EPIC RIDE: PART 2
On Monday, October 5 Jon Ornée attempted to set a new Guinness World Record: Fastest 100 miles by bike (while drafting). Jon road his bike behind his Dad’s minivan at the Michigan International Speedway in hopes of covering 100 miles in under 2:30 for an average speed of 40mph. He got it done! He officially hit the 100 mile mark at 2:20:46 for a 42.6mph average! Check out our Facebook Page and Jon’s Strava File for more info.
8 riders. 369 miles. 1 New WOrld ultra cycling record.
On Sunday, September 20, 2020, 8 cyclists from West Michigan teamed up to set a new World Ultra Cycling Record Up Michigan - from the Southern border (Sturgis) to the Northern border in the U.P. (Sault Ste. Marie). The previous record was 19 hours and 48 minutes (18.99mph avg). The Epic Ride Team covered the 369 mile course in 15 hours and 56 minutes, breaking the previous mark by just under 4 hours while averaging 23.2mph.
Check out full details and a sneak peak of the footage below and check back for a full highlight video coming soon!
The Team
The 8-person team included 4 riders from last year’s World Ultra Cycling Record Team (Michigan West to East): Ben Blake, Nick DeHaan, Sean Murphy and Jon Ornée. Joining them for this year’s attempt were Ralph Buckingham, Joseph Lampen, Jeremy Sall and Justin Van Beek.
Full Team Bios HERE.
STATS
Course Length: 369 miles
Previous Record: 19:48 (18.99mph avg)
New Record: 15:56 (23.2mph avg)
Support Crew
We COULD NOT have done it without an amazing crew! Shout out and tons of gratitude to: Garrett Krumpe, Claire Michkovits, Necia Ornée, Adam Sikkenga, Sharon Sikkenga and Linda Tabaczka for helping make the strategic vision come to life!
Details
The ride started from the state line in Sturgis, MI in the dark at 4:22am and finished in the dark in Sault Ste Marie at 8:18pm. The first 5 hours were under 40 degrees with temps as low a 32 in some sections. Once it warmed up, the team got comfortable and settled into a great pace for a beautiful ride. The team utilized a team time trial-style approach, taking turns riding in the front to try to maximize efficiency and cover the course as fast as possible. All 8 riders were on the road for a majority of the ride. They had fast, efficient nutrition breaks every 3.5 hours. 4 riders would continue to ride while the other 4 hopped in an RV to eat some food and refill water bottles before rejoining the group, etc… All “shift changes” followed World Ultra Cycling Association (WUCA) guidelines and were allowed per WUCA rules. So most riders road a total of around 310 miles but at least a portion of the team was riding throughout the 369 mile journey. All 8 riders started and finished together.
Other than a cold, dark start to the day, the ride was pretty drama free. The team did suffer a few mechanical issues including one flat tire, one broken spoke and 2 dropped chains, but for 8 riders over a 369 mile course, that was fairly insignificant. The cyclists obeyed all traffic laws, stopping at stop signs, traffic lights, etc, but the clock didn’t stop. So although they average 23.2mph, they were riding at 24mph most of the day (stops eat up lots of time!).
The ride and record were a total team effort with MVP honors going to Ralph Buckingham who was a total workhorse on the front for much of the day. Epic Ride 2020 was the first time these 8 riders road together and it will be a ride they’ll remember forever.
LIVE TRACKER
EP!C RIDE Part 2 LIVE TRACKER. Jon plans to start riding around 2pm on Monday, October 5!
And watch for updates on our Epic Ride 2020 Facebook Page.