rode 92 miles, 20 more
than my original goal. I can hardly wait for the next 12
hour race. I'm training to be stronger and faster, and am
sure that I can reach my new goal of 150 miles. Just
watch me!
SPRING 2012
31
WHERE DID THAT 500 CALORIES GO?
…and Other Sordid Stories From Your GI Tract!
By Jennifer Vierling
We’ve all had great days
on the bike when everything clicks and bad ones when
your gut is in knots and nothing seems to work. What’s
the difference? Training, adequate rest, and mental
preparation are all key, but nutrition is just as important. Nutrition that works for a few hours can leave you
feeling sick by hour 5, let alone 12 or 24. You can feel
great in cool weather and fall apart on a hot day. Sometimes it seems random, and the sports fuel industry
contributes to the confusion with a myriad of claims
and buzzwords. So what works for ultra cycling and
what doesn’t?
There’s no single answer since people vary in so
many ways, but to stack the odds in your favor, it’s helpful to understand the function and interdependencies
between 3 key elements of nutrition: hydration, electrolytes, and fuel.
Cyclists tend to under hydrate, particularly on hot,
dry, or windy days when sweat evaporates more
quickly. Dehydration is dangerous, as is over hydrating
with water alone, which can lead to hyponatremia and
even death. Beyond serious consequences, adequate
hydration is critical to processing fuel and maintaining
electrolyte balance. Under hydrating limits the absorption rate of carbohydrates (energy) and electrolytes, so
drinking enough water is the basis of good nutrition.
How much fluid is enough? This varies from person to
person, by temperature, and with exercise intensity, but
24 oz (one large water bottle) per hour is a good starting point, and more if it’s hot.
Most people think of electrolytes as preventing
cramps, but that’s an oversimplification of their role in
the body (and of cramping). Electrolytes are salts and
minerals used by the body to carry on normal functions.
Sodium in particular is essential to life and tightly regulated by the body. Drinking too much plain water can dilute sodium in blood to dangerous levels (hyponatremia),
and conversely, under hydrating concentrates sodium
levels by reducing the water content in blood.
Electrolytes are lost through sweat. When electrolyte levels are out of whack, normal body function is
compromised, including one’s ability to keep turning
the pedals. The goal then of electrolyte nutrition is to
maintain electrolyte balance through adequate hydra32
tion and by replacing sweat loss. The presence of
sodium in water accelerates the absorption of both
from the small intestine, so combining electrolytes with
water is the most efficient way to replace both.
The composition of sweat varies from person to
person (and even day to day), but on average contains
sodium at 900mg/L, potassium at 200mg/L, calcium at
15mg/L, and magnesium at 13mg/L, with additional
trace elements.
Keep these concentration guidelines in mind when
evaluating the electrolyte content of drinks and fuels.
Unfortunately, many sports drinks contain only a fraction of the electrolytes found in sweat or tout other ingredients as “electrolytes” that aren’t found in sweat.
When in doubt, look at the ingredients and nutrition information to determine the quantities of electrolytes
and compare them to sweat.
Finally, cyclists need fuel to avoid running out of
energy within a few hours. The liver stores glycogen
and meters out glucose to power muscles during exercise until stores run low and the body shuts off non-essential consumption (like pedaling). You’ve probably
experienced this as bonking. Moderate and higher intensity workouts burn 500+ calories per hour, so you
might be tempted to try to replace these calories, but
humans are limited to processing 250-300 calories per
hour. Eating more fills your stomach, but it doesn’t get
processed. Instead, excess food waits its turn in the digestive tract where it can cause GI distress. We also
metabolize fat to help close the gap, but fat metabolism isn’t fast enough to keep up with moderate to
higher burn rates. Eventually you will run out of energy
and have to stop. So the goal of fueling during exercise
is to maximize absorption and utilization of fuel to extend the life of glycogen stores without upsetting the
digestive system.
