On Saturday June 19, 1993 the alarm clock went off at 5:00 AM after a night of interrupted sleep due to the abundance of nervous energy before a 24 hour bicycle ride. I stepped outside of motel room only to face the rainy weather conditions that most of the race would be held in. My crew and I arrived at the start site of the race were the next two hours were spent by taking care of last minute details and countless trips to the bathrooms on my part. At 8AM the 11th annual Michigan National 24 Hr Challenge began with 486 riders present at the start. Most of the race time was spent in rainy conditions with thunderstorms at night. The first disappointment for me came within the first two miles when my right pedal came off the axle. By the time I fixed the problem the lead pack was far off ahead and I joined several slower groups for short periods of recovery time as I tried to make my way back to the front group. The 115 mile grand loop took me approximately 6 hours to complete and then the skies began to clear. Even though I was reminded by race officials how much time I was behind the front pack I did not let it bother me because there was still over 18 hours left in the event. Past experience has taught me that many of these "jack rabbits" would drop off like flies after 12 hours and by maintaining a consistent steady pace I would pass by many of these riders before the finish. I completed 5 of the 24 mile day loops and on the 5th loop I got caught in a downpour which was foreshadowing what the night riding would bring. The most memorable part of the 24 mile day loop was the hill on 92nd street where graffiti like "hills suck!," and " Having Fun Yet" was painted on the road. At the top of the hill a family intentionally placed a sprinkler by the road to cool off the riders, I passed through it each time. The long downhill descent at 30 MPH + enabled me to shove food into my mouth comfortably and rest up for another 24 mile loop. I started riding the 6 mile night loops around 9:30 PM and feeling good knowing that I was still on pace to a 400 mile + ride. Around midnight the skies turned turbulent and it the heavy rains came with thunder and lightning. The conditions were getting so bad that the race officials were talking about suspending the race till the storms passed by. In addition to washing the salt on my forehead into my eyes, the rains also washed away a majority of the riders from the race course. I didn't care because I had gotten used to being soaking wet from the day riding so I stayed on the bike. Even though the storms passed by it still continued to rain off and on for most of the night. The visibility and road conditions slowed me down frequently and a couple of times I almost crashed into the warning lights set up on the road. After about 22 hours of riding it was questionable about breaking 400 miles but setting a new personal best was out of the question. The last two hours of the event were mentally tough for me because I seemed to be going slower and breaking 400 miles was in jeopardy. In the final hour a covered two more laps at a pace faster than what I'd been riding during the night, I think that knowing the finish was near really made me hammer out the final two laps. At 7:50 AM, with 10 minutes left in the event, I completed my last 6 mile loop and finished overall with 397 miles. I was really wishing for my second 400 mile ride. I placed third in my age group and got recognition at the awards ceremony. Out of 486 starters less than 10 had 400 + mile rides. Considering the number of starters in the race and how I finished brings to mind a quote that summarizes my motivation.

"It is not that we love to be alone, but that we love to soar, and when we do soar the company grows thinner and thinner till there is none at all."

Odell Shepard, The Peaceable Kingdom

N24HC94

National 24 Hour Bicycle Challenge Report

(Byron Center MI)- At 7:45AM Over 450 cyclists from around the Untied States and Canada lined up for the start of the 12th annual National 24 hour bicycle challenge. Before we even starting cycling we were already breaking a sweat in the warm muggy morning. I knew that if I was to survive this ride I would have to keep DRINKING and ride at my own pace to prevent heat exhaustion. A police escort lead the lead pack of cyclists for the first 30 miles and by the pace you would have thought that this was a short road race rather than a 24 hour endurance event, our speeds were averaging between 25~30MPH. In fact, coming into the first check point in Kent City I saw a speed of 38MPH. I guess many of the riders like me was burning off a lot of nervous energy that always accompanies such a big event. After the first checkpoint I decided that it was time to settle back and ride at my own pace. Shortly after that I was joined by a pack of riders that were riding at more reasonable pace so I decided to join them. About 50 miles into the ride I had a flat tire and had to bail out of the paceline and it was at that point that I did most of the riding by myself. My first 100 miles came in at just under 5 hours which wasn't that bad despite the heat and the mechanical problems I had on the bike.

The 24 mile day loops were the toughest part of the ride because of the intense afternoon heat. Many riders had abandoned their bikes for a spot under a shady tree and slept through the near 100 degree heat. I figured I'd be better off if I stayed on the bike and make two short stops per lap to be hosed down with cold water. I completed my first 200 miles in 11.5 hours and I thought I still had a chance to complete over 400 miles. During my first 200 miles I consumed over 23 waterbottles and only ate 2 bananas. Although I did a great job of remaining hydrated and avoiding muscle cramps I was depleted of food energy, BONK!!

