MBR.com: How long have you been racing mountain bikes?

Lee: I started riding three years ago. I did a few races in 1996 as a beginner. In '97 I did four races in the Sport class. Last year in '98 I only did the two endurance races. I did Cannan on a team and then Allamuchy solo. This year in '99 Allamuchy is my only race so far. I'm planning on doing one more. A one day race I think it's called Potter County race up at Lyman Run State Park.

MBR.com: Did you do anything special to prepare for this race?

Lee: I was able to have some strategy because I did it once before (last year) so I was able to improve on some of the mistakes I made. I paced myself better this time around. Last year I went out and rode real hard for the first three laps and basically I was recovering for the rest of the race. This year I didn't want to make that mistake so I started off at a slower pace and just kept that pace pretty evenly throughout the race.

MBR.com: Did you do any special training before this race?

Lee: Just a lot of riding. I did the Wilderness 101 trail in July and just tried to ride as much as I could to build up my strength.

MBR.com: Before this race what is the longest distance or number of hours you have ridden in one day?

Lee: That would have been Allamuchy '98. Actually I was on the bike a little bit longer last year because I didn't finish my last lap until about one o'clock. I rode 25 hours. I went longer last year because the course was less technical. I did 130 miles.

MBR.com: How much actual riding time did you get in during the race?

Lee: A few people have asked me that and I'm guesstimating that it's about 20 hours.

MBR.com: How many miles did you go in 24 hours?

Lee: 120.

MBR.com: In the last two months how many hours a week have you trained on average?

Lee: Between 12 and 15 hours a week.

MBR.com: Were you strong from start to finish?

Lee: Yes, my pace was pretty steady. Some of my best laps were the actually the following morning.

MBR.com: Did you have a good support crew?

Lee: I had the best. My oldest son Davis, he's 21. One of my best friends, Cork. Cork is actually the person who showed me a mountain bike for the first time three years ago and got me started in the sport.

Lee: Besides Cork and my son Davis my wife was there helping with the food. She just walked by and reminded me to eat a lot of fruit. They cooked about three meals for me. I had Nutri-grain bars, consumed a lot of Gatorade. About a container of Gatorade each lap during the breaks. I don't drink a lot while I'm riding but at the transition that's where I hydrated quite a bit.

MBR.com: Did you change clothes, shower, or nap during the race?

Lee: No nap this year. Last year I napped a little bit but this year I didn't nap at all and I changed clothes very frequently. I went through about seven pairs of shorts, changed my shirt just about every lap cause it was soaking wet and could have used more socks. I brought seven pairs of socks with me and I could have used probably another four or five pair. I should have changed socks every lap. I brought two pairs of shoes and used both of those. Didn't get a chance to shower until it was all over. People didn't want to get too close during the race.

MBR.com: How many batteries did you go thru on your night ride?

Lee: I used five batteries.

MBR.com: Did you have any unusual problems with the race?

Lee: I had some minor mechanical stuff but nothing that slowed me down because Cork is a good mechanic and he kept my bike going. I started off using slick tires and about three laps into it because of the dampness he switched me out and put the knobby tires back on. No unusual problems though, it was a pleasant experience.

MBR.com: Did you have any unusual luck?

Lee: I was lucky that I had so many people there supporting me. Besides my son, Cork and my wife I guess off and on there were as many as ten or eleven people at the transition site that were friends of mine and my other kids (I have six kids) and four of them attended. I felt pretty lucky and as a matter of fact when I was out riding my son's girlfriend asked me what I thought about most of the time when I was out on the course and I realized that I was always thinking about the people that were back there helping me out.

MBR.com: How do you rate the course?

Lee: I'd say it was 90% singletrack and technical.

MBR.com: Were you happy with the way the race was run?

Lee: Yeah, I think Sarah (Sarah Frost) does a great job.

Lee: Besides a hand painted picture frame, my name was picked at random and I won a bike computer, a rain poncho, a water bottle and a few other accessories.

MBR.com: If you could do the race again, would you do anything differently?

Lee: I would have brought a few more articles of clothing and would not have used my slick tires at all. I'm thinking that if I do it again next year that I could possibly improve a little bit more.

MBR.com: Is there anything you would like to add?

Lee: Not that I can think of.