Back in '96 and '97 I had done two minor races. Then I did the 1997 24 hours of Allamuchy Solo. It was my third race ever and I had only been riding for two years I guess. I didn't know anybody so I decided that if I don't know anybody I would ride by myself solo because it couldn't be that tough. I was riding a very heavy Pro Flex 854 with a chubby on it. I dehydrated but still completed 9 laps.

How many 24 hour races have you raced solo?

Since that beginning one I have only done Sport four person team 24 hour of Allamuchy races. All of the other races that I would do were the triathlon and biathlon types of trail running / mountain biking / kayaking type stuff. As of this year I decided to train a little harder and shoot for these solo categories exclusively because I knew I wasn't real fast but I had pretty decent endurance. So technically it was my first race in this condition. The Mountain Creek 24 hour race.

Did you do anything special to prepare for this race?

A lot of road miles. I pretty much had enough background in technic on a mountain bike. I'm pretty good on technical terrain. I purchased a road bike last winter and was on trainers until April. Since April I've been putting in average about 12 to 15 hours per week on the road. It's the first time I had been on the road. I didn't realize I'd like it so much.

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

12 to 15.

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

Before this race would have been the race in Mt. Vernon, NJ at Mountain Creek Ski Resort. That was 100 miles and I finished in 23 hours and 22 minutes (11:22 am). Excluding races we do what we consider "epic 50 mile rides" into Allamuchy or another good place to do epic rides would be Waywayanda, NJ.

How much actual riding time did you get in during the race?

About 22 hours because I only stopped for about 5 minutes in the transition area.... just long enough to switch my K2 hydration pack.

Which was your hardest lap?

2:17 am to 4:43 am. Most of that I was by myself and I was having a little difficulty concentrating. My legs felt fine but mentally I wasn't able to keep up. I would do well for a minute and then all of a sudden I'd realize I was down to a very slow speed. It had nothing to do with my legs just mentally not as coherent as I wanted to be until I ran into a friend of mine who was on a two person team (Ian Vonhold) and we worked with each other and sped up quite a bit. That would have been probably a half hour longer lap if I hadn't run into him. From that point I had someone to work with but the entire time before that I was pretty much just by myself. I hadn't run into anybody.

What were your fastest and slowest lap times?

Fastest would have been the first lap but I had a flat. Lap 3 was my fastest in one hour and 23 minutes.
Slowest was lap 8 - 2 hours and 29 minutes.

Aaron & Kerri Redsicker

Which lap was the most fun for you?

There was a part there where I just had a big grin on my face. I had a grin on my face twice as a matter of fact. There were two favorite laps. The first one was the first morning lap.... probably lap 10 because the light had just come through. It was invigorating to see the light.... you had an instant new adrenaline rush. It felt quite fresh. You just feel amazingly fresh once the birds start chirping because they see the light. You pay attention to all of that. I believe the other one was lap 3... I just started humming .... you know how you get a song stuck in your head..... fortunately I was lucky this time I didn't get like Chicken Dance stuck in my head.... it was Back in Black - from ACDC because I had been to their concert a few days before. So I was pretty lucky to get that one stuck in my head.

How many miles did you go in 24 hours?

136 miles.

Were you strong from start to finish?

Except for that period in the early morning that I mentioned before. Had I been able to maybe pace with somebody else..... actually I was amazed at how well my legs felt.

Did you have a good support crew?

I had the best support crew. Everybody there knew who my support crew was. All they had to do is hear the bell that was ringing all night long. Every lap that I came in they'd ring that big old chrome bolt bell. That got everybody's attention. My main support was Dan Seeley. My stepbrother had shown up to assist Dan later on Saturday night. His name is Kameron Kelsey. My wife Kerri Redsicker showed up in the morning to assist the bewildered support crew.

That's a rough job.....

