3 - 4 September 2011: 24 Hour Ride

Whew!  It’s been a little over 36 hours since the ride has been completed and a second night of good sleep has helped with the decompression.  I’m feeling much better mentally today than I did yesterday where I was still basically out of it and getting drowsy when driving even if I did have a good night sleep the eve before.

The idea for a 24 hour ride came to me after I did the midnight ride back in July, which marked the halfway point in the year-long daily ride journey.  That midnight ride involved starting at 10:00PM on one day and riding until 2:00AM of the next day.  During the ride, I was thinking that I’ve almost ridden in every hour of a day.  Naturally (in my own twisted way), this led me to come up with a 24 hour ride to be sure that I actually did ride in every hour of a day.  Why?  I don’t know.  But, just as the daily ride was part of a cycle (no pun intended), the 24 hour ride was a also a smaller spoke cycle of the whole and, thus, made perfect sense.  

There was, of course, the challenge.  This journey has been very much about meeting challenges and creating new challenges to overcome via biking.  What I particularly liked about the challenge of a 24 hour ride was that it would really test me and there wasn’t a certainty that I would actually succeed.  

I’ve come up with many metaphors during the year to describe the daily ride journey and caving came to mind with this 24 hour challenge.  The 24er appeared to me as an unknown passage in a cave that could not be left unexplored; once the passage was known, once the idea of the 24er entered my head, it could not be abandoned and the exploration, the journey would have seemed incomplete without taking it on.

Doing a ride such as this, I took on a very different mindset than any other kind of journey I may have taken.  Time is the total focus and miles are a completely secondary.  It is a very interesting sensation to measure distance with time as the yardstick.  Pedaling faster will not get me where I want to go any quicker.  This worked to my advantage when the wind picked up and I was pedaling for 2 hours into a strong headwind.  Since mileage was of no concern, the wind was not the foe it was normally.  Yes, the wind gets tiring and annoying but I did not get frustrated by the restrictive pace.   

One more note before I dive into the accounting.  The 24 hours is actual time on the bike.  I stop pedaling, the clock stops and the bike computer is very obliging.  It was in my own best interest to keep moving as much as possible so that the 24 hours doesn’t drag out into actually taking 30 hours.  That meant stops would be quick.  It is amazing how quickly stops could add up; stopping only 5 minutes per hour adds 2 hours to the journey just like that.  I was hoping to keep the stoppage time to 3 extra hours.  Psychologically this was important as that meant I would finish the ride before it got dark again. This also meant my picture taking would be very limited and the quality of the pictures would be comprised.  The mission of this ride was to utilize time well.  I had hoped to take at least one picture every hour but as time went on, that plan fell to the wayside.  Still, I think there are a decent smattering of photos but this entry is definitely more a written one than a photo-journalistic one.

So, without further ado…

Zero Hour.

I like starting journeys from my house but in this situation it did not seem to be a good idea; it would mean having to ride on Hwy 45 at the very end of the ride when I was tired and there would be late day holiday drivers.  Plus, there was a good chance I could end up finishing in the dark.  So, I drove to the Botanical Gardens and started from there.  This was at one of the trail heads for the bike trail and across the road led into a neighborhood and then into a mix of country roads and such.  This also meant my van, my SAG wagon of sorts, was easily accessible for refueling.

I started off across the street, wanting to limit my time on the trail as much as possible as I knew I would be relying on it extensively during the night hours.  It felt good taking off and felt as if I was on a cross-country adventure.  I did commit a major amateur mistake by hopping on the bike for the first time since I had major work done on it a day earlier.  That's not exactly true as I did take it for a small test run just after I picked it up.  But, I put my trust in Branton's good hands at High Roller and I wasn't disappointed.  It was my own fault for waiting so long to take the bike in for repairs but when I ride every day it does get a bit hard to find the time.  So, a big thanks to Branton for squeezing me in and getting the bike in good steed on such short notice.

Hour 1

The first hour went easily enough, as expected, though, I did end up having to stop a couple of times to make a couple of technical adjustments, eating up much valued time already in the first hour.  Also, I noticed that my right quad seemed a bit tight and even after an hour of riding it wasn't loosening up; I worried that that might be a problem later in the ride.

This picture was taken when I stopped to log the first hour.  I turned to my left and there were the boxes.  I liked the mug-face of the white mailbox but the red newspaper box seems to make the picture complete, as if they are an odd but close couple.

With a Razorback football game in progress, I planned to slowly make my way into town and get a picture of the stadium lit up at night.  This seemed like a good goal that would eat up a couple of hours.

