A dark, damp start to Dan Shook's West Virginia bicycle record attempt.

This record attempt was over four years in the making. I first scouted the route with my wife on July 4th weekend of 2002. I remember it was an extremely hot day and it took us over six hours to drive it. We couldn't wait to get off the route because it had so many ups and downs and twists and turns over narrow roads. The route measured approximately 226 miles with 24,000 feet of climbing according to Topo USA. I went home that weekend thinking maybe this was not the one for me being a flatlander from northern Ohio. Then things happened in my business shortly after that weekend that changed my focus for the next four years and I spent very little time on my bike. During those years I couldn't get the challenge of WV N to S out of my mind. My wife had gotten tired of hearing me whine about it so the beginning of this year I decided at age 55 I better give it a shot now. I started training a little more consistently in early spring and finally committed to the task the last week of June. I counted 12 weeks ahead and picked Sunday September 17th as the date I would try to get this monkey off my back.

My training partner Joe Anderson would serve as my crew chief and Ed Korres would serve as the official. I officiated for Ed when he set the Ohio west to east record last year.

Shook enjoyed some flat roads during his West Virginia record.

We drove to Morgantown, WV on Saturday, 9/16 to spend the night near our starting point at the WV/PA border. Sunday morning rolled around quickly and it was 54 degrees with patchy dense fog as we headed to the WV/PA border around 6:15 a.m. After a few starting photos I was under way at exactly 7:00 a.m.

I had my front light mounted low to help see the road better in the foggy conditions and wore my yellow tinted glasses for better vision and to dull the headlights of any oncoming traffic. This set up worked very well as I cruised along trying to get into a groove. My clothes and glasses got wet quickly from the fog making it chilly and hard to see on descents but the prediction for the day was for clear skies and a high of 80 degrees so I knew I would be shedding all my extra clothing within a few hours. The hills began almost immediately and everything felt pretty good as I zipped up my first hill.

By 9:00 a.m. the fog had burned off and I realized it was going to be a great day weather wise. I had covered 36 miles and I felt good except my legs were now feeling sluggish. I knew from past events this is not unusual and I just needed to hang tough until my legs came around.

But West Virginia is not a flat state!

Around 10:00 a.m. I pulled over for my first break and took off my extra clothing as the temperature had risen to 65. A south headwind started picking up. I had noticed when riding in mountainous terrain that the wind tends to pick up speed in areas making you feel like you are riding through a wind tunnel. This wind stayed with me most of the day but I put it out of my mind and stayed focused so it wasn't much of a factor for me.

I rode, cautious with my effort, as I waited for my legs to come around. The traffic was heavier than what I had expected for a Sunday but everyone remained courteous. Around noon in the small town of Beverly, WV 83 miles (five hours) into the ride I pulled over to take an extended break as my legs had not yet come around. My food and hydration intake was fine and I had patiently ridden with controlled effort to this point. I became discouraged because within the next 30 to 40 miles I was going encounter a series of long climbs with grades averaging 7% to 10%. Joe told me that I needed to pick it up, if possible, if I wanted to break the record. I replied that I was doing my best but my legs were sluggish. Joe has crewed for me many times in the past and knows me well. We discussed my hydration and nutrition then Joe suggested switching energy gels. He knew the one I was using had a spotty record with me. For some reason I decided I wasn't ready to make the switch yet and continued on.

Shook climbed about 24,000 feet setting the West Virginia record.

At about 108 miles we were passed by a group of motorcyclists heading the same direction. Within a few miles, as I approached a mountain curve, I noticed traffic was stopped. When I got there I found mass confusion with two bikes and one rider down. There was an unhitched trailer hanging on the guardrail and a couple of puddles of gasoline in the road. Vehicles were stopped all over the place as people tended to the downed motorcyclists and tried to clear the road. No police officers were at the scene. I had to stop and soon Joe and Ed were standing beside me. Joe, a former Ohio State Highway Patrol Officer, is very experienced with this kind of situation. He and Ed went to check on what help was needed and soon he came back and walked me through the accident scene to the far side so I could continue on. They remained at the scene a while longer to assist riders and clear stopped vehicles and then caught back up with me several miles down the road.

At about 120 miles I pulled over for a water bottle and was told I needed a pretty special ride from this point on to beat the existing record. That was discouraging news but I was not surprised because I knew I was not riding as expected. At this point, I had about 106 miles to go and those 106 miles contained more climbing than the 120 miles I had just covered. My original plan was to have a cushion heading into the second half of this ride but now I had none. The way my legs felt I knew it would be tough to ride faster over the last 106 miles. Joe strongly suggested to me again that I switch gels and this time I listened to him. The effect was almost immediate and dramatic. My legs suddenly felt great as I sailed up the next climb, a major one, even shifting up and accelerating over the top.

The sign on Shook's pace van explaining the record attempt to motorists.

Everybody's spirits were lifted and now I became a man on a mission. The climb I had been fearing the most came at about 180 miles. My plan had been to switch from my Trek 5200 to my Cannondale back-up bike with a better granny gear but when I arrived I just continued up the hill spinning smoothly on my Trek never needing my lowest granny gear. I continued to ride well and stopped at 7:35 p.m. to put on my light. I have always ridden well at night so my speed did not drop at all and I arrived at the WV/VA border at 8:53 p.m. A rider can receive a time credit for assisting at the scene of an accident, and I was credited 3 minutes 42 seconds. With that credit I covered the West Virginia N to S route in 13 hours 49 minutes breaking the existing record by 50 minutes. I'll take it! It's been a long four years coming.

I had a friend make a sign for the back of the van that said "West Virginia North to South Record" to inform motorists what was going on and why they had to slow down behind the slow-moving van before being able to pass. I felt this would be especially important on the narrow twisting and turning roads of West Virginia. If you let motorists know why they are being temporarily inconvenienced they are less likely to get upset. I had the logo of the West Virginia Mountaineers put on the sign — they are as passionate about their football team as Ohioans are about the Buckeyes. It worked great as there were no hassles all day but only support from passing motorists. A number of people who had read the sign, I later found standing at the ends of their driveways were clapping and cheering for me. A Mountaineer team bus came by and just went wild. It was great. I highly recommend anyone attempting a cross state record place a sign like this on the back of their van.

The new UMCA magnetic sign to be loaned to riders attempting record attempts.

Following up on Shook's suggestion, the UMCA has made signs to loan to riders attempting record attempts.

Official Record: 225.6 miles in 13 hours 49 minutes, average speed of 16.33 mph
Start: CR 8 at the WV/PA state line approximately two miles north of Clifton Mills, WV
Finish: US 219 at the WV/VA state line in Peterstown, WV
Official: Ed Korres