Drew Clark starts a rainy record attempt across Illinois.

The inspiration to attempt a record ride across Illinois stemmed from Carol Chaffee's record ride across Colorado S-N in 2005. Fred Boethling and John Lee Ellis provided valuable advice and insights.

During the night before my attempt, I gathered with my crew in a motel in Alton, IL, and watched a torrential rain soak the region. We all hoped the thunderstorms would pass through before dawn, but the rain was still falling when we took an early breakfast at Denny's with the remnants of a wedding celebration. The overcast was so thick that my start was delayed until it was light enough to proceed.

The official for the ride was Kerry Boes of Jacksonville, IL, who himself is an accomplished UMCA cyclist, having ridden 99 centuries in 2005. My crew consisted of Molly and Steve Daniel of Charleston, IL.

Clark crosses the Embarras River during his bicycle record attempt.

So on June 11, 2006 at 6:13 a.m., I rode in the rain across the Mississippi River on the Clark Bridge (coincidentally named for my great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame). The route essentially followed the RAAM course across Illinois, although we found about five miles shortcuts. The first section headed east on IL Hwy 140 on mainly flat terrain interrupted by low rollers when crossing stream drainages.

The sun never came out all day and the temperatures never topped 70 degrees, which is cool for Illinois in June. I had rain for 70 miles overlapped with headwinds for the last 120 miles of the 154-mile ride. I started with a rain jacket but no legwarmers, as they would have quickly become sopped with water.

I didn't even make three miles before suffering a flat tire. After the ride, Molly presented me with the glass shard she dug out of the tire. I had picked it up by riding on the shoulder across the bridge. I swapped rear wheels quickly and rode on.

UMCA official Kerry Boes documents Clark's record attempt across Illinois.

I hit US 40 at Smithboro and followed it to the Indiana line, with a few exceptions.

I passed through Teutopolis just minutes before noon. It was obvious that a parade was imminent, probably with a noon start. Every parking lot was filled with gathering floats and parade entries. A police car sat at the west end of town, prepared to close the road. As I rode through the parade enclosure, some of the waiting crowd must have thought I was a parade precursor for they cheered for me. At the east end of town, another police car waited to close the main street there. Just as my support vehicle cleared the parade enclosure, the police car closed the road. At least now we had zero following traffic for a while as I rode on to the Indiana line.

By the time I reached Altamont, the rain had stopped so I made a quick support stop to change to dry socks and put on leg warmers.

A happy bicycle rider after his successful Illinois record!

My crew performed flawlessly, even though we had not had the opportunity to practice food and water handoffs.

The route was two-lane with no shoulder for nearly the entire distance and the road surface was in very good condition. Traffic was light so the absence of a shoulder was actually helpful because with the protection of the support vehicle, I could ride in the traffic lane and not worry about the debris that usually accumulates on a shoulder.

My goal for this ride was to go under nine hours. I hit the border at 3:18 p.m. for a time of 9 hours 5 minutes over a distance of 154.0 miles. Given the headwinds, I was very pleased with the time.

The biggest obstacle I faced occurred back in March, just three months prior to this attempt. My wife found me passed out on our living room floor under an overturned chair. I was hospitalized with blood clots in my lungs. Twice. My lung function was so severely compromised that I had to have five liters/minute of oxygen just to stand and brush my teeth. Yet, my recovery proceeded so quickly as to be nothing short of miraculous and I was back on the bike within three weeks.

Official Record: 154.0 miles in 9 hours 5 minutes, average speed of 17.0 mph
West endpoint: IL/MO state line on US 67 bridge over Mississippi River at Alton, IL
East endpoint: US 40 at IL/IN state line in State Line, IL