Once back on the bike trail, I noticed that the sides of the trail had been mowed.  I thought of the shoes and wondered what I would find; would they have finally been picked up as litter before the mowing or...

"Alas, poor Yorick!  I knew him well."  the mowers had indeed driven over the shoes and scattered them a good 10 -20 feet off into the scrub brush.  

Hour 2:  6:59PM

Trying to buy time so that I would end up at the stadium in the dark, I moved off the trail at Old Missouri Rd and wound my way through various neighborhoods, crossing Stubblefield and Rolling Hills Rds.

Again, stopping quickly to take a picture of the bike computer, to the left a decent photo op presented itself.

I've talked in the past how 22222 seems to be a number that I catch frequently on my computer when I ride.  I wasn't looking for it on the 24er but, sure enough, I happened to look down a few seconds before the event was about to happen and I figured I had to catch it on film.

For whatever it's worth.   You'll notice that I was going 10mph when I took the photograph.


Back on the trail and the sunset seemed to have special meaning as it meant the beginning of a long day's journey into the night.

Colene and Tom...be sure to take notice of the contrail, which I'm sure you did!

My quad had remained tight and as a result I kept to a slower pace.  But somewhere between hour 2 and 3, I pushed a bit harder as I climbed a hill and I noticed that the extra blood flow was just what I needed.  So, rather than holding back, especially since I was now sufficiently warmed up, pedaling a bit harder was actually beneficial.  There was still some tightness but not nearly as much.

Hour 3: 8:06PM

The first three hours passed rather uneventfully, which was good, and the action was about to pick up as I approached the stadium.  I circled around the campus area trying to get a decent shot of the stadium though I think the best ones are viewed from the balcony of the Student Union.

The game was still on but because this was the first game of the season and the Razorbacks were playing a weak team, the lopsided high score already had many people on the streets and sidewalks as I negotiated around the area. 

Not having any good night riding in the campus area, I headed back to the bike trail with the intent of slowly making my way back to the Botanical Garden.

Hour 4:  9:12PM

Like camping, biking into the night, it seems much later than it is.  Once darkness falls and I'm riding on the trail or quiet neighborhood streets, it already feels as if it should be midnight.  The football game also drew much traffic off the road enforcing that feeling.

Four hours.  Still a short inroad into this long adventure and it doesn't feel as if I've been out that long.  I'm taken by surprise when I happen to flip through the bike computer to check my average speed and I see the number 48 something.  What's that, I wonder.  Oh, the miles.  Really?  I've gone 48 miles?  I am so transfixed by time that I hadn't even thought about what the mileage might be.  48 miles: that's a nice day's outing and I've just begun.

Hour 5:  10:38PM

When hour 5 hits, I'm back in the neighborhood off Rolling Hills Rd. I had passed through earlier.  A bit of weariness is starting to set in and already I'm sensing a bit of monotony from having to circle though the same routes.  I've also already used up almost an hour of stoppage of time and so I take a very quick glance around for a photo op.  As I'm begin to pedal off, one appears hiding behind the mailbox.

Onward through the neighborhood, back to the trail and to the Bot Garden where I will refill my water containers and have some of those fresh strawberries I have in the cooler.

Riding the same routes did have some interesting insights, noting the changes of an event or place.  At the Bot Garden, a wedding reception was just getting under way when I began the ride.  I had forgotten about it until I arrived back there and it was in full swing with two vehicles parked on a service road right next to the trail with their doors wide open and sticking partially out into the trail.  Some people were sitting on a bench near the van smoking and a few others wandered by.  Interesting to stumble back on to the reception when people were tired from partying.

More valuable time wasted as I fiddled with my lighting situation in case my main head lamp burned out.  But then I was off again, planning to make a relatively straight shot back to downtown, wanting to be in the heart of the activity at midnight.

Hour 6:  11:36PM

I don't really have any remembrance of the ride between hours 5 and 6.  Yes, I do recall there being more bike riders and walkers on the trail than I expected.  It seemed as if half the bike riders did not have any sort of lighting device.  That would be all right except I'm not sure if there was some relation to the less lighting one had, the faster one zipped along the trail. Perhaps it just appeared that way since those without lights were not visible till the last moment.  

Coming on to Dickson St. is such a contrast from the rest of the ride, especially since it's a football night.  People filling the sidewalks and cars backed up along the street.  Coming to the sidewalk, the pedestrians have no interest in making way for a bicycle to pass;  hold up and wait your turn.  In fact, I seem to get a few odd looks.

I make my way up the Square and celebrate midnight there.

 Midnight:  6 hours and 24 minutes of ride time.  67 miles.

