Cross Georgia Record Attempt

The Ride Report

Oradea UnterkunftWith my intrepid crewand UMCA official following in the minivan, I started out on the Lightning P-38recumbent bicycle at West Point Dam (Georgia side) near LaGrange, 7:20 amFriday. An almost immediate wrong turn (the directions were based from the OTHERside of the damn dam) resulted in 9.6 mi out of the way and back. The untested,computer-generated route was good and direct, but much more hilly than expected.Soon I was climbing over Pine Mountain and riding through the pretty CallowayGardens area. The dogs were too slow to be a hassle. It turned out to be alittle hard for the crew to find food out there. Though the weatherpeople hadsaid thunderstorms all day, the first rain was not until Thomaston. Everythingwas rolling hills, up and down, and down and up, and up and down... you get theidea. I thought South Georgia was flatter. Maintained nearly 18 mph average mostof the day. One memorable sight was a snake that stretched across an entirelane, fortunately not my lane, but if I had been 30seconds later...

Palermo hotel roomsI got alittle overheated a few times and had to stop and sit in the air-conditioned vanfor a couple minutes, but was still riding strong, though it was taking melonger than I had expected. Navigational and mapping mistakes had added about 35mi to the ride so far, so I was nearly 2 hours behind schedule. Late at night itgot interesting. I stopped for a rest on a nice side road, stepping in what Ithought was ordinary sand. It was more like wet cement, and totally disabled myshoe cleats until the crew and I brushed and rinsed it all out. Down the road Ifinally realized the rear tire was about half pressure and may have been thecause of my lower speed. When I tried to pump it up, I could feel the jet of aircoming straight out of the tire treadits amazing it didn't go completelyflat. We changed the tube on we went.

A cop stopped me in Swainsboro, asking if I had been drinking. No, but I'mprobably insane, I thought.

Approaching Statesboro at about 2:30 am, I decided I would not ride all theway to Savannah as planned tonight, opting instead for my original plan ofcamping with the 2000+ BRAG (Bike Ride Across GA) people in Statesboro (they hadstarted at WestPoint/La Grange 5 days earlier and were turning about 60 mi/day)andthen riding in with them the next morning. I rested a bit in the van, thenheaded for Statesboro, racking up another 10 error miles by us all missing theBulloch Academy sign on 301. At mile281, we found the camp and grabbed a quickshower as, incredibly, some BRAG riders were heading out around 4:30 a.m. I andthe crew slept until about 6:30 am and headed out with many of the BRAGarts ataround 7 a.m. The shower and sleep did me good, and I kept it above 20mph on theflat Statesboro to Savannah route for most of that morning, though I had to becareful not to draft anyone (RAAM rules).

Skipping the first 3 SAGstops (BRAG has lots of them) I stopped for lunch, and after heading out heard aslight bump, bump, bump with each wheel revolution. It sounded like pavementseams. I stopped to check and my front tire (20") looked like a snake whohad just eaten a rat. It was still at pressure, so I rode on. In 10 miles itblew. I stopped and sat in what I discovered many hours later had been a fireant mound, and replaced the tube, booting the pencil sized hole in the tire witha dollar bill. Rode on it slowly for another 10 mi or so and it blew again.Maybe I should have tried to patch both the tire and tube, but since I had nomore tubes, and I'm sure there was not a tire my size in the whole town, themoment of truth had arrived. SAG in and invalidate my record completely. Or...

The 6 mile walk pushing the bike was bearable only because (a) I knew I'dbeaten the odds and made it and (b) I found a store to get a giant diet cokewith ice. Got into the park at 1:36 pm. Grand total of just over 30 hours and350 mi. Before the blowouts that morning, my overall ride time average speed wasa shade under 17 mph--not bad for the hilly route. The overall effort was overtime and over mileage (compared to my goals), but I did it. Now at least therewill be an entry in the book for Georgia E-W, and it's certainly an interestingway to ride BRAG!

Since I didn't get to give a victory speech, let me now thank my Official,Brenda Smith, and crew Annette and Penny, and my sponsors Georgia Power (bikelighting) and Southern Linc (wireless phones, a lifesaver), and of course theBRAG people for their cooperation and support.

Barclay Brown

June 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Georgia Cyclist to Set Cross-Georgia Record

While some cyclists are content to ride around the neighborhood and most consider 50-75miles a full day of cycling, others like Atlanta Ultramarathon cyclist Barclay Brown ridedistances that most people find unpleasant even in a car! In conjunction with the 7-day2500-rider Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) in late June, Brown hopes to set the 370mile cross Georgia record. To do this, he'll ride the same route BRAG riders will cover in7 days, in one day and a morning. While the BRAG "traveling tent city" will movefrom LaGrange to Savannah in daily 60-70 mile chunks, Brown will do the ride non-stop,meeting up with the BRAG riders on the last leg of their course, and finishing in Savannahwith them on Saturday, June 26 about noon. His plan is to finish in about 27 hoursincluding 3 hours of sleep early Saturday morning.

Even more extraordinary than the ride itself is the unusual bike Brown will be riding.The Lightning P-38 is called a "recumbent" bicycle because of the laid-back seatposition. It's not only about 30% more aerodynamic than a regular "upright"bicycle, but its also much more comfortable to ride, especially for long distances.Recumbents have been around since the 1930's, but are only recently catching oncommercially and are the fastest growing segment of the bicycle industry. When enshroudedin a fiberglass and fabric "fairing" recumbents like the one Brown will ridehave set all bicycle speed records, some reaching over 60 mph!

The BRAG begins at the Alabama border near LaGrange and winds its way through Columbus,Thomaston, Perry, Dublin, Metter and Statesboro before the finish line in Savannah. BRAGorganizers expect about 2500 riders this year. The record Brown hopes to set is sanctionedby the Ultramarathon Cycling Association, who keep records for east-west and north-southtraverses of all 50 states.

Brown's equipment for the ride includes a high tech lightning system front and rear tomake him visible for miles and able to navigate and ride through the night safely(provided by Georgia Power). Wireless phones from Southern Linc keep him in touch with hissupport van, and a new kind of bicycle stereo system with on-bike speakers will keep himentertained throughout the ride. For more information on Brown's ride across Georgia, seehis Web site at www.coolbike.comor call 404-654-9335.

================== END ======================