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Heath Warner, Laura May Kuhlman Win! Race Report Full Results


The UltraMidwest 24 Hour Challenge Dawn To Dusk 12 Hour Race Buffalo Bill Stampede
A cyclist could not hope for better weather for a long ride! And 6 hours in the saddle - to say nothing of 12 or 24 is a long ride! That is what about 60 riders attempted on Labor Day weekend at the UltraMIdwest Weekend of Racing in Port Byron, IL. Riders from 15 to 75, men and women from California to Virginia and Canada to Texas took the challenge at 6:30 AM - riding en masse from the starting line at Riverdale Junior High school. It seems that every event has a complication and this one came early in the race, when the driver of the van that was leading the racers onto the first loop realized that parties unknown had vandalized the race course by painting misleading route arrows at many of the intersections. Thankfully, many of the riders had ridden the course previously and only a few were thrown off course by the pranksters. However, to reduce confusion as much as possible, the organizers opted to close the long loop after one lap and require the riders to complete the event on the shorter - but less complicated - middle loop. This made for more work for the timers at the start finish, since the riders had to be counted quite a few more times than had been anticipated. BUt after that near catastrophe was averted, the race went on fairly smoothly. The day was sunny and warm - near 90 in the afternoon, but with very low humidity, the weather cooperated throughout the day, and the wind was never a factor. The six hour event ended at 12:30 with a top distance of 122 miles - not enough to take the record from Bill Ford! After the 6 hour riders left the field, the remaining riders began setting in for the long haul. Volunteers came and went and at 6:30 the 12 hour contestants finished up. Chris Ragsdale from Washington pulled out a record 258 miles and Kathy Rouche-Wallace rode 215 miles, narrowly beating Nancy Guth's 211 mile effort. Then it was on to a fairly cool night. The temps were in the low 60's and the timekeepers huddled up in blankets while getting riders numbers throughout the night. At this time the race started to take a turn. Larry Ide - leader for most of the event, began showing signs of exhaustion, providing the opportunity for both Heath Warner and Joe Mann to gain ground. When Larry had to stop for a rest, they passed him and retained their postions to the finish! Finally, at 5AM the horizon began to show the first signs of dawn. The short loop opened and nearly all the riders that entered the event rode the last few laps to claim their personal victories!
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