2004-5 Results
Bill Ingraham earned 802 points, logged 315 hours, and rode 62 sessions. He earned more points than the winners of the 2003 and 2004 challenges combined! Bill's longest sessions include 10 eight-hour, one seven-hour, and 25 six-hour sessions! "Before I heard of your indoor competition I had never done more than three hours (intervals) on my wind load...I ride a old Bridgestone that I dug out of the Scituate dump!...Thanks for putting on this event, it will help me get in shape and also shed some lbs this winter." Shed some winter pounds? Hmm... Bill, are there any pounds left?

Bill Ingraham Indoor Challenge
I saw Nancy Guth at Calvin's Challenge. I told her I won the Indoor Challenge. She promised she wouldn't tell anyone.

We all know the real bike racers. They're USCF types who hate wind loads. Check this quote from pro racer Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski in the June 6, 2005 issue of VeloNews: "I hate riding the trainer ... I've only got enough mental energy for five good trainer workouts in any given season".

I see the "real" bike racers in the New England winter, cold as hell, on my way to work. I'm in the Camry with the heat on full blast, and I'm freezing.

In 1950, along with the Sears bike, my old man bought our first TV. I loved it. I remember watching John Cameron Swayze reporting the Korean war on our 10-inch Emerson, Howdy Doody, Kate Smith, and best of all, roller derby! I wonder what my chain-smoking parents would have said if I had mounted my fifty pound balloon tired monster on an early wind load and ridden for hours in front of that tiny screen.

The greatest technological advance in bicycle engineering to date? The remote. You've seen the muscle beach weight lifter types? I tell 'em that no one ever died of a bicep attack. No one ever got hit by a semi riding a wind load either. Lots of riders have missed really good shows because they were outside riding. My name is Bill and I ride a wind load - a lot. I feel bold enough to "out" myself this way because you sleep deprivation types are nobody to talk.

I must admit it is embarrassing to win the Dave Watkins' TV marathon. But this past winter was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. Brass monkeys-yes, USCF nutbags-no. It's 5:30 a.m., 25 degrees, pitch dark, and these guys are in a pace line. And I'm the strange one?

Truth demands I confess I am a tad "different". (I ride a high wheeler.) But until I see a few of these crit clowns wearing a wrist TV while jousting with hypothermia, I'm gonna think my meds are working fine. Until I opened up my copy of UltraCycling and read about the Indoor Challenge i had never done more than three hours on my Cycle Ops. I mostly did intervals. I'm really grateful to Dave Watkins for coming up with this competition, not that I had any idea of winning the thing. I saw it as a spur to get in shape and shed some pounds.

Dave's butt buster ran from December 1st to March 31st. I started out by doing a 6-hour session on December 4th. I had a reality check on December 5th when my body informed me that it "hated a revolution". The expression comes from running, as in "the Boston Marathon is tomorrow, I've always wanted to take up running, I think I'll do it". Hello emergency room.

I managed five hours the following day but was forced to slow my cadence from 70 to 63 rpm. I was a rookie at this indoor Iditarod stuff so I e-mailed Russ Loomis, the previous years champ, for advice. He told me he rode the small chain ring for his marathon workouts. I didn't have a small chain ring. My set up is an old Bridgestone that I found at the Scituate, MA dump. It sports a Campy track setup with a single 52-tooth chain wheel and a 16 cog giving me 87 painful inches. After that initial 6-hour innocence I divined that 63" was better than 70", and lubrication was in order.

Subsequent rides had me looking like a channel swimmer, at least from the waist down. I tried Bag Balm, Lubriderm, and finally good old Vaseline.

The wind in my wind load riding comes from my fan, which sits in a place of honor, on my TV. I really need my fan.

I have one leg longer than the other so I have a lift under my cleat to even out my spin. As Lewis and I explored the far reaches of the TV room I found that one foot was being abraded big time. I removed the insole, which gave my little piggy some room. This worked for a while until i began to get sciatic nerve pain from the leg length problem! Fortunately my back miseries didn't manifest themselves until the Indoor finish line was nearly reached. Another week and a wheelchair would have been in order. Even baby toes have a say when you're a UMCA looney tune.

I got up to a maximum of eight hours but at that point the rest of my body agreed with the toe that enough was enough. Anyway I rode more hours (315) than I would have had I not been introduced to the idea of long winter workouts.

After my victory OLN did a segment at my house, Bob Roll did a stand up in my TV room. I spit shined the Bridgestone. I turned down David Letterman. As long as we take our sport seriously and don't worry about appearing the fool we'll be ok!

Next year the Indoor Challenge will add a month; it will commence on November 1st. I'll have to consult Dr Ferrare if my toe/back is to make it to the end of March.