Dan McGehee 6 hour Outdoor Track Attempt - May 11, 2024

Congratulations to Dan McGehee who broke 4 existing records in the Outdoor Track category in 60-69 age group on a standard bike.

Distance Event Kilometers	Time	Avg Sp (Km)	Avg Sp (Miles)		Existing records : male, 60-69, standard bike
100 Km Outdoor Track	02:28:07.19	40.51	25.17		Marc Poland 62 2020-08-25 00:02:31:18 – 24.64 mph
200 Km Outdoor Track	05:06:43.65	39.12	24.31		Douglas Chivington 61 2022-05-16 – 00:07:02:40 -17.64 mph

Distance Event Miles	Time	Avg Sp (Miles)	Avg Sp (Km)		Existing records : male, 60-69, standard bike
100 Mile Outdoor Track	04:02:28.54	24.74	39.82		Douglas Chivington 61 2022-05-16 00:05:36:53 17.81 mph

Timed Event	Miles	Kilometers	Avg Sp (Miles)	Avg Sp (Km)	Existing records : male, 60-69, standard bike
6 Hour Outdoor Track	137.081	220.611	22.85	36.77	Douglas Chivington 61 2022-05-16 106.329 miles 17.72 mph

2024-05-11 Dan McGehee ride report

The mild pre-dawn wind created a chill in the 58-degree arid desert southeast of Tucson. Not sleeping well always seems to accentuate my sensitivity to the cold, on top of my low geriatric thyroid levels. But, the sun was fixing to come up at 5:30 and we needed to get rolling, or the 200K and 6-Hour segments would be through an even greater degree of annoying heat and brutal wind. The volume of details that need to be attended too, for these attempts, really makes time fly. If I could win the lottery, I would hire a race director, mechanic, and personal assistant to set it all up so I could just ride the bike.

Huge shout-out to John Power, John Lashley, and the Tucson Speedway. Great people and incredibly accommodating. It has been a pleasure working with them through this process! Ben Weskalnies, a former Brophy HS MTB racer and now ASU student that I had the pleasure of coaching, had graciously volunteered to run an Instagram Live-Stream of the event. It was so very impressive to see him all grown up and skilled at what he was able to do. Kudos to you Ben!

I should have taken a longer warm-up, but I just wanted to get this suffering underway, so I set off at 5:34AM. My long-time crew chief Al Schott, with his wife Cindy, is always good at prodding me and keeping me on task, so he wouldn’t let me dilly-dally around anyway. I was chilled for the first 30 minutes, but I’d be on the bike for 6 hours, so eventually I knew I would warm up and the 90-degreee forcast would facilitate. With Cindy Schott, Jeannette Burns, Dr. Gerard Hefferon, and my wife Mary monitoring the cones on the curves, it was uplifting to see smiling and cheering faces all morning! If the wind didn’t push me around so much, they would have had nothing to do – and I am grateful for their attentive patience.

The 100K portion was uneventful, just clicking off laps and trying to not push too hard, as there would still be another 3.5 hours. Took the first handoff about 40 miles in and cruised through the 100K with sites set on the 100-mile. The wind was picking up and this required shifting, twice per lap, to keep the cadence and power consistent. Approaching 90 miles, I realized that I would have to lift the pace a bit to go under 4:00 by the 100 mile. But as I passed 95, it was obvious that if I continued to do so, I would likely pay for that and post a much slower 200K, so I just held pace to roll through at 4:02. With the increasing wind gusts, along with an asphalt track surface better suited for stock cars than bicycles, the energy expenditure to stabilize the bike was elevating my heart rate as my wattage was reducing and speed was being clipped, plus the effect it was having on my right shoulder (outside) had passed the point of discomfort. Michael Hemmerlin, a talented cyclist and recent graduate of the Marion University cycling program, was my new handoff man, inheriting this position from his father Greg, who was incredibly proficient on the roller blades during previous attempts but has moved up to Official status. Moving handoffs were seamless with Michael’s bike handling prowess. Around the 4:16 mark, after I had passed the 60+ 6-Hr record of 106 miles, we had a quick discussion about the change in wind and my physical distress, deciding to push through the 200K and see what happens. About this time, a great friend of ours arrived at the track, el Padre, aka Fr. Del Toro. This was a big boost to the morale – and incredibly good timing, as the next 18 miles were the toughest of the day, working hard to stay close to the 25 mph average with the power dropping off and the heart rate rising. Covered the 24 miles, from the 100-mile to the 200K, in 1:05 and then let up on the pace considerably, realizing after only one mile that I had to stop to attend to my issues. The heat was an immediate threat, that I had not appreciated while moving at pace. Dr. Hefferon, an incredible chiropractor and energy med specialist, was quick and efficient at attending to my physical issues, thank God. Losing 15 minutes was better than quitting, or ending up in the ER from dehydration, but I was back on the bike before the 5:30 mark and clocked about another 12 miles to hit the unofficial mark of 136.9 miles.

A very special thank you to the 3 officials: Larry Burns, Bill Peschka, and Greg Hemmerlin. All seasoned veterans in the cycling world, with multiple accomplishment each. I am blessed to know them and I ride so much more relaxed knowing their efficiency and attention to detail.

None of this could happen without the tremendous friends that I have met – and help I have received from the folks – in the “local bike shop” world. I call it support and guidance – some of my loved ones call it “Enabling”! Markus Zimmer and all the boys at Bicycle Ranch Scottsdale keeping me rollin for almost 2 decades now, Paraic McGlynn and the talented mechanics at Cyclologic have found a way to make me faster and still be comfortable, Mike & Stephanie Cox at Curbside Cyclery are the only ones that get to touch my shocks, Ray and Mike at Paragon are always able to find that last minute part, and the teams from Hawes House/Two-Wheel Jones. Some say that the local bike shop is a dying breed – I don’t believe it and if that’s true, then I’m gonna go down with them! Thank you all so very much.