The first few 6 mile night loops were mentally devastating for me. Since the riders were now on a shorter loop you saw more riders more frequently but I couldn't keep up with anyone. I knew that many of them had slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon heat and came back onto the night loops refreshed while I was bonking. With the cooler weather of the night I got my appetite back and had cravings for more fatty foods and so I consumed a milk shake, quart of chocolate milk, pudding and cheese sandwiches. It sure felt good to eat again and eventually I regained my energy. I started to ride with others and this raised my spirits, thanks Tom Spantideas and Ron Dosenback. My best

Around 270 miles was when I finally got my second wind both physically and mentally. Now for a change I was the one passing by other riders and this was the way I remember the night riding on the way to my 400 mile+ rides in the past. In fact, I had such a good time that I pretended I was playing a video game and I had to chase down the red tail lights of the cyclists ahead of me. My crew and race officials were impressed with my 18~20 MPH average speed on the night loops, even after 350 miles. Their cheering me on was enough to keep me on the bike until the event was over. I didn't know where I was in the standings but I did not want to let the heat off on anyone who might be in contention for one of the top 3 finishes for my age group. I missed another 400 mile ride by only 21 miles. My ride of 379 miles was enough to earn me a second place finish for my age division.

Rob Schaller

N24HC95

This year's National 24hr Challenge looked like it was going to be a repeat of the '94 event. The weather forecast called for hot temperatures around 90F. Although the heat conditions were not as extreme as last year it certainly impacted my riding pace during the heat of the afternoon. At 8AM sharp we left the starting area with hundreds of riders being escorted by the county sheriff. The last two events I had experienced a couple of mechanical problems and I thought I would escape this year, but I did not. About a mile into the event my cyclo computer came off and bounced a couple of times on the pavement and with hundreds of riders behind me I was not about to retrieve it! I am so used to riding with the knowledge of my speed that I had started to wonder if this loss would effect my riding.

My first riding goal was to stay up at the front after the first checkpoint at Kent City. The first checkpoint always breaks up the pack and when I left I had joined a group of 10 riders who were just behind the lead pack. After a couple of miles, we were able to bridge the gap and we rejoined the front pack again. The rapid pace and rising temperatures began to take its toll on some of the riders and by the time I left the second checkpoint, 73 miles, I lost the lead group. I decided that it was not a good pacing strategy to chase down the other riders so I settled into my own riding rhythm. Within 15 minutes of leaving the second checkpoint I had consumed both waterbottles that my crew gave me and I had regretted not taking a third bottle with me. Somewhere around the 95 mile mark I, and four others, had made a wrong turn off the course which added another 4 miles to our ride. Oh great! Fortunately we got back on course again and when I found out that we had 103 miles in 4:49 I had begun to feel better again knowing that I was ahead of last year's pace. We arrived back at the start/finish area around 1:30 PM where I started my first 24 mile day loop.

Jim Halvaka and I agreed to work together since our pace was similar but after the first day loop I decided that I needed to ride my own pace and not his. My two main concerns was eating and maintaining hydration. My first washroom break, on a fast downhill, indicated that I was not consuming enough liquids. During the heat of the day I simply could not intake the proper amount of fluids. The only food I could force down was 1 banana per day loop. I thought the extra potassium would help prevent any cramping from the loss of electrolytes. It worked, I did not experience any muscle cramps and I was able to maintain a consistent energy level. My first double century came after some 10.5 hrs of riding which was not bad despite the high heat and gusty southwest winds we had to battle on the day loops. I completed five day loops and had 235 miles in before I began the 6 mile night loops.

Some riders are somewhat intimidated by riding all night after a hard day's ride but I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is the coolest time of the event and a lot of lost time can be made up on the night loops. I still had some daylight on my first night loop so I thought I would search the road into Byron Center for my cyclo computer but I never saw it. My longest break, few minutes, came at sunset were I changed glasses and installed the lighting system. Unlike last year, I had no problem keeping a fast average on the night loops and I began to sound like a broken record calling out "On your left" to the other riders. Around 1AM, after 17 hours of riding, I broke the 300 mile mark and I started to exhaust my rear end of every possible comfortable saddle position. The hill climb towards Byron Center allowed me to do quite a bit of out of the saddle climbing which help the saddle soreness. After some 20 night loops I started to wonder if there was any symbolism behind the funeral home located at the top of the hill coming into Byron Center because my legs were starting to feel dead on the hills.

Around 6:30AM I decided to set my final mileage goal for the last 1.5 hours of the event. I basically wanted to do 4 more night loops for a new personal best of 421 miles but I was really beginning to fatigue and I could not keep up with many of the riders who had slept several hours during the night. I met up with John Yarington who was also on his way to a personal best ride and he also wanted to complete 4 more loops. We were both in the same physical state, trashed, so we decided to work together with a third rider who was intentionally pacing us. After two laps, John was really falling apart so I decided to continue on at my own pace. At 7:52AM, with 8 minutes remaining, I completed my 31st night loop for a total ride distance of 421 miles. I was in no shape to do another 6 mile lap in 8 minutes so I called it a day of riding. My performance was enough to earn me a first place finish in my age group. The big "what if" question for this years event is if I hadn't got lost would I have been able to do another night loop? I would have had to complete another 2 miles in 8 minutes which, at my riding pace on the last lap, would have been possible. Oh well, there is always next year.