Although it doesn't really mean anything, midnight does feel as it is a passing point; after all, a new day has begun.

I decide to hit Dickson St on the east end and follow it down into the heart of all the activity, taking my place in the lines of cars.

 I have no idea what this might have been a picture of, but I like the abstract frenzy of the light streaks and it seems to represent well the feeling of being down there.

I safely traversed through and made it back onto the trail just barely missing a pedestrian who decided to dart across the bike trail at the last moment.  In a way I missed the company of the activity but I was glad to be back in the civility of the trail.

 Where to, now?  Where else.  On the trail, through some side neighborhoods, and regroup at the van at some distant hour.

Hour 7 found me on Bob Younkin Rd.  Like most street names, most are probably meaningless to those who drive down them. 

I have a bit of fondness for Bob Younkin Rd which is named after Bobby Younkin, a legendary airshow pilot who died in a crash in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan- Canada, in 2005.  I never really knew of him or saw him perform in air shows but I always had a fondness for his presence in Fayetteville.  When we first moved here in 1990, I knew of a dirt airstrip that was located just south of the where the current Washington Regional Hospital is located.  I liked the idea of an airstrip just beyond some homes and in the middle of pastures, all within the city limits. I may have seen a plane fly in there but I'm not sure.  Since then, an apartment complex grew up to the south, more homes to the west and a hospital to the north.  All that remains of the "airstrip" is the road and grassy fields waiting to be developed.  At least the road is named after him.  

A little further in the medical park...

Hour 8:  1:50AM

As I recall, I still was feeling pretty good at this hour.  I headed back to the van and one of the cars from the wedding party that was parked just off the trail was sitting there with its lights on but no one seemed to be inside the vehicle.  I grabbed a snack and on my way back out, I circled around the car to see if anyone was passed out inside but I saw nothing.  This was about 2:00 AM and everyone was gone.  For some reason, I did not think to take a picture of the car with a bouquet of flowers sitting at its bumper.

I crossed the road and did the neighborhood for a change of pace.  I was trying to eat up some time and then ride College St at 3:00 in the morning when I thought it would be the least devoid of vehicles.  Coming back to the Botanical Garden, I saw two bicyclists zipping down Hwy 265.  I had passed the young couple earlier on the trail.  They had no lights and I don't know how they could see on that part of the trail which has a heavy canopy.  I was amazed to see them now riding along Hwy 265 which I didn't dare to do even with a full compliment of blinking lights.  

Hour 9:  3:03AM

I envisioned College St being totally deserted as if it were a snow day but once I came upon it, even though there was very little traffic, it had a presence which made me feel uncomfortable.  I got on it where Kinko's and Bedford Camera are located and planned to take it to the Square.  In addition to my one very bright blinking rear red light, I attached another even brighter flashing red light; I wasn't taking any chances of not being seen and mistaken for some perfunctory glare.  Still, riding College felt as if I was riding on the back of a sleeping venomous snake that could wake up at any moment with some wild, errant car suddenly appearing out of nowhere.  Of course, I had been riding for over 9 hours and I was getting a bit weary.  But, I did make it safely downtown and...back on the trail! Again!

It was between the 9th and 10th hour that I had very serious thoughts over whether I was going to be able to complete the ride.  I may have started the ride at 4:45PM the day before but I had been awake, except for a small cat nap, since about 5:00AM the day before, almost 22 hours.  And, now, making my way back on the trail, headed for the Bot Garden one more time to regroup, resupply before hitting the main roads in the light of day, I could barely stay awake.   I did not think it was possible to fall asleep on a bike but I came awfully close to doing so, struggling to keep the bike on a straight path.  I could not see how I was going to ride for another 14 plus hours.  

At Sycamore St, I pulled over and rested on a bench, leaning my head back and falling asleep for about 3 minutes.  That got me about another 30 minutes down the trail where, this time, I laid down on a bench, using my Camelbak for a pillow, and got about a 5 minute nap.  Up again and pushing on toward the Bot Garden, happy when hour 10 finally came.

Hour 10:  4:26AM

Hour 10 gave me a disappointing revelation.  Before the ride, I was looking forward to seeing the clock showing 23hrs 59mins and 50seconds and the excitement of watching the seconds tick up till it revealed 24 hours.  However, my suspicion about the clock was correct as the 10th hour showed itself; the computer only has a ones column for the hour so instead of showing a reading of "10" it goes back to zero.  A very minor disappointment in the scheme of things.

The two little naps helped but what really helped was that I received a text from Linda with the Ozark Roadies who was wishing me well.  And, even though I didn't want to lose valuable time to stop and reply, the communication was critical in revitalizing me and thus not wasted time at all.

