i’m sorry, i’m all for pushing the boundaries, but to quote spinal tap - its a fine line between clever and stupid. taping yourself to a 2x4 after 40+ straight hours in the saddle so you can keep on going is a pretty good sign you’ve crossed that line.
i’d have to agree. i see nothing appealing about that.
Imagine being so physically spent from riding that your neck muscles can’t even hold your head up so you have to attach a 2x4 to your neck and back.
The condition is called “Shermer’s Neck” in honor of Dr. Michael Shermer, who fashioned the first neck-holder-upper out of bungee cords way back in RAAM 198x.
Shermer is now a writer at Scientific American, and is founder/director of the Skeptics Society, dedicated to debunking psuedo-scientific nonsense.
It would be fun to invite Shermer into the Powercranks/Big Gear Work/Vasa Machine/Bladed Spokes/Bike Weight/Carbon-rides-smoother/Tubulars rule/HR Training/etc. debates someday…
Better get this guy into my office. He’s gonna need a chiropractor.
This is nuts. Imagine the potential damage if he crashed with this stuff on his neck.
Frank,
Do you have any idea how many of the RAAM competitors train using PowerCranks™?
As far as I know, only 3 and all started within 6 months or so of this race. One of those three (allan Larsen) dropped out before the start for family/personal reasons which is only significant as he was last years winner. Last I checked the others were not a threat to winning.