Fueling well begins with taste, and taste is highly
personal. Many sports nutrition products are designed
to taste good initially or at rest, but become difficult to
take after a few hours on the bike. Sweet flavors and
thick or sticky consistencies in particular often lead to
consuming less as the day goes on, which is exactly the
opposite of what you need.
The next stop is the stomach where you’d like fuel
to slosh around as little as possible. The factors affect-
SPRING 2012
ing gastric emptying include the caloric content of fuel,
temperature, volume of liquid in the stomach, intensity
of exercise, the body’s need for fuel, osmolality (a
measure of the concentration of molecules in liquid),
and other variables. Solid fuels are the slowest to
empty since they have to be broken down and mixed
with water to pass. Carbohydrate liquids at concentrations up to 10% empty the fastest, at a rate similar to
water when consumed at regular intervals during prolonged exercise.
Gels and chews fall somewhere in the middle since
they need to be dissolved into liquid. Here again, you
can see the importance of mixing fuel and with water
to promote gastric emptying.
From the stomach, fuel empties into the small intestine where it is processed and absorbed into the
bloodstream. Glucose (often found as Dextrose) is easily absorbed because it’s already in a usable form, and
recent research has found combining glucose with another carbohydrate source boosts the maximum rate of
absorption.
Additionally, the combination of glucose and
sodium with water accelerates the rate of water absorption, taking carbohydrates and sodium along with
it. Long chain fuels such as Maltodextrin (a chain of
Dextrose molecules) must be broken apart, which slows
absorption and taxes your digestive system. Complex
molecules like protein make heavy demands on the digestive system, which is why protein is one of the leading causes of GI distress amongst endurance athletes.
Everyone’s digestive system is different, and there’s
more to the nutrition story than space permits, but the
fundamentals of nutrition during exercise are becoming
clearer as exercise science advances: adequate hydration is key to maintaining electrolyte balance and absorbing fuels; replace the electrolytes you’re sweating
out; and choose a fuel you can consume at a regular rate
(250-300 calories per hour) throughout exercise that
maximizes calorie absorption and minimizes demands on
the digestive tract. Putting these 3 basic concepts together can help you have more of those good days than
bad, and who doesn’t want that? Happy pedaling!
1. See Gisolfi, CV et al: Effect of sodium concentration
in a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution on intestinal absorption. Med Sci Sprots Exerc, 27:1414, 1995
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspiration
3. The effects of consuming carbohydrate-electrolyte
beverages on gastric emptying and fluid absorption
during and following exercise. By Murray R., Sports
Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) [1987, 4(5):322-51]
4. See Sport Nutrition: An Introduction to Energy Production and Performance by Asker E. Jeukendrup,
Michael Gleeson
5. See Joe Friel’s post for an interesting discussion of
recent research on protein during exercise:
http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/09/should-you-usecarbohydrate-protein-sports-drinks.html
33
CERTIFIED RECORDS
Congratulations!
Your record has been certified by Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) as follows:
Congratulations on your latest record!
Valerio Zamboni, 58, Monte Carlo, MONACO
Standard Bike
Italy West-East
New endpoints:
West: Piazzale de Gasperi, 18039 Ventimiglia, IM (Italy) ,
at border with France, coordinates: 43.784346,7.529932
East: Strada per Lazzaretto, 34015 Muggia, TS (Italy) at
border with Slovenia, coordinates: 45.594819,13.724039
March 10-11, 2012
1 day 8 hours 16 minutes (32:16)
451 Miles
13.98 mph average speed
Officials: Piero Dal Maso, Enrico de Angeli
Gerry Eddlemon, 67, Knoxville, Tennessee
Standard Bike
Panama South-North-South
New endpoints:
South: Traffic circle at SE terminus of Ave. Amador,
Panama City (NW edge of Isla Flamenco)
Latitude: 8°54'36.85"N
Longitude: 79°31'18.91"W
Be sure to watch for Valerio in RAAM 2012!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 11, 2012
Congratulations!
