Josh & Tanya Beck before the start of his Alabama bicycle record attempt.

I started this journey on October 21st at 4:12 a.m. at the Alabama/Georgia line on the bridge on Highway 80. The start temperature was around 44 degrees. I finished on Highway 80 on the Alabama/Mississippi line at 4:20 p.m. Total time was 12:08. Total mileage was 222.2.

The First Four Hours: The first four hours of the ride were tough due to temperatures. The starting temperature was around 44 but within 30 minutes of starting, the temperature had dropped to 35. I looked at my heart rate monitor at one point and my bpm was at 167 (target was 145). I am guessing that the cold jumped it up there. The first 60 miles consisted of constant big rollers. 35 degrees on 35 mph downhills at night does not feel good. The support vehicle pulled up to give me some more fluids and gel at about the two-hour mark. They would not tell me what the car thermometer said. I knew it was bad. I could see all the people in the vehicle shivering from having the window rolled down. Theme of the first four hours: cold!

The crew ready for blastoff before the start of the Alabama bicycle record attempt.

The Second Four Hours: The second four hours of the journey was the most enjoyable. The temperatures finally broke out of the 30s and into the 40s by about 9 a.m. With the exception of hitting a lot of red lights in Montgomery and Selma, this second four-hour segment was fun. I really felt like I was in a groove. I spent about 2.5 hours of this segment at 20-22 miles per hour (with heart rate in check in the mid 140s).

The Final Four Hours: This is where fatigue started to set in. The last 75 miles were pretty much just pain management from leg fatigue and saddle pressure. My heart rate dropped down into the 130s during this segment. I wanted to make sure my legs would hold up until the finish, so I did not risk pushing my heart rate any higher. This segment was the most fun, because of the finish, of course! My mother and grandmother were waiting on me at the state line.

Josh Beck in a groove on his bicycle crossing Alabama.

Winds and Speed: Winds were not really a factor; they were fairly calm most of the day. I alerted all police jurisdictions about the attempt prior to the ride but got no police escorts. My real-time average was 18.3 mph and my riding average was 19.2 mph.

Fluid & Calorie Intake: I took in 11 bottles of water, 12 bottles of Gatorade, 11 Endurolytes, 20 gels, one peanut butter and honey sandwich and one banana. I erred on the side of overdoing it with the fluids to avoid dehydration. I had to make seven pee stops.

Heart Rate, Mechanical & Calorie Burn: Average heart rate for the 12 hours and 8 minutes was 139. Max heart rate was 168. Calorie burn showed to be 9,090. I did not have any major mechanical issues or flats. I made the attempt on a Cannondale Ironman 5000 TT bike with Zipp 404s.

Why I Did It: Following Ironman Arizona in April, I was looking for an endurance event to do in the fall. I came across this on the Internet and said "what the heck".

Josh Beck crossing the line and setting the Alabama E-W record.

Crew: They were awesome! I am very grateful to them for taking time from their schedules and sacrificing a night of sleep to support me in this. They kept me pumped up the entire day (Bob David, Diane Aldridge, Kathy Lawson and Tanya Beck). My Crew Chief, Bob, spent some time in the second vehicle. He would go ahead on many of the longer climbs and would do push-ups or jumping jacks on the roadside at the crest until I topped the hill. Kathy was the ultimate cheerleader alongside Bob on these hilltops. Diane somehow ended up driving the entire 222 miles — incredible. My wife, Tanya Beck, served as an awesome sound tech for the attempt and was the ultimate supporter through all of those training miles in preparation for this thing. I could not have had a better crew. My official was Dan Watson (nickname Dirtdog). He took his officiating job so seriously, he showed up at my house for a pre-ride dinner with an official's zebra jersey and a whistle!

In Summary: I am very pleased with the day. I had completed five Ironman events prior to this and would say that this event is a very close comparison in terms of time and output. I am very thankful that the Good Lord blessed me with the ability, desire and support group to pull something like this off.

Official Record:Alabama E-W, 222.2 miles in 12 hours 8 minutes 18.31 mph
Start: AL/GA state line on US bridge 80 over Chattahoochee River at Phenix City, AL
Finish: US 80 at AL/MS state line west of Cuba, AL
Official: Dan Watson