Ride Stats:

421 miles in 23:52 @17.6 MPH (official) 425 miles in 23:52 @17.8 MPH (unofficial)

Nutritional Addendum:

The calorie expenditure for a ride of this distance and pace is enormous. Based on my weight and riding average the calorie expenditure was in excess of 12,000 calories for this event. The hot weather conditions created its own set of nutritional problems. First, because it so hot you simply don't feel like eating any food so this places great demands on replacing carbohydrates through fluids. I used a carbohydrate drink mixed 50% of what the instructions called for and I also consumed a fair amount of Pepsi. The Pepsi helps me fight off the sleepy feeling I get during the hot afternoon. I alternated between bottles of carbohydrate drinks and water to help dilute the more dense carbohydrate drinks. The other complication with the heat is excessive electrolyte loss through sweating. My main weapons against this loss was Gatorade, bananas, and Alka Seltzer. Some riders have reported good results by using Tums. Conservatively, I must have consumed at least 4 gallons of fluids.

During the nighttime I was able to consume more food because of the cooler temperatures. Among the food I ate was fries, milk shake, cheese sandwiches, and pretzels. After 12+ hours of carbohydrates it was great to eat foods with a higher fat content. The biggest mistake I made was asking for some candy around 5AM. I ate one peanut butter cup and then I got real light headed and lost energy for a couple of laps. The weather conditions play a big role in what I choose to eat during the event.

Special thanks goes to the organizers of the National 24hr who put on a FIRST CLASS marathon event and my support crew, parents and my niece Tara, who made such a ride performance possible.

N24HC96

In the Nick of Time

by Rob Schaller

In a 24 hour time period there are 1440 minutes and in the 14th annual National 24 hour Challenge I had used up all but 2 of those 1440 minutes without dismounting from the bike. This year's event saw the 1 millionth event mile surpassed, and if I could ride at least 99 miles, I would have over 2000 miles in this event since I first did it in 1986. This was my 6th year at the National 24 hour Challenge.

The weather was magnificent and we did not encounter one drop of rain during that 24 hour period, something very unusual this past spring. Several hundred riders departed in a mass start and we were escorted by the Kent County Sheriff for the first 33 miles. Shortly before the first checkpoint at Kent City I lost the lead group of riders and so I decided that this was good time to settle into a pace that I could maintain by myself. On the grand loop around Kent County I rode with different groups of cyclists but did not stay with anyone too long. I rode with a newcomer, Martin , to the event and he was interested in my past experience at this event. I told him that I always maintained a pace that I could keep and I tried not to fall into the trap of burning out to early with high speed riding. After a few miles, Martin took off but eventually I would be riding with him again.

I completed the 115 mile grand loop in 5:45 and now started to do the 24 mile day loops. The afternoon got a bit warm under the sunny skies but it wasn't that sweltering 100 F heat we had in '94. For most of the day I simply ate bananas and drank carbo drinks to keep my energy up. The most interesting part of the day loop was the 92nd St. hill. Every year there are different sayings written in chalk on the road. This year there was "#911" and "first gear" written along the hill. Fortunately I did not have to use the first gear, or 911, even on the sixth time up the hill. 10:45 into the event I broke 200 miles and it was starting to cool off a bit. I managed to get in a 5th day loop and when I started the 6 mile night loop I had 235 miles. In addition to being a smooth and fast circuit, the night loop gave you a chance to see more of the riders in the event. The best lighting system goes to Matt Bond whose large bicycle frame had Christmas lights on it! The night got a bit chilly but I as long as I kept up my pace I did not get too cold and after 16.5 hours of riding I hit the 300 mile mark.

Around 3 AM I was able to find several riders that I could keep up with. I hooked up with a tandem team that was covering the 6 mile circuit at a 20 MPH pace and I stayed with them for several loops until they pulled over in the support area to be fed a hot meal by their crew. Rather than waiting around for them I decided to keep doing more loops and eventually I found others to ride with. Every third loop I would alternate my diet from chocolate milk and Pop Tarts to Chewing gum and water to Pepsi and cheese crackers. That diet may seem odd but it served three important functions. (1) Replacement of fat calories (2) The gum and water kept my mouth from getting that "pasty" feeling (3) The Pepsi helped to keep me awake during the pre-dawn hours.

Just shortly after sunrise I surpassed the 400 mile mark and started to think about what my final mileage might be. I was hoping for 450+ mile ride but too many hours of solo riding put an end to that goal so I attempted to go for a personal best of 427 miles. Since 3 AM my average speed around the night loop did not dip below 18 MPH. With 1:20 left I had to do 4 more of the 6 mile loops. The climb into Byron Center was beginning to slow me down and I became concerned that I would not make my goal. I talked two other riders into helping me towards a new personal best mileage. One of those riders was Martin who I had rode with earlier on the grand loop. Our time splits to the 3 mile mark were right on target for finishing up at 8 AM. As we passed through the checkpoint on our last two loops the crowd of 60 + people cheered us on as we raced towards the finish of the event. The adrenaline was so great that our last loop was done 2 minutes faster than our previous loops. We all finished together with only two minutes remaining in the event. One of the woman riders we picked up along the way went on to win the top female rider of the event with a ride of 403 miles, for me it was a personal best ride of 427 miles. It was such a great feeling to work with others in the event and everyone benefited. It is hard to imagine that riding can get so intense after being on a bicycle for over 23 hours but I guess thats what chasing after a goal does to you. The finish was very emotional for all of us. The volunteers at the checkpoints were very efficient and gave us the encouragement to keep going.

