Congratulations to Benjamin (Jay) Fichialos for his new WUCA record!
Jay eclipsed the 2006-09-09 record of 1d 5h 31m by John McCool by almost 4 hours!
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Jay Fichialos – Rider Narrative
At the Utah/Arizona border, the afternoon sun was warming up, and the crew and I were ready to get started as I headed out just after noon. Settling into some rolling hills at the start of the ride I quickly reconnected with my old friend, a custom bike I like to call “Spitfire” built by Rob English of Eugene Oregon a couple of years ago.
Climbing out of the red rock region of southern Utah, the sunset as we passed Big Rock Candy Mountain and moved into a succession of small farming communities, as evening turned to night the traffic lights ebbed away and stars came out in full splendor. Hours passed quickly and layers were added and removed to keep both dry and warm. Temperatures dropped to the mid-thirties overnight, and the wind throughout the ride was mixed, often with a strong western cross. The sun was just beginning to rise I passed through Provo and avoided the morning commuter traffic.
The real climbing on this route started as I moved up Provo canyon, and the traffic steadily increased moving through the Heber Valley and to the base of the Unita Mountain Range. Turning onto the Mirror Lake Highway I had 300 miles under the belt, and full sunlight. Summiting on this road would be the high point in terms of elevation for the route but it would also be the figurative end of the hard riding. Moving at a slow pace I steadily scaled this classic western mountain road. Finally reaching the summit I quickly donned a vest for the descent and finish. The last couple miles were relatively flat and before I knew it I was looking up at the Wyoming/Utah border sign, finishing with a time of 1 day, 1 hour, 41 minutes.