Rider’s Narrative Summary by Dex Tooke
Record attempt : Texas W-E long
Start date and exact start time to the nearest minute: April 7, 2018 20:57 CDT
Exact start location described so that someone else could find the same spot:
Intersection of W. Paisano Dr and Ewald Kipp Way, El Paso, Texas

What were conditions like?
Calm winds and heavy traffic at the start. Headwinds going up Guadalupe Mountain Climb (113 mile).
Tailwind push from Carlsbad (mile 148) to West of Lamesa (308 mile), Strong, gusty headwind from East of Snyder ( mile 371) to Breckenridge (mile 492), Headwind from Breckenridge to Bowie (mile 587), Cross/headwind from Bowie to Texarkana (mile 823). Road conditions were good/bad, off/on throughout the entire ride. Texas coughed up some of the worst chipseal I’ve ever seen.

Why did you want to do a record?
I already held the Texas N-S long record and I thought it would be super cool to have my name for both N-S and W-E.

What equipment did you use? Anything special?
● My primary bike was a November road bike with Shimano Di2 components, Syntace Aero Bars,
Speedplay pedals, Alloy wheels and White Industry Hubs.
●My back up bicycle was a Niner Cross Bike with hydraulic brakes, Syntace Aero Bars, Speedplay
pedals, Di2 components and carbon wheels.
●I used Dinotte lighting on both bikes. I ran tubeless tires on both bikes. I used a Garmin 800 for all
data.

What did you eat & drink?
A detailed account of all my nutrition and drink were kept by my Domestique in the FV. I consumed 18,184 calories from start to finish. 90% of the nutrition was real food, i.e. Nutrition bars, PB&J sandwiches, Burritos, Cheeseburger Sliders, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Ensure, Emergen C, Ice Cream and Potatoe Chips. My hydration consisted of Nuun and water.

What was the best part?

Of course the best part was the finish. But the tailwinds from Carlsbad to Lamesa were really nice also.

What was the hardest pat? Of course the hardest part was the finish. I pushed really hard the last 100-150 miles. The headwind from Breckinridge (mile 492) to Bowie (mile 587) was also extremely difficult. Did anything particularly unusual happen? As fatigue set in, the right side of my body began to slump. I was riding crooked down the road. I thought I was riding straight but my crew took video and I was crooked on the bike. My entire right side was slumping. My right shoulder, my right arm, my right hip, my right leg, all were slumping. My crew described it as if the entire right side of my body developed “Shermer’s Neck”. I had no strength on the right side. When I would come to a red light and need to unclip, I would unclip my right foot and put it down on the road but it was too weak to support me. During the strong crosswinds from the left , my right side would not support me. Joni and my brother Joe suspected it stemmed from my brain hemmorage injury. I had never experienced it previously in my other ultra rides. At mile 543 the crosswinds blew my into the rumble strips, I lost control of the bicycle and crashed in the bar ditch. At mile 546 the same thing happened again. It was then that Joni, my crew chief, put me down in a motel in Jacksboro, Texas (mile 553) for 4 hours in attempt to let my body regain strength. Fortunately the 4 hour break helped and I was able to ride from Jacksboro to Texarkana without another break. Exact finish location described so that someone else could find the same spot. Junction US 67/71 at TX/AR state line in Texarkana, TX
Photos taken at Texas/Arkansas state line/ Intersection of N. State Line Ave/ and W. 5th st./Photograph Island.

Exact finish time:
April 11, 2018, 4:42 am