A ride like this is not possible without a support crew. I would like to thank Wheeling Wheelmen club member Bill Wacholtz for helping me out at the last minute. Bill is interested in doing this event next year even after seeing what I went through. A special thanks also goes to my mom who has supported me for all of the six years and 2328 miles of this great event.

Deja Vu at the 15th Annual National 24 Hour Challenge
by
Rob Schaller
 

I started this year’s National 24 Hour Challenge with some uncertainty as to whether I would set a new personal best mileage.  It was less than a month ago that I was still  on a 14.5  day crossing of the United States and I still did not feel fully recovered from the event.  The weekend before I attempted a time trial but my heart rate soared into the mid 180’s and I knew that I needed more rest.  I decided to take the three days off from riding before the event and hope for the best.

This year was different than the other year’s events.  I had a couple of other riders registered in the event who offered to help pace me along at critical times during the challenge.  The biggest change in the crew support was the absence of either one of my parents who have supported me in the last 6 events.  Gary Baierl’s wife, Madoka, helped support the both of us on the 115 mile loop.  Later on in the day, John Langlois and family would come on board to help me out for the rest of the event.
 

After having some Pepsi and Captain Crunch squares for breakfast I prepared my bike and gave Madoka some instructions for the support areas along the  grand loop around Kent County.  We left in a mass start at 8 AM and I prayed that there would be no accidents as a result of use of aero bars in this edition of the National 24 Hour Challenge.  My other form of support came in the form of a tandem ridden by Laura Johnson and Phil Feldman.  Laura is no stranger to 24 hour events, the two of us have tandemed over 400 miles in several 24 hour events.  For Phil, he would be charting new territory beyond 200 miles.  Equipped with tri-spoke wheels and a trick paint job, the tandem provided me with shelter for the first 30 miles as we made our way North into a headwind.  The lead group always remained in our sight.  Gary also agreed to help me but unfortunately he fell behind and got held up at a traffic intersection.  He went anaerobic trying to catch us but  got fried in the process.

After Kent City, the group split and we were on out own with no more police escort.  I helped out the tandem by taking turns at the front of the pack and eventually we caught up to Matt Bond and he rode with us for a while.  There is no mistaking the distinctive Huffy Matt  rides, and if they did, they would sure take notice at night with the Christmas lights that decorated the oversized frame.  When I reached the second checkpoint at Parnell, Madoka told me that Gary was ten minutes behind and that she would continue on to the third checkpoint and leave Gary to support himself at the remaining checkpoints.  Gary was using this event as a training ride.  The tandem need to stop but I did not want to lose any precious minutes by waiting around so I continued on.  It was a wise move on my part, they had a slow air leak in the rear tire and spent time fixing it.  We agreed before the event that I should continue on if such problems occurred. The North/Northeast winds made the trip back to Byron Center a pleasant one.  I rolled up my first century in just under 4:50.

I was in a familiar situation, riding by myself, when I started my first 24 mile day loop.  I had hoped that I could work with a group to maintain a steady pace on the 24 mile circuit.  I past years, I have always found the afternoon on the day loops to be the toughest time for me during the event. I was still maintain a solid pace on my first loop but then a nasty headache hit me and.  After taking some aspirin, I started out the second loop with Gary, who had waited around for me.  The combination of the aspirin and Gary’s company recharged me  by the end of the loop and I was in good spirits again.  On one of the circuits, I got attacked by a bird that was perched on some power lines.  I was riding along on the aero bars and then I felt something land on my helmet and then I saw the shadow of the bird on the road as it flew away from me.  The bird went after me several more times.  This bird must have been tired by the end of the day because several other riders reported the same thing happened to them.

After my 5th day loop I started doing 3 laps on the night loop before I needed lights.  The forecast called for some cool temperatures during, and I was partially ready since I had not taken off the arm warmers since the start of the event.  My riding was very consistent for the first few hours of the night.  I was doing 20 minute laps till midnight when I closed in on 300 miles, I was ahead of last year’s pace.  It got cool enough such that I needed a jacket but I skipped leg warmers because it took too long to put them on.

Every year a train passes through the night loop around 1 AM and last year I had to wait for it to cross, however, this time around I made it pass both RR crossings and missed it.  On the East end of the course I could hear the train but the crossing lights were not flashing yet.  The same set of tracks also crosses near the officials area so I decided to sprint ahead and avoid getting caught at that crossing.  I could hear the train whistle getting louder and I began a 25 MPH + sprint, and sounding like a broken record, calling “on your left” to the other riders, I made it across the tracks before the crossing lights turned red.

The pre-dawn hours were very tough.  I started to slow down quite a bit and there were not many riders on the course, and those who were out there, were not moving at my pace.  This was the first year that I had problems with my lights.  I’ve had good success with a 6 volt lantern battery and 2.5 watt headlight and it would last the entire night, however this year, the light got dim halfway through the night.  I had my crew switch to my second backup set of lights.    I was doing a lot of solo laps around the night loop.  I also had a chance to ride with others who I’ve ridden past events with.  I shared several laps with Martin Kulp who eventually went on to win his age category with a ride of 409 miles.  Last year I really gained some mileage while drafting the tandem team of Randy Wood and John Romnes around the course.  This year I was only behind their shiny silver rocket for one lap.  They also had a problem with  lights and had to stop,  I decided to continue on. Around sunrise I saw Mark Skarpohl who was slowing down quite a bit.  I offered to help pace him around but he declined the offer.  Last year he set the course record of 493 mile and I think he had hopes of breaking that this year.  From what I could tell, it looked like he had done more solo riding in this year’s event too.

