Congratulations to the team of John Looby, James Rankin, Larry Stranko, & Silas Hudson (The Motley Crew) for setting a new Cross State Illinois W-E 4x-Men team record on upright bikes in the 50-59 age-group.
Rider’s Narrative Summary: Larry Stranko
Record attempt: 2025-07-20 John Looby 4x Team: WUCA Record Attempt – Illinois W-E
Name of rider(s): Larry Stranko (this report), John Looby, Silas Hudson, James Rankin
Start date and exact start time to the nearest minute: Sunday, July 20, 2025, 5:00 a.m. CST
Start location: Illinois/Missouri state line sign on the Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois 62002
What were conditions like? For the first leg, it was 86 degrees Fahrenheit / 30 degrees Celsius, and winds were out of southwest at 3-5 miph / 1.34 – 8.05 kph.
Why did you want to do a record? I wanted the challenge of setting a record in the books.
What equipment did you use? Anything special? I had a Trek Emonda, nothing really special and Di2 electronic shifting. My computer was a Garmin 840. My second bike was an Argen 117+ and it never came off of the rack, for I did not need to use it.
What did you eat & drink? I drank 5 bottles of water, poured one bottle over my head. I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade, 2 bottles of strawberry lemonade electrolyte. I ate 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, one banana and 2 handfuls of cheese curds.
What was the best part? The best part of this was doing it with 3 friends and just having a blast doing this. I estimated it would take us 8:10:23. It actually took us 8:02:10 averaging 19.5 miph. This is pretty kick ass! Just saying, Well done all.
What was the hardest part? The hardest part of my second leg in Martinsville, I had to pull one leg out of the pedals and pedal with one leg.
Did anything particularly unusual happen? I had 2 unusual things; one was I about got hit by a car that passed and did not have any room and swung over to my lane and I had to dodge the car. The other one was a truck and trailer that passed me on the right side of the road, cut me off and threw rocks all over me.
Exact finish location described so that someone else could find the same spot. The Illinois/Indiana state line is indicated by a concrete ROW marker with IND on one side of the marker. The Google maps application has this location identified as US 40 and N. 2620th Street Dennison IN 62423. More identifiable from a distance is the above ground Bolin fuel storage tank in the gravel parking lot, just South of US HWY 40 and North of Interstate 70. The ROW marker is to the North East and closer to the road.
Exact finish time: 1:02:10 p.m. CST.
Rider’s Narrative Summary: James Rankin
Record attempt: 2025-07-20 John Looby 4x Team: WUCA Record Attempt – Illinois W-E
Name of rider(s): James Rankin (this report), Silas Hudson, Larry Stranko, John Looby
Start date and exact start time to the nearest minute: Sunday, July 20, 2025, 5:00 a.m. CST
Start location: Illinois/Missouri state line sign on the Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois 62002.
What were conditions like? For the first 20 miles / 32.19 kilometers of my segment the winds were from the southwest and were not all that bad. Later there were cross winds in my face coming from the northeast. On my last segment the winds were even stronger and still in my face. My front wheel started to waver, and when cars passed, I really noticed the wind shear. There was not much traffic and that was a great benefit.
Why did you want to do a record? I wanted to do it for my grandkids to show it is possible to still be fit at my age. This sounded like fun thing to do and I really wanted to do it.
What equipment did you use? Anything special? I had two bikes with me, and used a Canyon CFX Carbon with 700cc wheels. It was pretty much stock. I did have a rear collision detection sensor connected to my Garmin. I had also purchased a light that fits under the Garmin to reduce clutter on my handlebars.
What did you eat & drink? I used a protein mix and some creatine. I had lots of water and 4 Hammer Gels.
What was the best part? All transitions went AOK. My friends and family were very supportive and special thanks to all the crew and our official! I drove the route with my sister and had some idea of what to expect.
What was the hardest part? The winds and still finding time to spend with my family and grandkids. I knew Illinois was hilly and thought most of it was flat, and for a large part it is, but this part of Illinois has hills and many of them are one after another.