North: Car turnout off Carretera (Hwy) A Portobelo 30
meters SW of bridge across Rio Piedras
Latitude: 9°27'12.92"N
Longitude: 79°44'25.52"W
S-N: 3:53
N-S: 4:38
S-N-S: 8:44
55.1 Miles
54.7 Miles
109.8 Miles
Official: Luis Calvo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Valerio Zamboni, 58, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Standard Bike
Florida West-East, using previously established endpoints
January 14-15, 2012
24 Hours 20 Minutes
397.8 Miles
Officials: Mark Andrews, Darrel Smith
Congratulations!
Your record is now officially certified by Ultra Marathon
Cycling Association (UMCA) as follows:
Note: This is the fastest recorded ride ever across
Florida. All existing Florida records will remain listed as
they are in different age/gender categories.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Rose, 46, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Standard Bike
Kentucky South-North
Using previously established endpoints
May 20, 2012
12 Hours 44 Minutes
213.4 Miles
Official: Norman ONeal
Note: Lots of ups and downs on this ride.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
34
SPRING 2012
Congratulations!
Your records have been officially certified by Ultra
Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) as follows:
Congratulations!
Your record is certified by Ultra marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) as follows:
Seana Hogan, 53, Valley Springs, California
Standard Bike
Hellyer Velodrome, San Jose, CA
Sara Kay Carrell, 35, Liebenthal, Kansas
Unfaired Recumbent
Oklahoma
South-North
Using previously established endpoints
April 29, 2012
11 hr 45 min
230.8 Miles
Official: Darryl Younger
100 Mile:
4hr 42 min 54 sec
200 Mile:
9 hr 44 min 39.3 sec
That is a very impressive average speed!
12 Hour:
244 miles 840 Feet (244.16 Miles)
24 Hour:
445 Miles 4097 feet (445.78 Miles)
Note: Sara Kay’s Oklahoma record even beats the time
of the 1995 tandem record by Danny Dea & Marilyn
Phillips (14:18) and the 2011 recumbent record by Scott
Freeman (17:12). Both those records will remain listed as
they are in different categories.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 4-5, 2012
Officials: Mike Deitchman, Cindi Staiger, Brent Hawks,
John Leake, Alberto Blanco
Congratulations!
Your latest record is now officially certified by Ultra
Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) as follows:
Note:
The 100 Mile record betters the current record, also held
by Seana Hogan, set in 1993. (Hogan’s 1993 record will
remain listed as she is now in a different age category.)
The 200 Mile record betters the current record, also held
by Seana Hogan, set in 1993. (Hogan’s 1993 record will
remain listed as she is now in a different age category.)
Gerry Eddlemon, 67, Knoxville, TN
Standard Bike
100 Mile
Surveyed road course near White Oak NC
May 5, 2012
5 hr 22 min 36 sec
Officials: Tony Curtis, Tony Goodnight
The 12 Hour record betters the current record set by
Anna Mei in September 2011. Mei’s record will remain
listed due to category differences.
Note: This is an improvement on the record already
held by Eddlemon (the previous record is replaced by
this one.).
The 24 Hour record betters the current record set by
Anna Mei in September 2011. Mei’s record will remain
listed due to category differences.
Your persistence is inspiring! Way to go!
Most excellent ride! This is one of the most impressive
record rides ever!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Stay tuned! Gerry has even more record attempts coming up!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
35
TOOKE PUBLISHES BOOK ABOUT
CONQUERING THE RAAM
By Brian Argabright
When Dex Tooke
sets his mind to something it goes from
becoming a hobby to an obsession.
Tooke has just published his first book
about his experience in the Race Across
America (RAAM) and everything he and
his crew went through along the way. “Unfinished Business: The inspirational story
of true grit and determination as Dex
Tooke and his crew attempt to conquer the Race
Across America,” became Tooke’s focus for several
months and it turned out that writing the book became
just as much a passion as riding.