Just after sunrise,  I joined in on a pack of riders who were moving at a good clip.  Two of those riders were Butch Evans and Tom Buckley.  We covered the next three laps at close to a 20 MPH pace, and at 6:30 AM, it was obvious to me that I was not going to get that extra loop for a new personal best of 433 miles.  The pressure on the final lap in last years event was intense.  We were racing against the clock and had less than 2 minutes when we finished up.  This year,  the final lap was ridden at a much more relaxed pace, I had half an hour to complete it,  and I had a chance to make some conversation with several riders along the way.  At 7:50 AM, with ten minutes left in the event,  I had completed my 32nd night loop for a grand total of 427 miles.  And like last year, I earned a second place finish in my age category.

The Evanston Bicycle Club  had a strong presence at this year’s event.  We had 12 members ride a total of 3038 miles.  Additionally, we had two members place in the top three of their respective age groups.  Tim Virtanten rode 361 miles and earned a third place finish for his age group.

I choked in this year's event as I got severly dehydrated and fried out around midnight.  I finished up with 249 and went back to the motel room.  6 hrs later, I saw sunrise from the motel window and felt bad that I wasn't still on the bike!  I drove back to the start/finish area and cheered on some friends who were still going at it.  I learned from this year's event that it is not easy to do these rides.  I'll come back in '99 with a revenge motive for a better ride!

N24HC99

17th National 24 Hour Challenge Ride Report
By
Rob Schaller
 

The 1999 edition of the National 24 Hour Challenge was unlike any other since the home location of the event was moved from Byron Center Michigan to Kent City Michigan.  Major road work and increased auto traffic was cited as several reasons for the move.  I had a chance to do a sneak preview of the 7.5 mile night loop about a month before the actual event, the grand and day loops would be held on familiar roads.  My first impression was that it was going to be more hilly course than what we previously encountered around Byron Center.  I know that first impressions can be misleading, especially with fresh legs versus doing the night loop with 240 miles of riding from the daylight hours.

The nervous energy experienced the night before was nothing new to me.  I felt sorry for one of my crew members with whom I kept up all night long.  Eating a large ice cream sundae and having several Mountain Dews was not the best recipe for sleep. The wake call was for 5 AM but I was already up at 4:30 AM watching re-runs of the Beverly Hillbillies.

The new start finish location had some amenities that we had not experienced before, such as showers on-site after the event.  One drawback was the tight area for rider support.  Some 400 riders lined up for the 8:00 AM start and I was saddened to hear about the death of Connie Barnes to cancer as one of the pre-event announcements.  Several years ago she rode 403 miles and set the record for the F45~49 category.

I felt good at the start and hung in with the lead group of riders for the first 70 miles, but after that, the group started to thin out and there was this "yo yo" affect trying to keep everyone together as a group.  The off and on surging was no way to start a ride of this duration so I decided to back off from the group.  For several miles beyond that, I still had them in my sight while I was keeping a steady pace.  The grand loop was longer this year, 125 miles versus the 115 miles and I missed a turn which set me off course for approximately two miles.  I got upset but soon recovered and I saw riders ahead of me again.  I finished the grand loop with a pace over 20 MPH,  one of my regular training partners, Dean Vogler, was 10 minutes ahead of me.  I quickly rolled through the support area to start my first day loop and Dean decided to join me.

I liked the new 30 mile day loop better because it had some nice pine shaded roads on the north end of the loop.  I admit that the last few miles back to the school was on some bumpy roads but not too bad.  Dean and I got split up as his riding strategy was different than mine.  While Dean would take short breaks for eating I would continue to stay on the bike.  After my second day loop,  I had my crew feed me spaghetti while straddling the bike in the rest area, and within two minutes time, I was riding again.  I would complete two more day loops for a daytime mileage of 245 miles, the first 200 miles came in ten hours.

The night loop was much darker than in previous years on the old course and I did not consider any light under 6 watts to be adequate for many sections of the night loop.  The south end of the loop was flat and ran parallel to some railroad tracks. A right turn sent riders going North on Fruit Ridge with a gradual climb that lasted approximately 1.5 miles.  The final section of Fruit ridge featured a very fast descent which got foggy during the pre-dawn hours.  Riders with low wattage lighting had the most difficult time on this section of road.  After making another right on 20th Street riders had an instant climb up hill . I got technical going around this corner buy taking it very tight,  I was able to keep enough momentum to make going up the hill easier.  The next right turn was on the dreaded Peach Ridge Road Which had two very long grades on it.  Even the tandems could not muster enough momentum to cruise up the next hill. From the De Lormes maps, Peach Ridge Road crossed over the second highest point in Kent County.  During the night I got two phone calls from Judy Peltier, one of my tandem partners, who could not be in person to support me during this ride.  The support was great and it alerted some riders around me when my cell phone rang!