Did anything particularly unusual happen? Not that I saw.
Exact finish location described so that someone else could find the same spot. The Illinois/Indiana state line is indicated by a concrete ROW marker with IND on one side of the marker. The Google maps application has this location identified as US 40 and N. 2620th Street Dennison IN 62423
Exact finish time: 1:02:10 p.m. CST.
Rider’s Narrative Summary: John Looby
Record attempt: 2025-07-20 John Looby 4x Team: WUCA Record Attempt – Illinois W-E
Name of rider(s): John Looby (this report), Silas Hudson, Larry Stranko, James Rankin
Start date and exact start time to the nearest minute: Sunday, July 20, 2025, 5:00 a.m. CST
Start location: Illinois/Missouri state line sign on the Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois 62002
What were conditions like? The conditions at the start were ideal. Later in the day this all changed. The winds shifted from behind to from the front. The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Advisory. I poured ice water, from my water bottle down my back whenever I could.
Why did you want to do a record? I was a crew member of a 2014 RAAM team and wanted to put together a team of strong triathlete friends to do a 4X relay together.
What equipment did you use? Anything special? My bicycle is an older model Trek Madone Project 5.2 triple set up with a modified cassette. Garmin 840. A new Tailgater tail light.
What did you eat & drink? I ate a lot of cotton candy grapes, snack crackers, gels, Gatorade, energy bars, pickles, and drank lots of water.
What was the best part? The awesome team of riders and friends who assisted as crew, trainers and official.
What was the hardest part? The hardest part was the weather: head winds, heat, high humidity. Cars would pass and get too close to me. One time on the second segment, I went for the ditch.
Did anything particularly unusual happen? My PSV was cooled down to 60 degrees Fahrenheit /15.56 degrees Celsius, and I suggested to my driver that a light jacket might be beneficial. I had placed a soft towel just behind her seat. After my last exchange I got into the PSV and reached for the towel and immediately wiped off my sweaty sun screened face and arms. She was just staring at me and indignantly commented: “That was my favorite sweat shirt.” We also celebrated the official and her husband’s 40th. wedding anniversary with a cake.
Exact finish location described so that someone else could find the same spot. The Illinois/Indiana state line is indicated by a concrete ROW marker with IND on the marker. On Google maps the location is identified as US 40 and N. 2620th Street Dennison IN 62423.
Exact finish time: 1:02:10 p.m. CST.
Rider’s Narrative Summary: Silas Hudson
Record attempt: 2025-07-20 John Looby 4x Team: WUCA Record Attempt – Illinois W-E
Name of rider(s): Silas Hudson, (this report), Larry Stranko, James Rankin, John Looby
Start date and exact start time to the nearest minute: Sunday, July 20, 2025, 5:00 a.m. CST
Start location: Illinois/Missouri state line sign on the Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois 62002
What were conditions like? The 1st leg conditions were just about perfect. Overcast, drizzled on me a little but not bad. The start of my 2nd leg was hot and the sun was blazing, but after I got going it wasn’t too bad. So, either I got some clouds or the wind from the ride to cool me down.
Why did you want to do a record? I thought the record would be cool and something I’ve never done before.
What equipment did you use? Anything special? I rode a Fuji Roubaix 1.5.
What did you eat & drink? I ate Clif bars and a turkey sandwich all in the car, the segments weren’t long enough to warrant eating on the ride. Had plain water and water with electrolyte tablets.
What was the best part? The entire experience was the best part, seeing each rider do their thing well and having fun.
What was the hardest part? The hardest part was the hills which I had under estimated.
Did anything particularly unusual happen? Nothing terribly unusual for me other than meeting an ambulance on my last leg, I decided to slow down.
Exact finish location described so that someone else could find the same spot. The Illinois/Indiana state line is indicated by a concrete ROW marker with IND on one side of the marker. The Google maps application has this location identified as US 40 and N. 2620th Street Dennison IN 62423.
Exact finish time: 1:02:10 p.m. CST.