State Highway 28 at the Indiana state line — start of the cross-state bicycle record attempt.

The inspiration to attempt a cross-state record stemmed from Carol Chaffee's record ride across Colorado S-N in 2005. Fred Boethling and John Lee Ellis provided valuable advice and insights. I decided to try a two-fer. The week before this attempt, I set the age 60-69 record across Illinois in rain and headwinds, finishing in 9 hours 5 minutes. The distance for this attempt across Indiana is almost exactly the same as across Illinois and I was hoping to better my time. Six days rest seemed to be sufficient, as I felt fully recharged for this attempt.

Drew Clark is cheerful despite the heat during his Indiana cross-state bicycle record.

For this attempt, I gathered with my crew in Charleston IL at the home of my sister Molly Daniel, who served as crew chief. My niece Rachel Clark crewed very ably on this attempt. The official was Mike Jacob, professor at Purdue and an extraordinarily accomplished long distance cyclist himself. Among many long rides, he completed a self-contained 5,400-mile tour in 56 days.

We got up at 2:30 a.m. on June 17, 2006 to drive to the IL/IN border for a sunrise start. The temperatures were already near 70 degrees and were forecast to approach 90 degrees, so we did not want to squander what little cool temps we had. I began at 5:30 a.m. (CDT). The sky was clear and the wind was from the south, a crosswind. The wind gave little hindrance or benefit, except to provide valuable cooling as the day heated up.

The route mainly followed IN Hwy 28, with the exception of a few shortcuts I discovered on a scouting trip earlier in the week. The terrain was mainly flat, but the air contained real oxygen as opposed to the air in Colorado where I live. My goal was to go under nine hours. After four hours at a pace near 20 mph, it began to look possible to even go under eight hours if I didn't bonk.

Clark's niece, Christine Clark, encourages him during his Indiana bicycle record.

Just north of Muncie, I got a welcome source of inspiration as my brother Jeff and his wife Sue and daughter Christine (sister of the Rachel on my crew) lined the roadway to cheer me on with signs. With seven hours completed, a finish in less than eight hours was still possible. But the temps were getting near 90 degrees and I started cramping up. I had plenty of fluid and electrolytes, but my body just couldn't process fast enough. I had to stand up in the pedals to straighten out the cramps. It might have looked like I was sprinting, but it was a slow sprint and my speed dropped.

I rolled across the IN/OH border in Union City at 1:32 p.m. (CDT) for a total time of 8 hours 2 minutes over the distance of 153.0 miles. I got a surprise welcome at the border as Jeff, Sue and Christine were there waiting for me with a finish line banner stretched across the road for me to bust through.

Just as with my Illinois ride a week earlier, I had to overcome some obstacles. 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.

Clark sets the age 60-69 Indiana bicycle record in 8 hours 2 minutes.

What matters in life is not what you have lost. What matters more is how you use what you have left.

Official Record: 153.0 miles in 8 hours 2 minutes, average speed of19.0 mph
West endpoint: SH 28 at IN/IL state line west of Williamsport, IN
East endpoint: SH28 at IN/OH state line in Union City, IN