Around 5:00 AM my crew was getting concerned that I was not eating enough.  I was riding at a steady pace but they did not think I would carry through until the 8:00 AM finish.  I consumed a Hostess fruit pie followed by some Ensure and I felt better.  Around 7:20 AM my phone rings again, and this time its my mom.  I told her to call me in 10 minutes since I did not think I could complete another lap before 8:00 AM.  The rule is that at 8:00 AM SHARP, only fully completed loops would count towards the final mileage.

I approached the checkpoint area, following the rear wheel of a tandem, with 20 minutes left in the event.  Do I attempt another loop with the risk of not being able to complete it by 8:00 AM or do I call it a ride with 20 minutes to spare?  As I stormed through the checkpoint, my crew did not have to guess my intentions.  I was focused and committed to going out for another loop, we got quite an ovation from the crowds that lined the street.  Fatigue was setting in on the mixed tandem team so I did my best to stoke the coals by forcing the pace on the uphill sections on Fruit Ridge Road.    I think it gave them a boost.  I could not match their speed on the downhills so I tucked in behind them while being only inches away from the rear wheel.  As promised my mom called during the last few miles so I disconnected the battery from the phone to avoid any distractions.  Sorry mom!  7:59 AM we rolled into the checkpoint for the final mileage recording.  The tandem team was so excited about the finish they went straight to their crew for congratulations and almost missed the 8 AM deadline for mileage recording.  The teamwork paid off for all of us.  I set a new personal best mileage of 429.3 miles while they set a new record for the mixed tandem category.  My computer registered 432 miles that accounted for getting lost on the grand loop.

click here  

Driving to Grand Rapids the day before the start of the 2001 edition of the National 24 Hour Challenge reminded me a lot like the riding conditions I had in the 1993 event - a lot of rain!  It was not until early Friday evening when the skies started to clear and show more promise for decent riding weather on Saturday.  We got our wish as we had highs in the upper 70's under sunny skies and the nighttime temperatures were in the mid-50's.

I was fortunate to have crew support, once again, for this ride.  Gary Baierl flew in from Los Angles to help me out as well as Thomas Berube and Dean Vogler.  In October of 2000, I crewed for Gary in the Furnace Creek 508 race.  Three of us crewed for him and now it was Gary crewing for three riders!

467 riders entered this year's event including one rider for Sweden.  Actually, I met this rider a couple of years ago on the Elite PAC Tour.  The event began promptly at 8 AM in a mass start.  I stayed up front in the pack for a few miles.  I decided to drop back from the front group and ride at my own pace since I felt more relaxed and wanted to burn energy at my own pace for the 24 hours of riding.  One of the toughest aspects of this event is the frantic pace at the start.  Some riders will hammer for the first hundred miles and then rest a while, that might be their strategy, but I wanted to maintain an even tempo throughout the event.

Beyond the pacing issue, there were several crashes in the first 100 miles of the event.  I saw one rider who just crashed and the sad part was that the event was not even an hour old.  A few hours later, I saw another rider sitting upright in someone's front yard.  I guess his bike had some serious mechanical failures that caused him to go down as well.  .  At the awards ceremony I learned that one of the high mileage riders, Adrian Harris, sacrificed his wheel for another rider.  I am not sure which wheel was sacrificed, but if it were the rear wheel, I would have accepted his front wheel as I had a flat tire around sunset.  I rolled up the first hundred miles in just over 5 hours, probably a half hour slower than the lead group.  As I rode along towards the finish of the 125.1-mile loop I picked up or passed many riders who started to splinter from the front pack.  I had a group of approximately 10 riders chase after me for several miles.  They would come very close to catching me, then we would approach a hill, and then I would create another gap on them.  This went on for several miles and they finally caught up to me.

I rode the first 22.3 mile day loop by myself but as I came into the checkpoint for the second loop, I joined 3 riders including Tom Buckley, who would go on to win the event overall, and Al Muldoon who is a regular of this event.  In addition to joining other riders to draft, I completed my 4000th mile in the event when I finished my first day loop. Unlike the packs on the grand loop, this pack was very smooth and we maintained a 21 MPH riding speed.  I guess our speed was contagious, as I had never seen a turtle do such a fast 180 as we came barreling down the roadway! The two laps I rode with this group no doubt helped me out.  I separated from the group because of nature’s calling.   I thought I had done a lot of training before the event but I was impressed when Tom admitted that he had over 10,000 miles before this event, nearly 4000 miles more than I had put on since the first of the year.   I wish we could have rode more together for the duration of the event.  Afterwards, Tom thanked me for helping him keep his winning ride pace going.

Late in the afternoon, my hunger did a complete 180 turn on me.  For a while I was satisfied living on bananas, pretzels, Pepsi and water but suddenly I had a craving for hamburger, fries and a shake.  For several laps, I kept hassling Gary about this but he was unable to grant my request.  I shifted my diet towards foods with higher fat and protein content and this was a good thing as I began to feel better and ride stronger going into the nighttime hours.  I switched to chocolate milk, Ensure, and several of the 4-dozen Krispy Kreme Doughnuts I bought the day before.