“Everybody was encouraging me after RAAM to
write. In November I had surgery and I was off my bike
for six weeks. I went stark crazy. I had never been off
my bike for more than eight days in a row in 5 years. It
was so bad that (his wife) Joni threatened to take my
bike apart because she knew I couldn’t put it back together,” Tooke said. “I startedwriting the Thanksgiving
after surgery. I worked on it every day and didn’t finish
until the first of March.”
Tooke said the book soon became a big part of his
life, and took a big chunk out of his time on two wheels.
“My cycling suffered. I must have gained about 10
pounds,” Tooke said. “I would go out for a ride and
think of something else that needed to be in the book
and had to come back and write it.”
The RAAM was something Tooke was familiar with.
Already an accomplished ultracyclist, Tooke decided to
take the next step and take on the RAAM in 010 at the
age of 60. The 3,000-mile race took riders from California to Maryland, across 1 states, and all of it had to
be done in less than two weeks.
Tooke made it to Maryland, but about 00 miles from
the finish line, and with time running out, he made the
difficult decision to bring an end to his time in the
RAAM. His body was worn out, his mind had been
pushed beyond its limits and he knew it was time to stop.
In 011, after spending time in what Tooke describe
as a “dark place”, he decided to take on the RAAM
once more. Armed with an experienced crew chief in
wife Joni and a supportive and experience crew, Tooke
set out to finish what he’d started the year before.
This time nothing was going to stop him. He fought
36
through illness, poor riding conditions, an assault by a motorist in Missouri, and crossed
the finish line in Annapolis, Md., in 1 days, 19
hours and 46 minutes. Tooke promises readers will get to experience just what he and
his crew did during those 1 days in the
summer of 011.
“I didn’t leave a lot out. I may have condensed a lot,
but there’s a lot of revealing stuff in there. I left it in because it’s the truth. The folks who read my early drafts
said it was authentic and that’s what I tried to do - keep
it as authentic as I could,” Tooke said.
This is Tooke’s first book, but he’s no stranger to
writing. He was published in a magazine devoted to triathletes and said that during his time as a paramedic he
would write short stories about his experiences to help
cope with what he saw on the job.
Tooke said he had an audience in mind when he set
out to write “Unfinished Business,” and that hopefully
the book would serve as an inspirational tool for others.
“I had a story to tell and needed it to get out there.
The target audience for this book is ultracyclists, RAAM
people and ‘Dexans’ (the name given to folks who followed Tooke’s exploits in RAAM), but it also needs to
be the AARP crowd of 50- and 60-year olds. They can
read this and they can know they can do this, too.
Everyone’s got a deep reserve in them and hopefully
this will encourage them to chase their dreams and do
something they didn’t think they could,” Tooke said.
As for what’s next for Tooke, who was recently
named the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association’s World
Cup Ultra Cycling Champion and the Ultra Cycling Cup
Champion for males ages 60 to 69, he said he would return to RAAM but as a crew member, not as a rider.
“I will be crewing this year’s RAAM, probably in
navigation. I’ve never been to a race that I haven’t
raced, so this will be new to me. But I’m going to pay it
forward because there were so many people who
helped me,” Tooke said.
“Unfinished Business: The inspirational story of true
grit and determination as Dex Tooke and his crew attempt to conquer the Race Across America,” is currently
available through numerous online retailers such as Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com.
SPRING 2012
37
Reto Schoch on his way to becoming 2012 RAAM
champion and setting a new record for the fastest
crossing of the continent by a RAAM rookie.
38
SPRING 2012
ULTRAMARATHON CYCLING ASSOCIATION
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
39
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
ULTRAMARATHON CYCLING ASSOCIATION
130 Old Mill Rd. East Arlington, VT 05252
page 12
page 18
page 6
page 26
page 34
ULTRACYCLING
40
the voice of ultramarathon cycling
SPRING 2012

ULTRACYCLING - UltraMarathon Cycling Association

Transcription

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