Here is an update on Mary & Tom Florian's Ultra Event progress.
Look up UMCA and then look under "Special Programs for cycling excellence"" and under that, Ultra-Cup Competition, Current Standings. In the Ultra Cup Competition, riders accumulate points throughout the year for their performance in ultra-races. Currently she is ranked #2 female overall in the Ultra-Cup Competion and her goal is to be ranked #1 by the end of 2010. Standings link here.
On May 1 competed in "Calvin's Challenge" which is a 12 hour race held in Ohio. Calvin's Challenge lived up to its reputation for harsh conditions. Getting pelted by rain and fighting relentless gusting winds was the order of the day. Riding 191.5 miles in 12 hours she set a new record in her class and was 4th female overall in number of miles ridden. Tom rode 216.5 miles (in spite of getting 2 flat tires!) and finished 4th in his class. To find the results, do this: Look up "2010 Calvin's Challenge Follow-Up". Then you can download a PDF file with the results here.
On June 19 competed in the National 24 Hour Challenge, in Middletown, Michigan. She rode 341.2 miles in 24 hours, breaking the previous record in my class by 70 miles and was (again!) 4th female overall in number of miles ridden. Tom was extremely helpful to me during the race by standing near the checkpoints with fresh drink bottles, food, lights for night riding, arm warmers, etc. He decided to not race because he was recovering from an upper respiratory infection, and instead he stayed up all night in the damp chilly night air! Mary really appreciate what Tom did.
She wore her C4 jersey in both these races and there are some photos coming soon. As soon as we get them Robert will post them here. Wednesday morning at 6:00am, another woman and Mary are going to begin a "preride" of a 600K (approx 375 miles) mountain brevet (NOT a race) which is sponsored by BIcycle for Life, a RUSA club (Randonneurs of the USA). They'll check for road signs which are down, mistakes on the cue sheets, etc.and will report back to the ride organizer, Tony Goodnight who is the regional brevet organizer for RUSA. They will begin the 600K in Salisbury, plan to get a couple of hours sleep at Little Switzerland after riding 400K (about 250 miles) and then complete the ride. They'll get RUSA credit for the 600K if we complete it within the allowed max time. Both will be helping out as volunteers over the July 4th weekend when the official group ride is held. Probably about 15-20 riders will participate. Her main job as volunteer will be to spend the night on July 3 at a hotel in Blowing Rock and then be a "check-point" person who starts off some of the riders Sunday morning.
Mary Florian