Finally back at the Bot Garden.  Lo and behold, the car with a dead battery.

5:40AM 

The strawberries were a welcome sight.

Among my other snacks:  nut bars, figs, dates, peanuts, walnuts and almonds and electrolyte capsules which I took regularly.  Orange juice and an iced herb tea I made.

Linda continued to send encouraging text messages and I could taste the end of the night finally approaching.  The plan was to take the bike trail south ONE MORE TIME and then head further south on Hwy 71 towards Winslow.

Hour 11:  5:51AM

From 4:00AM to 6:00AM, I did not see anyone on the trail.  When I did see someone again, it startled me for a moment as it was still relatively dark.  A jogger whose shoes glowed in my head lamp.  A bit further on another jogger and I smiled at the change of profile of the trail from those I saw on it late at night. 

I swung by the Starbucks, hoping they would be open that early on a Sunday morning and, fortunately, the drive-up window was active.  The text  messages were encouraging but I still needed something a bit stronger to give me a kick.  I waited in line with the other cars and when I pulled up to the window to pay for my drink, it turned out that the woman in the van ahead of me had treated me to the drink.  The thoughtfulness was most appreciated and I certainly will pay that forward. 

By the time I left Starbucks, there was enough light for me to take to the streets and make my way to Gregg St, following that into town and then south, out of town. 

Hour 12:  6:55AM

Hour 12 came just after sunrise but the skies were cloudy so there wasn't a photo of a sunrise to take.  But these geese flying by made a good substitute.

It was nice being on the surface roads again and to feel that the little traffic that was out there was less threatening.

Hour 13:  7:58AM

Just south of Greenland, I received a phone call and I thought it was going to be Carol but it was Dorothy calling to see how I was doing.  It was good to talk with her and I was glad I was on a portion of road where I could talk and ride at the same time without putting myself in danger.

I also had another nice treat to help the morning along.  I came across three bicyclists who were moving at a pace I could handle and I rode with them for several miles.

Jessica, Rachel and Chanley(not sure if I got the spelling correct)

Thanks for having me along!

I was getting re-energized and the ride down to Winslow went well.  Another bicyclist passed me, a man in his mid 60s, maybe 70 (always hard to tell, especially with bike gear on).  We met up again at the store in Winslow and he asked how far I was going.  I told him about the 24 hour ride and he didn't even seem to bat an eye.  "Why don't you head up to Mt. Gaylor?" he said.  "I have another 10 hours of riding to do. I don't need to take on big hills."  Well, you'll have the wind at your back and it will be downhill coming back."  I just shook my head.  What part of 24 hour ride aren't you getting, I thought.

At the store, I made my own ice coffee drink and I spotted a Dove ice cream bar in the frozen section.  It tasted wonderful.

Hour 14:  9:06AM

Before heading back north, I went a few miles down the newly discovered CORD 38 which I still haven't made all the way till the pavement ends 12.5 miles down the road.  I certainly wasn't planning on doing that then as the hills there were tougher than up to Mt. Gaylor.

Back to 71 and now north, into the wind.  As mentioned earlier, not too bad with a new perspective on travel and time but I did take a side trip down Hwy 74 for a few miles as much to add time as to get out of the wind for a bit.

As some of you know who follow the blog regularly, I have been photographing basketball goals that seem to have a personality of sorts.  The net hanging down is what intrigued me in this setup.

Hour 15:  10:20AM

You may have noticed that I began taking a picture of the computer marking how many hours have gone by while still riding.  Every minute of pedaling counts!

On Hwy 71 between Brentwood and Winslow.

Hour 16: 11:21AM

It's hard to remember what I thought about during the ride from Fayetteville to Winslow and back.  I do know that it seemed to go fairly well though I did stop in the store at West Fork for another coffee drink and a turkey jerky stick appealed to me, which I munched on as I rode.

Another chance to break up the routine of heading into the wind came at the turnoff for the West Fork Bridge which is about 4 miles south of West Fork.  I've always liked this detour that runs along a very quiet road parallel with 71 and leads into West Fork.

I did think about time and the nature of time and thinking that there must be some equivalent to making up time as there is for making up miles.  If one wants to get somewhere faster, they go faster.  What is the equivalent for doing so with time?

