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Woman
Shatters Colorado South-North Cycling Record
September
29, 2005
UltraMarathon
Cycling Association, Inc.
John Hughes, Managing Director, UMCAHQ@aol.com
It took less
than 18 hours for Carol Chaffee to bicycle the length of Colorado. In the
process, she shattered the national record for riding from the New Mexico border
to the Wyoming border.
Chaffee, 50,
is from Arvada, Colorado. She averaged 17.97 miles per hour for the 310-mile
ride on September, 17. She finished in 17 hours 15 minutes. The old record, set
in 2001, was 19 hours 37 minutes.
The UltraMarathon Cycling Association (UMCA), an international organization that
oversees long-distance amateur cycling events, certified her as the new
record-holder. A UMCA official observed her ride to ensure that she complied
with all cycling regulations and traffic laws, including heeding stop signs.
Chaffee said: "Challenging the record seems a great way to celebrate my
50th year on this planet! The record attempt was made even more
enticing for me because I was challenging a record set by a younger man, and
this makes the win twice as gratifying."
Chaffee has been racing for 10 years, including three wins in her category at
the Bob Cook Mount Evans Hill Climb.
In a record attempt the clock doesn't stop for any reason. Chaffee
minimized time off the bike. She rode almost five hours before her first brief
bathroom break. She covered the first century in five hours nine minutes and
sped through the 200-mile mark in 10 hours 31 minutes.
In Aurora two of her three daughters cheered her with a sign "That's
our Mom, on the 2005 Border-to-Border." Carol stopped briefly to hug
her daughters.
Per the ultracycling rules, a record challenger is required to start and finish
at the same locations as previous record holders, but she is free to choose what
she believes will be the best route. Chaffee started at Raton Pass at 4:17
a.m. on September 17.
Chaffee rode with focus and determination, covering 91.5 miles on the I-25
shoulder before her first brief stop when she exited the freeway.
After skirting Pueblo she got back on the Interstate shoulder for another 20
miles and then exited in Fountain. Picking up Colorado 83 she rode around
Colorado Springs, through Franktown and Parker.
From Brighton she headed north on US 85 through Platteville and then left the
highway for about 30 miles to take a more direct route past Greeley.
Darkness fell about two hours before the Wyoming border and the prevailing
northerly winds picked up. Afterwards she said that as she climbed the
rolling hills to Wyoming "I thought I was just crawling. I was sure
it was past midnight." In fact, she finished at 9:32 p.m.
Chaffee was assisted by two crewmembers, who had a very easy day. She had no
mechanical problems, not even a flat tire!
On October 7 she will be racing Furnace Creek for the second time: 508
miles through the Mojave Desert and Death Valley. In 2003 she finished the
race in 38 hours 38 minutes.
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