Best Ultra Rider of the season. That was the prize. But the rules of the John Marino Competition (JMC) require that to win the overall JMC a rider has to complete an event worth three difficulty points. Winning a slew of 12- and 24-hour races wasn't enough. To earn Best Ultra Rider a racer had to do a longer event: RAAM, a RAAM qualifier, a 1200K or a cross-state record of at least 475 miles.

John Jurczynski getting ready to start.

In late July John Jurczynski was leading the overall John Marino Competition. However, due to family and work obligations he couldn't do the required three-point difficulty race. After talking with Records Chair Fred Boethling Jurczynski decided to ride from the Massachusetts border north across New Hampshire to the Canadian border and back.

Amy Regan had set the New Hampshire north to south record in '93, covering 258 miles. Jurczynski had to use the end-points she'd established:

• South: Route 111 on the NH/MA State line
• North: NH Route 3 at the Canadian border

Regan had taken a route that followed the Connecticut River and skirted the Presidential Range of mountains. Jurczynski chose a more direct, mountainous route.

John Jurczynski climbing and descending across New Hampshire.

He left the southern border at 6 a.m. on Sunday, August 21. "The weather was generally good except for a few showers, occasional headwinds and some thick fog on the second morning.

"I arrived at the Canadian border at 7:32 p.m., just as the sun was setting." Jurczynski set the New Hampshire south to north record of 13 hours 32 minutes covering 238.1 miles (17.59 mph). Although his time was seven minute faster than Regan's north-south record, his speed was over one mph slower, since he'd taken the hard route.

"My only flat tire of the trip conveniently happened at the [northern border]. As my crew changed wheels and fixed my flat, I changed into warmer clothing, put on my lights and reflective gear, and had a bite to eat. We were back on the road heading south at 7:56 p.m."

Jurczynski on the way to Woodstock.

"I felt very good for the first half of the trip, but had very low energy for most of night. The low energy combined with picking an exceptionally hilly route had me cursing myself on more than one occasion. I picked this route to make the logistics for my crew and judges a bit easier. If I do the trip again I will most likely use the route used by the folks who established the N to S record.

"On the return trip, shortly after sunset, I was startled to see spotlights shining on me and into the woods. As we got closer we learned that people were sightseeing for moose. Apparently this is prime entertainment in the northern woods. This went on for about 10 miles and, as it got darker, became more and more of a problem. People in dark clothing were sometimes in the road while spotlights blinded me. I imagine these sightseers were as startled by my presence as I was by theirs. Being decked out in reflective gear they may have thought I was something out of a science fiction movie, or maybe the old 'Electric Cowboy' movie.

A quick change at the Canadian border.

For most races Jurczynski doesn't have a support crew and he relies on energy drinks like Perpetuem or Spiz. "For the first 100 miles of this ride that was the case, but after that I experimented with a little bit of everything. I had a turkey sandwich, some fruit, chicken soup and a few cookies, but was pleasantly surprised to find out how well red licorice, beef jerky, vanilla chai tea, Red Bull and Millie's cheese filled pierogi's went down. The latter is my secret weapon (Polish Power! They taste very much like the ones my grandmother made when I was a kid.).

For the record Jurczynski had a rookie crew: crew chief Caleb Johnson and Carissa O'Gara, Michelle Piro and Brian Webster. Since the event would take more than 24 hours, the UMCA requires two officials working in shifts. Jane Kellogg and Steven Sweedler officiated. "My all rookie crew did an outstanding job. I was very surprised when they all told me that they had a great time. It takes a special group to feel that way about riding in a car for more than 30 hours. On a humorous note, they did lose me on two occasions, but not for long."

On to the bike path.

Jurczynski used two bikes for the record a LeMond "tete de course" and a Titan Flex. "I am very happy with both bicycles. I generally used the LeMond in the hills and the Titan Flex on flat or rolling terrain."

Jurczynski arrived back at the MA border at 12:20 p.m. on Monday, August 22. He had covered 478.1 miles in 30 hours 20 minutes, an average of 15.76 mph.

In conclusion Jurczynski said "Thanks to Rhino Bike Works and TitanFlex for helping me acquire some great equipment for this trip. Thank you to Joe Jamison and John Hughes for suggesting I try a cross-state record, and to Fred Boethling for guiding me through the process. And a special thank you to my wife Kathy for holding up the fort at work while I snuck out to play.

Thumbs up! L-R Michelle Piro, Jane Kellogg, John Jurczynski &Caleb Johnson

"A few words of advice to anyone pondering a cross state record attempt: avoid bike paths, they slow you down. For a variety of reasons, it took me about two hours to ride 18 miles of bicycle paths.

Look for a five-minute piece on Jurczynski's record on Dan Egan's Wild World on MyTv channel 50 and cable 18. The segment will air on November 12th and again on November 14.