'It had me on the ropes' – 66-year-old rides from Santa Monica to Chicago in 10 days for new Route 66 record
Ultra-cyclist Joe Barr finished his unrelenting journey on Friday, setting a provisional world record
Age-defying ultra-cycling star Joe Barr rolled into Navy Pier, Chicago on Friday afternoon to set a new provisional world record for riding the length of Route 66.
He had started the attempt at Santa Monica pier on the Californian coast 10 days, 12 hours and three minutes earlier, and travelled 2,448 miles across eight states along the way. The also saw him climb more than 21,000 metres.
The numerical designation of the famous cross-America route – often known as the 'Mother Road' – is no coincidence. Barr himself, who hails from Northern Ireland and is a former pro road racer, is 66. In fact, only a day after finishing the attempt, he turned 67.
Many would consider it a remarkable achievement and a remarkable undertaking for somebody of that age, but Barr's own philosophy is that age is a "red herring", not something to be hung up about.
He slept around four hours a night and rode an average of more than 200 miles a day, trailed by a faithful support crew that included his wife, performance nutritionist Jill Mooney. She told Cycling Weekly after the attempt: "We've faced heat and altitude in Race Across America, but Route 66 brought unrelenting extreme heat in Arizona and New Mexico and extreme humidity through Oklahoma and Missouri.
"It was challenging to manage the balance between core temperature, hydration electrolytes, and fuel. Add the constant vibration from a 100-year old road and you'll get a sense of the performance Joe has delivered."
Barr himself added: "Route 66 delivered everything a route of this caliber should – extreme heat, altitude, and challenging road conditions. In the early days it had me on the ropes but I got stronger as I adjusted to race conditions. The support from the team and from the Route 66 community was incredible. To pull this off before I turned 67 years old, in the centennial year of Route 66 – I couldn't ask for more."
Directly after the attempt Barr and his team gave away the Campagnolo-equipped Colnago Concept aero bike that he used for the attempt in a raffle.
Barr, who along with Mooney, runs the BarrUltra coaching and training community, has previous with riding across the USA - he has finished the Race Across America twice, winning his age category on one of those occasions. The details of his Route 66 ride have now been passed to Guinness for ratification.
