National 24 Hour Challenge

June 16-17, 2007 I rode in the National 24 Hour Challenge in Middleville, MI. My wife, doing her part as crew, and I arrived in the afternoon of the 15th to set up base camp at the Grand Rapids Airport Hilton, a very nice hotel relatively close to Thornapple-Kellogg Middle School where the event is hosted. After checking in to the hotel, we drove over to pick up my rider packet and take a peek at the roads. I was really worried that the course was going to be very hilly and I would bonk well short of the 24-hour mark.

Number pickup was a breeze and we decided to go ahead an stake out a location to pitch our tent from which Mary would provide me overnight support. I thought there might be a lot of competition for camping space (there was not) and I wanted to save time on event day (which we did).

I always have trouble sleeping the night before a big ride, and this ride was no exception. The problem was exacerbated by some very loud neighbors in the hotel...a youth baseball team and their rowdy adult escorts. I managed a few hours sleep before getting up early to start the fueling/hydration process. Breakfast cookies for everyone! And a boiled egg, bananas, coffee, and water. That would be all the "real food" I would eat until about 8 pm.

So we got me safely to the start (this often seems the hardest part of every ride) and I was ready to ride. The pre-ride festivities begin with bagpipers marching through the grounds, followed by the national anthem for each country represented, a little pep talk from the organizers, and finally the start.

It was going to get hot...maybe in the nineties, so we had a cooling strategy for the day. First, I was wearing my "cooling scarf" which contains some hydrophilic substance that would provide some evaporative cooling during the ride. Next, Mary had a pitcher of icy water and a towel at each checkpoint, and finally, we had a little personal mister filled with cold water. Using all of these, I survived the heat very well, unlike several of my fellow riders.

The course was not as hilly as I had feared, but actually suited my abilities very well. At the 100 mile mark I was matching my personal best pace for the distance. I completed the first loop which was several mile short of the advertised distance because of the

2007 BCLC Ramble

Another great ride at the Bike Club of Lake County's Ramble. This ride is always well organized, with especially good road markings. The 100 mile route takes you through many of the lake towns of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. My wife completed her first organized ride, choosing to do the 30 mile route, in a faster time than she had planned. I finished in about 6 hours and 10 minutes...typical for
my centuries this year.

My big goal for this ride was to do my final nutrition test ahead of the National 24hr Challenge on June 16-17. I have just started using Hammer Nutrition products, in particular Hammer Gel, Perpetuem, and Endurolytes. In my first 100 mile test at the Kenosha Racine Bike Club Annual Ride I used a packet of Perpetuem in a 24 oz bottle mixed with one serving of Raspberry Gel. This seemed to provide too many calories, as I was feeling bloated by the fourth hour. I was also thirsty. Relying on one bottle for both hydration and nutrition has the flaw of not being able to drink without eating.

To remedy this, I decided to try a "multi-hour" bottle of Perpetuem. I now use a three-hour bottle (six scoops in a 24 oz bottle) of Perpetuem. I use electrolyte enhanced water, using either Elete or Nuun to add the salts. The first hour of my ride I use Hammer gel and water. The next two hours I consume 1/3 of my Perpetuem bottle and continue drinking water. I then repeat this for the next three hours. This has solved the bloating problem and I feel pretty good throughout my 100 mile rides. How well this will work over 24 hours? I guess I'll know this weekend.

BCLC Ramble on Sunday!

The Bike Club of Lake County hold their annual Ramble this Sunday, June 10th. I'll be using this as my final tune-up/nutrition test for the National 24 Hour Challenge in Middleville, MI the following weekend. The Ramble will also be my wife's very first organized bike ride!