24 Hour Cycling Record Attempt

cycling, Michael Secrest, ultra cycling | UltraRob | Friday, June 15th, 2007 at 5:39 pm

Picture from ultracycling.com

Last October Michael Secrest rode 534.75 miles in 24 hours to set a new record. Two weeks earlier Samuel Nagel had ridden 7.64 miles farther but was given 45 minutes of penalties and had 16.95 miles subtracted. Right now Secrest is back at the ADT Event Center Velodrome attempting to break his October record.

John Hughes posted on the new Google ultra cycling list that Secrest had planned on going to track in Moscow.

“A 250 meter track beats the hell out of you. If anyone wants to have a shot a my 24-hour marks, it would be wise to go to a bigger track.” On a 250 M track the rider spends more time in the steeper banking, more G-force on the body and more pressure on the perineum and soles of the feet.

Mike said his next event would be on the 333.33 M track in Moscow – 500 miles!

Due to the logistical problems of getting crew and officials to Moscow Mike decided to race again on the same track. I talked with him a few days ago and he feels ready – he’s spent more time strengthening his neck and shoulder muscles to deal with 24-hours in the aero position.

I also received a press release on the attempt from O2 Sports Media.

BABY BOOMER MICHAEL SECREST AIMS TO PEDAL 550 MILES IN 24 HOURS

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (June 14, 2007) — At the age of 54 years old, bicycle racer Michael Secrest, of Scottsdale, Ariz. shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, starting at 7.30 a.m. June 15, at the ADT Velodrome in Carson, California, he intends to go more than 15 miles farther than his existing 24-hour world record mark of 534.75 miles, set in October 2006.

“I’m here to inspire others to set goals, don’t give up, and be true to themselves.” Says Secrest, who has established a program called Ride Your Bike to School, and hopes to combat childhood obesity by traveling to schools around the country and inspiring children to be more active. Information about this program is available at www.theguyonthebike.com.

Secrest is arguably the strongest US cyclist never to have ridden in the Tour de France. After an epic battle with America’s first Tour de France rider, Jock Boyer, in the 1985 Race Across America, Jim Ochowicz, head of the 7-Eleven team, did consider Secrest for a place on the Le Tour team, but time constraints prevented it.

Since then, with a prodigious talent for ultra-endurance cycling, Secrest has focused on covering distances in a single day that would make most pro cyclists curl up their toes.

He has now set three 24-hour world records in consecutive decades. In 1985 he rode 516.2 miles. In 1996 he went 532.74 miles, then last year raised it to 534.75 miles. That is an average speed of 22.28 mph!

Experts cannot find another athlete that has achieved the feat of setting bona fide world records in three consecutive decades at the same distance.

Other notable achievements by Secrest include riding 1,216 miles in 24 hours in 1990, on a motor speedway pacing behind a truck. Also, he holds the North American transcontinental record of 2,916 miles in 7 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes. That was on the open road with towns, stop signs and stop light s to slow his effort.

To Frank J. Fedel, an exercise physiologist at East Michigan University and Secrest’s coach, Michael Secrest is a phenomenon. “People look at Michael’s lab test results and say it shouldn’t be possible for him to ride as fast as he does. It seems to me he has a powerful belief system, he’s remarkably tough mentally. He has the ability to ride at a greater percentage of his threshold for an extended period than any other cyclist I have seen. It truly is inspiring to see what he can do, and it is a lesson to the common man that we can do a lot more than we realize we are capable of.”

Who: Michael Secrest
What: Cycling: attempt on the 24-hour indoor unpaced world record
Where: ADT Velodrome, Carson, California
When: Starts 7:30 a.m. PDT, June 15, 2007
Why: To raise awareness for the Ride Your Bike to School program, which is intended to combat childhood obesity. Also, Secrest believes he was under-geared in his October 2006 effort and can go considerably faster

HI RESOLUTION IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Contact: Paul Skilbeck, O2 Sports Media, tel. 415-516-1444 em. pskilbeck@o2sm.com