I have always enjoyed the night riding aspect of the 24-hour event.  It is an experience seeing a sea of red taillights coming from the bikes of other riders.  Riders this year were treated to two additional light shows, one man-made and the other coming from Mother Nature.  On the North West corner of the night loop some local residents were shooting off fireworks, it was a bit early for the Fourth of July but I do not think any of the riders cared.  Also during the night lightning could be seen coming from the East and South while the skies directly above us remained clear with stars visible.  Another weather oddity during the night was a brief, 30-minute, period of gusty winds out of the West.  I was heading North on the West side of the loop when the first gusts hit and had to tighten my grip on the handlebars.

One light show that was not desirable came on the North end of the night loop and it was that of an ambulance.  Apparently, one rider went off the road but I did not actually witness it.  The flashing lights made me disoriented in the dark and I had to ask if I missed the right turn going south on Bender Road.  By the time I came around for another loop, the emergency vehicles were gone.

The pre-dawn hours have always been the toughest for me during the event.  In fact, I had to stop doing track stands at the checkpoints since I could no longer safely balance the bike.  Some of the volunteers helped hold me up as my card was being punched, but after a while, I settled for putting my left foot down instead.

  Many of the riders get off the course after midnight and so it seems somewhat deserted compare to the first few hours after sunset.  One rider who I hadn’t seen since the start was Dean Vogler who I’ve done a lot of riding with in the past.  I was surprised to see him riding as slowly as he was on one of the night loops.  He told me he had periods of nausea and was trying to recover.  He stayed with the lead group for a good part of the daytime and was well ahead of me.  I told Gary that I was going to do my second lighting system change around 2 AM, based on when I did this in last year’s event.  I was confident that I could make one more loop before my lights went into reserve.  Less than a mile into the loop, the system went into reserve so I had to use the headlight sparingly so I would have it for the fast downhill on the North end of the night loop.

Like many of my rides in past years, I broke the 400-mile mark around sunrise, and it was at that point in time, I did not think I would have a chance at bettering my PR of 429.3 miles.  Around 6:30 AM, I realized that three more laps were possible before 8 AM.  With daylight comes the visibility of the rider’s mileage card. When riders dusted me in the last few hours I could see that most of them had fewer night loops completed than me so I assumed they were more rested.  I was hoping to get with some pace lines to hammer out as many loops as possible before the 8 AM cutoff but I couldn’t find any riders going at the pace I wanted to push so I pretty much finished the event on my own.

The official distance covered was 425.7 miles, and because of the “fully completed lap” rule I did not have another time to do my 32nd so I had to end the event at 7:50 AM with ten minutes left in the event.  Therefore, in the actual 23 hours and 50 minutes of the event, I rode for 23 hours and 27 minutes.  Just over twenty minutes was spent tending to mechanical problems, mounting lights for night riding, and getting the mileage card punched on each lap.  I guess there will be the “what if?” question that if I didn’t have the flat tire would I have made that 33rd loop giving me a PR of 431.8?  I guess I will have to wait until next year.  Ride times for various mileages throughout the event:

First 100 covered in 5:02
First 200 miles  in 10:09
First 300 miles in 16.5 hours
First 400 miles in 22 hours

The 20^th Annual National 24 Hour Challenge Report

By

Rob Schaller

Final Training Preparation

The start of the 20^th National 24 Hour Challenge didn’t look too promising as far as the weather goes. A night of light drizzle and chilly winds out of the West greeted the riders as they made final preparations for the 8 AM start. Coming into this year’s event I was more worried about being over trained and not rested well enough for 24 hours of riding. A couple of weeks before I had been averaging 500 miles per week and I got sick during that intense training period.. A couple of days before the event I had four flat tires on the equipment that I would be using in this year’s event. From a mechanical standpoint, I was paranoid about being able to make it through 24 hours without any problems.

Temperatures for this year’s event certainly weren’t an issue with most people. The high temperature was around 70 F but the winds were a bit on the breezy side 10 ~ 20 MPH. I found myself using the aerobars quite a bit. The winds were out of the West/North West for most of the event. A light drizzle fell during the early morning hours before the event but soon the skies cleared up a few hours after the start.

During the final hour before the event start, changes in the crewing arrangement were taking place. Thomas Berube, who was registered for the event, bailed at the last minute and joined the crewing efforts of Gary and Tammy. This event was somewhat of a reunion for many of the crew/riders who participated in the Furnace Creek 508 team race last fall. I had some influence on getting Jim Ryan to do this event for the first and he was quite impressed with the whole experience. This time I would be riding the bike and Gary and Thomas are crewing for me with Tammy trying her hand at crewing for the first time.

After doing this event twelve times, In almost every event I seem to suffer the most in the first 10 hours of the event. And if I can work through it, I am almost guaranteed to have a good ride. This year would be no exception, however, I seemed to have problems in the first two hours, not a good way to start a 24 hour event.

I’ve never been a big fan of the grand loop because it resembled a road race more than a 24 hour endurance event. I seem to be at my best when I can get into a steady rhythm and keep going, all the surging and sprinting in the early hours of this event is wasted energy for a 24 hour event. I usually start having my low periods in the mid-afternoon hours on the day loops. On a couple of occasions I was close to calling it quits, but as the groups thinned out, I finally started to feel more comfortable.

