I attempted this record in honor of my mother-in-law, Judy Segol and her fight against Alzheimer's disease and to raise $5 - 10,000 for the Alzheimer's Association. Thank you to everyone who donated on behalf of my ride and a very special thanks to several people who told me they would double their donations if I was successful. During that last hill when I honestly didn't know how much farther I had to go or if I'd make it to the top and had a feeling the record was slipping through my fingers, that extra incentive did help me and I did think about it. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Mike Enfield and crew preparing for the start

I expected headwind on May 19 since the course is east to west along the I-40 corridor. The forecast from weather.com was for a 13 mph headwind at the start gradually dropping to 2-4 mph in Flagstaff before increasing to a wind advisory of 20 to 25 mph steady out of the southwest past Seligman!

When we got to Gallup, NM on Friday the wind was blowing hard with sustained wind much harder than 13 and 30 mph gusts. When we drove back to the start, the wind completely stopped! At 7 p.m. I rolled past the state line sign and my 20-hour time trial began. I've learned if I start slowly and gradually build up my pace I do better overall. With no wind I broke my own cardinal rule and started harder than I should have. I was making great time, but glanced at my heart rate while going up one climb and saw I was going over my lactate threshold. I backed off wondering how much impact that mistake would have on me later.

Fifty miles into the ride a guy appeared in my headlight, coming out of the bushes on the side of the road and going across the shoulder to cross the freeway. Weird...

Taking a short break shortly after Williams, AZ

I only planned to stop if nature called relatively urgently and that first call came after 61 miles — I wasn't off the bike more than a minute or two. After Holbrook that eight mph wind hit. It wasn't brutal, just tedious and occasionally hard.

We passed the Winslow city limit sign at mile 102 at 11:56 p.m. I'd done the first hundred miles in under five hours — an hour ahead of schedule! Past Winslow I had my first flat but Mike Cox did a rapid change and I was on my way again quickly — after putting on arm warmers because the temperature was in the 50s).

I planned to switch to my Trek 5200 with triple chainrings for the climb to Flagstaff, but Derek Slife told me I was on the climb and it wasn't any harder, so I kept my Trek 5.9SL. I was now almost two hours ahead of schedule!

Unfortunately the wind continued to increase and in Flagstaff flags were pointing straight out. I gave back an hour of my extra time getting through Flagstaff. After Flagstaff I stopped again to put on cold weather stuff — the temperature was now in the 30s! After the Arizona Divide I started a much-appreciated descent, making good time again

Mike Enfield on the last climb

The sun came up around 5 a.m., so the guys stopped in Williams to eat. When they caught me again we stopped so I could have a quick breakfast of two sausage and egg McMuffins. Those sandwiches were a mistake! I had been eating ham and Lunchables at regular intervals (with a variety of gels and Clif bars) and was doing fine nutritionally. After eating those sandwiches I felt bloated and wasn't hungry. That's not good when there are over 130 miles left to ride! 70 miles or so before Kingman the wind really started to blow and the temperature got extreme. The wind by itself would have been brutal, but with temperatures that topped 100 degrees, it was hellish!

I was starting to really suffer and stopped 260 miles into the ride. I hadn't eaten anything since those sandwiches and my stomach was upset. I wasn't sure if the problem was those sandwiches or too much Accelerade, so I started alternating a bottle of Accelerade with a bottle of Endurolyte laced ice water. I needed to eat something so I had several gels and a Clif bar. There are huge rolling hills going into Kingman and I suffered up each one, but somehow I maintained part of my time advantage from earlier in the ride.

In Kingman I stopped at a truck stop to use the bathroom. Partially successful, but my stomach only felt marginally better so I took a long 22-minute break — longer than all of my other stops combined! But I needed it, I was on the edge.

Mike Enfield at the finish

Two significant climbs were left with 30-35 miles to go, but the wind, heat and dramatic temperature change had taken their toll on my body. I had a lot of chest congestion and was starting to have a hard time breathing, wheezing with every breath. There was a strong crossing head wind through the valley on a long, straight road where I could see exactly how far I had to go. It was discouraging. But I kept turning my cranks and before I knew it I was starting to climb again.

That last hill was brutal! I thought I still had 15-20 miles to go. About half way up I considered stopping to have some cold water poured over me to cool off when the guys drove up and said this was it! The last hill! The record was mine! Only one more mile to the top! The guys pulled up again with the theme song from Rocky blaring out the windows. I was done, wiped out and said "That's so wrong!" They pulled up one more time to warn me to take it easy on the descent. Fools! I had nothing left! Take it easy... I didn't plan to turn my pedals again unless I was forced to. I made a cautious turn onto the Davis Dam road and had to turn my cranks a few more times before the last descent down to the dam.

The guys did wind up dumping two gallons of ice water on my head at the finish, but with the 106-degree temperature I really appreciated it! What an awesome ride!

This was a team effort. I couldn't have set this record without awesome support from Elliot Begoun and Mike Cox or getting advice from my UMCA Official Derek Slife! Marvin Atwood's record time from last October was 21 hours, 10 minutes. My goal was to finish in 20 hours, 15 minutes including any stops. With my crew's assistance I was able to cross Arizona in 19 hours, 46 minutes!

The record attempt has been certified by the UltraMarathon Cycling Association, an international organization that oversees long-distance amateur cycling events. Derek Slife, the UMCA official, observed the record attempt to ensure that the riders complied with all cycling regulations and traffic laws.

Official Record: 342.5 miles in 19 hours 46 minutes, average speed of 17.34 mph
Start: I-40 at AZ/NM state line
Finish: AZ/NV state line on SH 68 over Davis Dam on Colorado River