The top two solo riders are only about 30 mins apart at mile 1314, and they are almost 1/2 way into the race! Similar with the 4 person mens team.
Looks to be a good race!
http://www.nevrona.com/raamstats/report.aspx?report=RacePosition
http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raam2004/raceinformation.htm
I have been following along. One of the guys dropped out because his support team quit. That has to really hurt.
It looks like you can finish if you cover 250 miles/day for 12 days. I can’t do that, but it certainly doesn’t sound impossible to do and still get some reasonable sleep.
This is the first year that I have paid much attention to this amazing event. What is up with the support crew quitting? Talk about letting someone down. My neck hurts just reading about those distances.
apparently the support crew got into it with the rider after they bumped him with their van, then he had it out and the support vehicle, they got pissed and abandoned the rider in the desert!
Well they passed through my town again and I forgot all about it. Shoot, I would have liked to give them some support for such an amazing deed.
the 1st and 2nd lpace solo guys are in an epic battle for the win at the 1/2 way point, 1500 miles in and they are only about an hour apart
powerbars? shaw right! - dude, pass the fries!
http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raam2004/2004pics/2004during/picduringrace.htm
It is not that unusual for crews to fall apart or have serious problems in RAAM. It’s hard work, difficult, demanding, stressful. Little sleep, no privacy, very close quarters with other individuals whose personalities may not mesh well, periods of intense concentration alternating with periods of intense boredom. Many crewmembers don’t fully understand what they are getting into and often the crews are poorly organized, trained, and led, especially with rookie riders that are doing the race for the first time. The rider is experiencing all types of pain and fatigue, and may be performing far below expectations. This can manifest itself with irritability and impatience with any real or perceived mistakes by the crew.
As you may have guessed, I speak from experience. Crewing was an amazing life experience, with incredible highs and lows. In the end both the crew and the rider were successful, even though we had to overcome some serious problems. But I really have no desire to do it again.
These guys are total studs. Remember in the early 80’s when Jonathan Boyer (an American Euro based Pro), said that the RAAM guys were just a bunch of slow sleep deprived tourists and then he entered and although he went faster than the rest on more sleep than the rest, he had a new appreciation for how tough RAAM really is.
Has anyone on this forum done Team RAAM ? What are the dynamics and qualification requirements ? I am assuminig that in Team RAAM, you can actually get some sleep. I spent too much time sleep deprived in my 13 years in the military to enter events that involve major sleep deprivation !
Has anyone on this forum done Team RAAM ? What are the dynamics and qualification requirements ? I am assuminig that in Team RAAM, you can actually get some sleep. I spent too much time sleep deprived in my 13 years in the military to enter events that involve major sleep deprivation !
I crewed for two person teams in 2001 and 2002. Our team dropped after 1000 or so miles in 01’ and finished (and won) in 02’. One of the riders (who rode both years) crewed for a four-person team in 2000, so I have a bit of insight.
Unlike the solo race, there weren’t any qualifications for the two-person and up teams. However, sleep is still an issue because rarely is a rider on the bike for more than 1-2 hours. In the mountains and in hot terrain, you’re sometimes swapping riders every 5-10 minutes. At night, and in the cooler and flatter terrain we did try to make the guys stay on the bike for 3-4 hours. But even still, when they’re off, they’re eating, getting massages, etc. so there’s not as much rest as you think.
Logistically, the bigger your team, the more complicated it gets. Four-person team = logistical nightmare. The costs are tremendous and you’ll need 3-4 vehicles, at least two of which are RVs. The problem then becomes keeping track of where everyone is at and making sure they’re in the right place at the right time.
With a bigger team, you’ll also need a bigger crew, which likely means more personal “issues.” In the two years that I crewed, I averaged at most 1-2 hours a sleep a day. After 6-8 days, even the most level headed, laid-back person can become testy.
In 2002, the year our riders finished, I had 7 Red Bulls, 5 Diet Cokes, 2 cups of coffee and 4 No Doze pills in the final 24 hours. I was so tired I had to have the guy riding next to me in the follow vehicle (I was driving) actually hit me in the arm every five minutes to stay awake. A day or so earlier, we had some “issues” with one of our crew members and a rider and had to isolate the crew member to prevent another blowout. The result was that I had to drive the follow vehicle for the final one-day stretch.
If I were doing the race, I’d choose to be on a two-person team. It’s still demanding, but not quite as hard as the solo. And logistically, it’s much simpler than a four-person team.
Well, I was thinking it would be something like that.
On another note, a while back I was thinking of organizing a race across Canada from Vancouver to Halifax. Just four “four man teams”. Stages of ~300K per day, with each team getting the time of their last rider across the line for the day. Eveyone gets proper dinner and sleep and ready for the next day. Raise some cash for the heart and stoke foundation.
I was just invited earlier this week to partake in a corporate (8 man) team for RAAM 2005. We already have support vehiceles (2 RV +), manager and crew.
We figure on riding two bikers at a time for drafting benefits.
Its something i’ve always thought about, beyond the 2 IM’s I’ve done. So what the heck! I said YES! It’ll be a different type of “vacation”.
Why not just switch riders every ten min like another poster alluded to. This would be more energy efficient than two riders on the road at the same time ! Even with 30 min pulls, you’d only have to go out every 4 hours.
Any of these guys reporting any neck problems…if I remember correctly there is a problem called a Shermer where the neck muscles can no longer keep the head up…how do they prevent this? or if it happens what do they do about it?
I have no idea…I’m along for the ride!! : )
Someone reported earlier this week that they actually use wooden planks taped to the helmet to hold the head up. When I was in the military on patrol during sleep deprived exercise, we’d fall asleep in the prone position with our heads on the butt of the rifle. You just could not hold the head up, but that was form lack of sleep, not position on the bike.
these guys are amazing!!! How they manage this kind of event, and even finish let alone do it so quickly. Amazing maybe isnt’ enough!!! LOL
thanks for the info.