Congratulations to Patrick Hailey for breaking the 35 yr old record by Jim DeGraffenreid in his California W-E crossing in the following categories: Male 18-49, Standard bike, non-fixed gear.
California Cross State Record Attempt
The day started at 4am in Carlsbad, CA as the crew and rider loaded up the vehicle destined for the Huntington Beach Pier. We had a little over an hour drive to get to the start line. We got a few pictures, and everyone had their game faces on and ready for a tough day ahead.
My bike was absolutely dialed. A new TT Bike with a rear disc wheel and tri spoke from 5DEV. It was definitely the right choice for this record with a goal of no less than 11 hours (previous record 235 Miles, 11:07, 21MPH Average). I was not able to pick up these wheels and do a test ride with them until the day before the attempt, so there was a bit of an unknown on how they would perform with winds and heavy traffic. The math was undeniable that these wheels would save minutes over this distance and I was excited to prove that.
From a power perspective, I was hoping to hold around 240W on the day, and never average more than 250W to ensure I’m staying steady all day and not surging on climbs. For these distances, I stay around 65-70% of my FTP of 380W. That is mid-high zone two for both my power and heart rate, and the goal was to stay as close to the top of that zone without going into zone 3. This has me burning 9000+ cals for the day, so the plan was to run roughly 120g of carbs per hour. I would be carrying a 6oz squeeze bottle with 4oz Anderson’s Maple Syrup and 1.5 Carbs Fuel Gels. My liquid bottles would have tailwind nutrition and additional electrolytes.
I pressed start on my bike computer at 5:48am with the temperature at 52 degrees. I foolishly only wore a speedsuit and aero toe covers. The first 30 miles were mostly bike path and I would see my crew every couple of miles. I must’ve hit some kind of valley around mile 20 from there to the next time I saw my crew at roughly mile 30, because the temperature dropped to 42 degrees. Paired with the slight headwind for an hour and half, I was not in the best shape physically or mentally when I saw my crew.
My arms and hands were blocks of ice by the time I got to my crew. I rolled up to them and had to have them put my arm warmers and gloves on as I couldn’t do it myself. This was a little bit scary as I normally do not ride well in the cold, but thankfully I was just fine within 2 minutes of getting back on the road, and I now would have my crew directly behind me for the rest of the day.
Thankfully the state of California doesn’t really wake up until 9am on the weekends, so we were able to breeze through Corona and Moreno Valley with little traffic. Once we made it to Beaumont, that is when the weather really started to play into my favor with temps in the low 60s and a nice tailwind. I was quickly able to bring the average speed to nearly 22 mph by the time we reached Dillon Road.
Dillon Road is a 30 mile stretch of road largely exposed to winds with rolling hills on less than stellar pavement. To say I wasn’t thrilled for this was an understatement, and this proved to be the mentally longest 1.5 hours of the ride. I wanted to drill this part of the ride and just get it over with, but I knew that my legs would hate me with a 9 mile climb to follow Dillon Road. I
continued to pace myself and watch my average speed drop but never too bad. I was still averaging roughly 21.6mph once I finished Dillon Road, and had never been more excited for a 9 mile climb in my life.
Once the climb started and I was on my road bike, I stuck to my numbers and paced exactly how I planned. My crew had asked me for goal splits at certain monuments throughout the day, and I basically said the only thing we need to focus on is getting to the top of the climb by 1pm. If I can make that, there should be no issue with accomplishing the record. I crested the top of the climb at 12:57pm with a massive smile on my face, and it was mostly downhill tailwinds from there.
My crew kept me safe with no real issues for the last 80 miles which was a straight shot to the border. My body was starting to break down by the end of it, but nothing out of the ordinary for 11ish hours on the bike. I was able to hold 265W for the last hour after averaging 250W for nearly the first 10 hours. This is where my fueling strategy really paid off as well as I maintained 120g Carbs/per hour the entire time.
I expected the border to be some immaculate monument in my head for some reason, and it wasn’t until I was 10 yards from the finish that I realized I was on the bridge over the Colorado River that separates California and Arizona. I saw the “Arizona State Line” sign on the bridge and then a text came through on my bike computer with a congratulatory message from the owner of 5DEV. This is when it all started to hit me.
I crossed the bridge and picked the bike up over my head and screamed in celebration. 21.9MPH, 252W Average, 10:28 minutes riding time with 13 minutes of stopping for 10:41 total. Bested the 36 year old record by 25 minutes.
We pulled over at a truck stop at the next exit and I showered while the crew chowed down on some Wendys, then we got in the car and made it back to Carlsbad by 9pm. I walked in the house shortly after and that is when I realized the feat we accomplished, and how truly exhausted I was.