I finished up the first 100 miles in just over 5 hours and soon I would be starting the day loops. The miles after the third checkpoint on the grand loop were brutal as far as the wind conditions go and I was looking forward to getting on the day loop route as the trees around Gun Lake helped shelter us from the menacing winds. Also, being on the day loop allowed more frequent contact with my crew. I got a lot of help from the two-way radios that Jim let me use during the race. As I got a mile from the support area I would notify my crew as to what was needed. This paid off big time after the first day loop when my bottom bracket shell started to come loose. As soon as I arrived, the tools were ready and the repair took less than three minutes. Towards the end of the second loop I met up with Tom Buckley and Mark Heckman, Mark would eventually win the top overall mileage. After 6+ hours of riding, the pace of others became more steady without all that sprinting that comes with the first few hours on the big loop around Barry County. I rode with Tom and Mark for loops 3 and 4. I did make one nutritional mistake that I was able to recover from and that was taking a Krispy Kreme Doughnut from a support member while trying to maintain a 20 MPH pace with the leaders. I think this is the first time my body ever showed signs of rejecting a doughnut! After that, I had to really cut down on my food consumption for the next hour and just drank a lot of water. With the cooler temperatures this year, I was eating more solid food than years with more heat during the day.

I must give credit to the organizers and volunteers who do their best to make sure riders have the best treatment for establishing a personal best ride. There was a section of roadway on the day loop that had some broken glass along the shoulder. The next time I passed this same area I noticed that it had been cleaned up. These small details to the running of the event are greatly appreciated.

Midway through my fourth day loop the skies began to darken followed by some thunder and then a light rain. When I came into the checkpoint at the high school I was surprised to learn that the event had been suspended due to some severe weather passing through the area. I looked to the South where I had been and I saw it was dark as night. This storm produced 40 MPH winds and hail. I wasn’t in the parking lot for more than a few minutes when they announced that the event would be allowed to continue. At this point riders would only be allowed to start the 6.1mile night loop. If not for the weather to the South, I would have requested a chance to ride a 5 ^th day loop. I would have preferred this because you only stop once over the 22.3 miles versus stopping every 6.1 miles on the night loop. I was the first rider to start doing the night loops shortly after 7:30 PM. I completed the first 200 miles in about 10.5 hours of riding.

I’ve always wanted to ride a double century’s worth of miles on the night circuit and this year, with over 12 hours of riding this loop, I just might get the chance. I was hoping that the winds would die down at night, but that would not be the case. In fact, it felt like the breeze freshened up after sunset and took on a more Northwesterly direction. As usual, the first few hours of the night loop were quite busy with bicycle traffic and a few big packs of riders dusted past me as if I was standing still. I suspected that many of these riders had been resting up for the night loop but it sure didn’t make me feel good. Shortly before 1 AM I would finally break three hundred miles and I knew at this rate that a personal best ride this year would be out of the question. I just kept riding figuring I would add more miles to the 1000 mile club hoping that I might have a chance a breaking my 5000^th mile in this event next year. Aside from just having a awards for top mileages, I think this event has a big draw because the determination of riders who come back year after year are also recognized. After 2 AM it seemed to have gotten less crowed and I was looking for others to ride with but didn’t have any luck.

It wasn’t till 4 AM when I met up with Martin Kulp who has ridden this event ten times. He had told me that he was hoping to complete 400 miles in this year’s event. We did several laps together and he seemed to be riding towards that 400 mile goal. Turned out that he produced a ride of 397 miles and earned one of the top finishes in the M50~54 category. I also met up with Mark once again, but to my surprise, I didn’t see Tom Buckley riding with him. I was told that Tom had backed off the pace because of his knees.

At sunrise I knew that my mileage would be down from last year because I hadn’t broken the 400 mile mark yet. I certainly felt that another 400 mile ride was possible, the question was just how many miles beyond 400 would I get in before the 8 AM finish. Around 6:30 AM I started to pay attention to how many minutes it took me to complete a lap. I figured at 21 minutes/lap I could comfortably get in two more laps and then I could call it quits. On what was supposed to be my final lap I started to think that one more loop after this one would be possible. After 3 miles into this loop I met up with Tom Buckley who was really slowing down. I tried to encourage him to pick up the pace and work with me so we could both get in one more lap. He declined the offer and so I kept pushing the pace trying to increase the amount of time I could have on my final lap, Tom Actually did get in one last lap and finished in time to make the 8 AM cutoff. I arrived back at the high school with 23 minutes left for my last lap. I didn’t waste any time moving through the support area and a got a lot of cheers from the crews lined up along the route. I didn’t slack off on this final lap and I completed it in 20 minutes with 3 minutes to spare at the end. The final lap was my 33^rd time around the night loop and that gave me just over 200 miles on the 6.1 mile circuit. During the course of the 23 hours and 57 minutes my wheel was rolling for a total of 23 hours and 36 minutes which represents approximately 20 minutes of down time. The total mileage completed was 415.6 and was the 4^th best mileage in the event. Looking at the results of the regular riders who show up at the event each year, the mileages were definitely lower this year when compared to last year. Despite this, a new record ride of 344.5 miles was set in the M70+ category.

www.n24hc.org/2002/results