If at first you don’t succeed, talk your family into letting you do it again!
Back in November, I broke the 12hr record but had to abandon the 24hr record after 315km because of high winds. With Wellington famous for this, and an unseasonably cold and windy start to summer, we were tracking the weather on multiple apps, trying to get a 24hr window with a wind speed below 20km/hr. On the 18th Jan, we finally had a day where it looked like it would work.
We attempted the record at Newlands Intermediate again. The track is 390.76m, so I would have to ride 1162 laps to beat Sam Wakeling’s record of 453.8km.
It turned out to be a beautiful calm day. Arthur and Lynn Klap were on the field setting up, my wife Anna came down with tents and gazebos, my mum turned up to help with the kids.
Bruce from Barefootsports laid the timing mats and equipment which goes beep every time I ride over them. Boy, am I going to be sick of this sound at the end! Two timing mats and two timing chips went down to be doubly sure.
The plan was to cruise at 24-25km/hr for as long as possible, before an expected drop in speed as I became tired. In training, I’m a bit slower than I was in November, despite trying to keep my fitness up. Without the wind though, I was confident I could pull it off.
I started the GPS computer, turned on Strava on my phone.
3..2…1…beep! I get started just after 8.23am, and I would be riding for the next 24hrs!
I felt more comfortable than my previous attempt immediately. Without wind, all effort goes into propelling yourself forward, instead of making micro-adjustments to stay upright.
After just 2hrs I was consistently lapping sub 60s laps, keeping my speed above 24km/hr. This was a comfortable speed and I was smiling.
The field was getting busy. Old school friends, locals, dog walkers, passers by, support contingent all came to see what was going on. We had 3-4 families set up a campsite to keep our kids and me company. My in-laws Peter and Margaret came in their house bus which would double up as shelter and hot food stop later.
60km in 2hrs30min…hardly felt like I’ve been riding!
80km in 3hrs22min…still feeling good
In fact, I felt so good, I didn’t dismount for 150km (6 1/2hrs)! I briefly thought about unofficially breaking the longest continuous ride record (without feet touching the ground), except I couldn’t remember what it was! It turns out Sam Wakeling rode 169.90km before he dismounted. Anyhow, it was more important to keep the body in good condition than try for a secondary record. I had successfully taken a bottle of chocolate milk on-the-fly from Richard, who was adept at passing food and water after November’s record attempt.
It was getting warm and I felt if I didn’t have a break it would affect me later. It felt hotter than 20 degrees with sun reflecting off the concrete, and the breeze also picked up (20km/hr), and would stay that way from 1-5pm. Those were the hardest laps, as I don’t do well in heat. While the average wind peaked at 20km/hr, the odd 30+km/hr gust almost took me out and required correction.
I really need a butt massage! Thankfully my obliging wife was there to squeeze the cheeks at each stop. Things were getting sore, but the glutes were the first to feel it.
I decided I needed to stop every 90min. There is only so much food you can take on board while riding, and it actually slows you down without giving you a break to stretch muscles. On the other hand, I knew if I stopped for too long the muscles would seize up.
By 5pm I was starting to tire. It’s amazing how filthy you get from riding in circles. I was caked in sweat, sunscreen, snot, chocolate milk, powerade, and vomit. My stomach wasn’t emptying, and I felt better after bringing some of it back up. I blame the heat and probably not enough hydration early on.
At the 12hr mark, I had gone past the 252.04km record I broke in November, hitting 660 laps (257.90km). A new 12hr world record, but not my focus this time! I hadn’t surpassed the old mark by much, but felt relaxed and in fairly good condition.
Greg turned up with the amazing Hirepool light towers he promised. I was expecting two, he turned up with three! We’re going to have a night time stadium! No need for unicycle lights. It would be dark at 9pm, so I was looking forward to riding in cooler night air.
When the lights came on, I realised how impossible it had been to attempt a record without them. Going fast means you must be able to see, especially on a unicycle where micro-adjustments are needed to stay upright. They weren’t just bright, but gave consistent lighting around the track, instead of coming in and out of darkness with my DIY lawnmower-battery lights. The only near mishap came when a couple of baby hedgehogs crept across the track, partially hidden by shade from the grass.
Despite feeling really positive, my speed suddenly dropped, stretching my lap times out to 80s seconds. I wasn’t sleepy. Perhaps the diurnal trough was kicking in.
After being told to ‘Pick up the speed!’ by Bruce, I immediately stepped it up for an hour or two, then slowed again. At this point I realised it was muscle stiffness- if you’re not loose you can’t spin on the downhill or carve your way around a turn. My speed would pick up each time I stopped for a stretch, so I took speed as an indicator of when I needed a rest break.
At 320km, I was about 50min ahead of Sam Wakeling’s record time, as he hit this mark in 8hrs 20min. I felt comfortable with this buffer, but Bruce was concerned- my speed had been dropping significantly.
I pushed hard through the night, taking breaks when I had to, speeding up again, then slowing as the muscles became stiff. I was doing the numbers and getting worried. The speed had dropped to 17km/hr, with a lot more effort than when I was riding 24km/hr.
My rest breaks became shorter and more tense- pee, butt massage, hot noodles/pizza, chocolate milk/powerade. I needed Shane and Bruce to help remount.
Hopefully the cortisol would kick in soon….and it did. At 5am, I felt a surge in energy. It was starting to get light and my speed picked up.
The last 3hrs were tense. I had about 45km to go, and I was riding about 16-17km/hr. That leaves little margin for error or rest breaks.
2hrs to go…still cutting it fine. Anna and Bruce were telling me not to ease off….
1hr to go, I had 14km left and I was going at 16-17km/hr. It should be enough. Legs stiffening, speed slowing…maybe time for a quick stop and stretch.
Arthur Klap was giving me a lap countdown- only 33 laps to go! Seems like a lot!
30min…looking on target
ARgh! I had a sudden drop in speed with 5km to go. Quick stop, stretch, and back riding but still going slow.
In fact, I wasn’t totally convinced I had the record until the final lap, which went by in agonising fashion! Beep! I did it! 1162 laps!
Still 5min to push it further. Perhaps time for 3 more (very slow) laps.
I crossed the timing mat at 1165 laps with 30secs to go, but went to do another lap for the IUF partial-lap calculation. Not that it mattered- my legs were gone, I ended up coming off midway. After remounting, it was probably the slowest riding lap, so adds little to my total distance.
Done!
Total laps 1165 x 0.39076m = 455.2354km. I beat Sam’s 2007 world record by a skinny 1.4km
The track was not completely flat. Strava says there was 15km of climbing, although likely an overestimate. Still, it felt like a 2-3% climb each lap, so perhaps I’ll measure it later to see if it qualifies as an Everesting attempt!
My Feb 2005 world record mark was 378.7km, so after 20yrs I went a further 76.55km. Imagine what I’ll do when I’m in my 60s!
I had an amazing crowd at the finish, but babbled somewhat incoherently.
What I meant to say is, I couldn’t have done it without all your support and encouragement!
Thank you so very much!
Pictures and video to follow, but plenty of footage on the Facebook event feed
If you feel encouraged or inspired by this, please consider supporting my charity fundraiser for medical research, via the Malaghan Institute