Hour 17:  12:35PM

Hour 17 and I believe I'm back near Drake airport just south of Fayetteville.  I'm beginning to think about the hours.  17 down, only 7 to go.  Only.  7 hours of riding by itself is quite an outing and I've already put in 170 plus miles.  The enormity of the challenge I had presented for myself  really became clear at the 9th hour when I was struggling to stay awake.  At the 9th hour, I wasn't sure if I could complete the task but now at the 17th hour, it certainly seemed in reach.  I knew it was in reach and I was going to complete it one way or another. 

Hour 18:  1:40PM

I slowly made my way back to the south part of the trail with the intention, once I reached the Bot Garden, continuing on and visiting Joe, who is wheel-chair bound because of a biking accident.  It was good to have a destination and the ride out that way, just a mile or so from my house, would eat up a good chunk of time.

Hour 19:  2:43

But something was beginning to happen as I neared the Bot Garden.  The fact that I can't recall the 18th or 19th hour very well probably speaks to the situation.  I was growing very tired and I don't think I realized how weary I was getting.  Heading to Joe's no longer seemed to be a good idea as it meant I would have to get on Hwy 45.  And, even though it would be for a very small distance, riding on there late on a vacation day, in my state did not seem to be a smart choice.  So, I nixed that plan.

Hour 20:  4:03PM

By the time I reached the Botanical Garden, I was beginning to feel very sleepy again.  Hour 20 seemed to mean that I was SO close yet it still meant that I was 4 hours away.  I got into the back of the van and put myself into a 90/90 position, lying on the floor and my legs propped up on the cooler.  I'm not sure if I ever really fell asleep that time but the break had to do me some good, I thought.  It was the longest break of the ride so far, consuming a full 15 minutes.  That left me with only 3 minutes before my 3 hours of stoppage time would be used up.

I headed into the neighborhood and to an uncompleted subdivision.  I didn't know where I was going to ride for 4 more hours.  I could create about a 2 1/2 mile loop with roads around the subdivision but I was having trouble making it through one minute of riding.  I would ride, look at the clock, ride, look at the clock, ride some more and the clock was still showing the same minute.  That didn't seem possible.  I found myself in the same situation as in the morning.  Quitting was certainly not an option but I was struggling to find a way to wake up.  I decided to head for a convenience store about two miles away to get a coffee.  If nothing else, that would help break the routine and eat up some time.

Hour 21:  5:14

On the way to the store, I received a text from Pat Murray asking how I was doing.  Not very well...on the way to the store for some java.  We texted back and forth a couple of times over the next hour and that, combined with going down a road that had three dogs chasing me, helped to wake me up some.  Still, the going was rough particularly since my rear was really starting to hurt.  I had stopped often to apply lotion to my bottom but there was only so much protection from hours after hours of riding lotion could counter.  At this point in the ride, sometimes I felt as if my bottom was rubbing against sandpaper.  (Later, Carol would say that I was not only red and raw but bruised.)

I made it back to the unfinished subdivision to try and put a loop together I could live with for 3 more hours.  Normally, there would be plenty of roads in the area that I would feel comfortable riding but I think in my weary state I knew better than try and take them on.

Then, the Calvary came.  Pat texted again and asked if he could meet me.  Bot Garden. 10 minutes.

Hour 22:  6:23

He was a sight for sore eyes.  We headed back in the area I had just been as the thought of going back on the trail was a bit dizzying.  Besides, lots of holiday walkers and bikers.  We traveled at a casual pace and I showed him roads that were unfamiliar to him. 

The Calvary, ala Pat Murray

Dorothy also called while we were riding as she wanted to know what someone who has been riding for 23 hours sounded like.  I surprised her by sounding very much alive.

Pat rode with me for over an hour and would have ridden longer but the sun was setting and he needed to get back home on his bike before it got dark.  That just left 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Shortly after, I received a call from Carol and she and Rachel were planning to meet me at the Bot Garden when I finished.  With about an hour to go, I headed back to the trail to finish out the last leg.

Hour 23

I had hoped to finish before it became dark but it was obvious that wasn't going to happen.  Still, very close.  I had to stop one more time to put my headlamp back on in anticipation of the trail darkening.  I certainly had a new exuberance as I rode with purpose on the trail.  All I had to do was head out about 30 minutes and then turn around, very easy going psychologically.

The sunset was just too pretty to pass up even if it meant stopping momentarily.


There were lots of holiday walkers and bikers and many were unfamiliar with trail etiquette which meant the trail was blocked or people did not know which way to move when I approached.  Maybe the most dangerous part of the ride that day!


But, 27 hours and 40 minutes later, I arrived back at the Botanical garden where Carol and Rachel were waiting for me.

I was a happy man!

24 hour Ride:  24 hours 2 mins.  Actual time: 27hrs. 40 mins.  250.93 miles