Yeah, that is I would think as difficult. You have that down time. You're trying to stay awake standing around doing minute stuff... well what would seem minute after doing it for 12 to 24 hours. I give them all of the credit in the world. Dan was my support in the Mountain Creek race..... he's always there sprinting around... he never slacks..... gets me in and out within minutes.

What did you eat during the race?

Two GUs per lap. At the transition I think I only ate a couple of Pro Max bars (Cookies and Cream) they digest a little bit easier than the Protein bars. Primarily what I ate were Kiwis (my favorite fruit), a few bananas. I probably went through about 10 to 12 Kiwis and some Fig Newtons..... that was most of my solid food.

What did you use for a Sport Drink?

Endurox R4 - Fruit Punch flavor

Did you change clothes, shower, or nap during the race?

Changed my shorts once about midnight. In the middle of the night I changed my jersey twice... socks once.... gloves maybe 3 or 4 times. No shower, definitely no nap..... except on the straight aways.... just a little snooze on them once in a while.

How many batteries did you go through on your night ride?

I started out with the Niterider "head trip", then the next night lap I went with the Digital Pro, then he gave me the head trip again and I believe that was it. I just used the two sets and they were recharged in time.

Did you have any unusual problems with the race?

The first lap a mile and a half into it I had flatted because I was not able to afford both sets of the tubeless. So I was running with the Continental and at the second stream crossing (the same place where I endoed).... I must have gotten a little fidgety there trying to be careful so I didn't flat again I think it was on the 4th or 5th lap I endoed in the exact spot that I had flatted. The first lap was still 1:28 so I was pretty happy with it. I've learned to fix flats quickly.

I have raced up and down the east coast and have found that the racers in this race were unusually sportsmanlike and pleasant.... did you experience the same thing?

Pretty much without exception. Every single year this race has been like that. However, in case this person happens to read this interview..... when I was helping the women fix her chain.... there was plenty of room on the trail and this guy comes through yelling for her to get out of the way. He actually bumped into her with his leg into her back. That was quite wrong and I was disappointed with that. Other than that everybody has a real camaraderie type of feeling about it... if you run into somebody you ride with them even if you are not in the same category... you're just trying to keep yourself and them going. There is no big grand prize. You just do it to see if you can do it.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

There is no better run race in the world.

Everyone was complaining about whomever laid the course out. Did you hear about that?

(Laughs) Well, I will admit that I had a part in course design. A pretty big part along with Bob Workman and Andraes Eisenburg. We were trying to make it different than the year prior. We were limited to what we could use from the prior years due to a conflict in boundaries. The way I see it.... nobody could blame me for tailoring the course to make it easy for myself or the soloists. There is no way. Anybody who could is smoking something funny.

If you could do the race again, would you do anything differently?

I seem to have it down to a pretty good assembly line from beginning to end especially with my support crew. If I came in second then I guess I would have thought of something that I would have done differently but I didn't so I guess I won't second guess myself.

It is rumored that you will be competing in the 24 Hour Solo World Championships at the end of this month. Do you think you will be recovered fully by then?

Yes. I've done two 40 mile rides this week (Aaron was interviewed Friday the week after Allamuchy) and tomorrow I will do a century up in New York state. I understand that the World's course is less technical with more spinning required. So I'll get some spinning in up there.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I'd like to thank my wife Kerri. She's allowed me to ride so much so that I can do what it takes to train. Dan Seeley gave up his position on a four person team to slave over me so that I could have a win. My stepbrother Kameron who also assisted as tech support. My mother and step father who drove four hours just to check out the race. Steve and Tim of Amber Cycle. I did get a lot of comments about being mentally tough. I didn't feel so mentally tough in the middle of the night but I do find that I actually go through a mantra. I guess it's my form of saying prayers but it gets me through.... just talking to myself.... I think it actually worked because one of the ones I was concentrating on because I knew it was such a technical and difficult course .... was that nobody got seriously hurt and nobody did.... so I guess they were answered.... and I won (laughs).... but that was pretty much it.

Congratulations Aaron on a wonderful performance and thank you very much for the interview!

Thank you.