Congratulations to Jonas Bohr who set 5 WUCA World Records on a windy and rainy day – in the following categories: Male, 50-59, Standard Upright Bike, Open Road Category.

Distance Event KilometersTimeAvg Sp (Km)Avg Sp (Miles)Existing records : Male, 50-59, Uprightnew record
100 Km Road02:14:18.0344.6827.76Jonas Bohr 55 Sweden 2022-10-01 00:02:10:42 28.53 mphNo
200 Km Road04:29:14.0144.5727.70Marko Baloh 53 Slovenia 2020-07-25 00:04:58:48 24.96 mphYes
300 Km Road06:50:36.6443.8427.24Marko Baloh 53 Slovenia 2020-07-25 00:07:46:10 24.00 mphYes
Distance Event MilesTimeAvg Sp (Miles)Avg Sp (Km)Existing records : enter categoriesnew record
100 Mile Road03:35:44.5727.8144.76Marko Baloh 53 Slovenia 2020-07-25 00:03:59:12 25.08 mphYes
200 Mile Road07:20:10.0027.2643.87Marko Baloh 53 Slovenia 2020-07-25 00:08:21:10 23.92mphYes
Timed EventMilesKilometersAvg Sp (Miles)Avg Sp (Km)Existing records : enter categoriesnew record
6 Hour Road164.293264.40427.3844.07Marko Baloh 53 Slovenia 2020-07-25 145.870 24.31 mphYes

Jonas Ride Report:

WUCA +50 open road Jonas Bohr 200 mile attempt 8/6 Värnamo – Skillingaryd

I had planned this ride for quite some time and was well prepared. What I couldn’t control was the weather and after 4-5 weeks of wonderful summerlike weather this exact date offered just the opposite. It was a quite bad forecast with lots of rain wind and cold temperature. However, due to logistics and many people involved we took the decision to go for it and just try to do our best. And boy was this a challenge. If the forecast was very tough reality was even worse. We started at 10 AM and were hoping for approx. 4 dry hours before expected rain. The course is just a short stretch of 25 k with two 90 degree turns and a roundabout on both ends to make the 180 degree turns. To add up 200 miles, I needed to ride almost 6,5 laps of this 50 km “loop”. The road is a bit uphill going north with about 60 height meters so ideal wind would be from the south to help some uphill and the hope for even speed going south down but with headwind. And we had the wind in the right direction as some comfort in what else was to put it mildly, challenging conditions.

Started off and quite fast, found a heartbeat rhythm of about 134 that felt good and long term sustainable. First lap was quite windy near 47 kph to the turn and the tough head going back but landed a bit over 44 kph for 279 w this was a promising start since my dream ambition was to go under 7 h for 300 k or 7.30 for 200 miles. This requires an av. speed of 43 kph which I at these circumstances expected to be a far stretch. For lap 2 I could increase both the speed and power without raising heartbeat going very fast up to the turn then sky just opened with a heavy rain. Oh no not already I have just ridden for 90 minutes. this will be a LONG HARD DAY. But my body was really in the mood and so was my mind it felt easy pushing 290 w and I remembered screaming to the lord above when it was crazy hard rain. Ok is this the best You got? Hit me with your best shot. You can’t break me today. I rode with strength and confidence and the speed was well over 45 kph for both the second and third lap with power 288 / 296 w still at the same heartbeat

Passed the first WR mark of 100 miles at 3 h 35 minutes and 45 kph and was on par with the all over record pace still feeling great, and kept power high also on lap 4 with 292 w but this lap was slower in speed since the wind picked up even more with a very tough headwind going south. I dropped down to a lap speed of 43.8. but now over 200 k was in the bank, and I was still feeling quite ok though of course all the strain of weather and wind trying to maintain an aerodynamic position getting enough fuel in is starting to take some toll on my body. Out on lap 5 rain is just pouring like a downfall and the headwind going back is now even stronger. I can’t hold either speed or power but no major loss of power on lap 5 is 269 and speed is 42.7 kph. Lap 6 is the same. It’s extremely tough now, and colder just 10 c but I’m also beginning to understand that I will actually pull this off and speed is very high. I have almost 44 kph on average and now only some 20 k to go. When I pass the 300 k mark I do it with 6.50 which is a full 10 minutes under my dream goal of 7 h and I do this in the toughest of conditions. I am extremely cautious in all the turns and roundabouts the last half of this attempt losing quite a lot of speed here but will just take NO RISK in this slippery wet.

The relief when the last roundabout and super tough headwind section was done was just immense. I’m euphoric. Now I just have a tail cruise of 17 k to the 200 mile mark to go and I can do this section with a speed of 45,3 and 271 w and so extremely happy to reach the 200 mile mark in Klevshult, stop and celebrating with the fantastic crew (just imagine riding a motorbike in heavy rain for this event) at almost exact 7 h 20 min with average speed of 43.93 kph 281 w 135 av pulse. I managed to break 5 WR for 100 miles 200 k 6 hours 300 k on the way to 200 miles. I was on par for almost 200 k with the all over record from UltraCycling legend Cristophe Strasser but ended up in this extreme day 11 minutes shy of that. I broke the +50-age group for 200 miles with a full hour. I did this ride nonstop fuelled by predominantly sports drinks around 3,5 liters, 4 large gels and 2 bananas. My goal was to fuel with + 100 g carbs per hour didn’t reach that fully in the cold conditions but not far away.

Some personal data. I am 58 years this December 178 cm, 73 kg, started cycling late in life in my mid 40:s and in the past 12 years training with good quality and continuity to find my limit and how fast I can go? Luckily, I still haven’t got the answer on these questions and on this attempt I rode by fart the strongest performance in power and speed over such a long time. For this challenge I have turned a lot of stones regarding both equipment and position. Using ultra narrow crankset and short arms 155 which I feel have taken my cycling to the next level. Done a lot of testing for equipment and CDA together with professionals and I got this attempt reviewed and measured as in line with the best pro triatletes in the world which is just crazy thing and almost impossible to understand.

My late started journey with cycling has led to so much, almost like a transformation in many aspects of my life and for sure to a very healthy one. If someone told me at 50 that I was going to be stronger and faster at 57 I would have a hard time believing it but now since a few years. I have tried to stop seeing limits and instead believe in progression and in some strange way it seems to work out. I’m developing, despite what would be considered by many as “too old”. Last year there was a documentary released about my journey from a middle-aged beginner to WUCA WR holder. I hope You may find it inspirational, and you can see it now on YouTube also with subtitles from my webpage www.jonasbohr.com

Finally, I can’t thank my fantastic crew enough for making this dream come true. My wonderful wife Kajsa, Peter, Robin, Stefan & Stefan I’m forever grateful for your incredible support.

It’s never too late!