A rider heading out... SW Arizona...
One rider in, one rider out...West Virgnia.
Sunrise over the Missouri. Jefferson City...
Racing at dusk in Oklahoma...or Kansas (Not sure)
Team transition, Fort Scott Kansas...
The ready box, for the rider's van...
Denny and Bob...near Sedona, AZ...
Climbing...
Dave, awaiting a rider....
The next pull. That’s what crystallized the experience of riding RAAM for me. The act of riding at racing speed for 3-6 miles; resting and recovering in the rider’s van for about 45 minutes, then getting back on the bike for another pull; repeating this routine for eleven to twelve hours.
For two days I had been performing my duties as an RV driver, dishwasher, navigator, and like the rest of the crew, taking care of whatever was needed to get our guys down the road. I found I was relatively separated from the actual rider experience. Sure, I had seen our guys come and go at the transitions, but I hadn’t actually gotten my mitts into the race.
That all changed on the third day. On the third day I was pressed into duty as the rider car driver for the pull from Prescott, AZ to Tuba City, AZ. The shift would be about 180 miles, with several huge climbs – from Prescott over Jerome to Sedona, and Sedona to Flagstaff. It was during this 12 hour outing, that I learned what it’s like to be a rider on RAAM. For those twelve hours, I got to be up close and personal with RAAM; watching the four-man teams take shifts climbing, rocketing downhill on power descents, and just ride hard. It was like some sort of weird dream; driving, un-racking bikes, racking bikes, in the van, out of the van, driving, over and over again. But, still the riders rode; they pressed, they encouraged, they raced!
As the week passed, the routine rarely varied. 4 men in, 4 men out. Riding, racing, eating, resting, driving, and sleeping… at all hours of the day and night. On the last day, one of the riders, Bob Chaisson, stumbled and gashed his ankle, earning 7 stitches. What did he do when he returned to the team? He kept riding of course! That one act typified our team.
Thinking back on RAAM, it’s not as much the riding that intrigued me, it was the mental focus. Imagine if you will the focus you try to attain before a big ride. It could be a race, a citizen’s century, a 300 km brevet, or just a training interval. One does their best to get focused, get mentally ready to ride. Now, imagine turning that focus on and off like a switch. Every 45 minutes to an hour, get out of the van, get loose, and ride hard. It’s something to think about.
Well, enough for now. I think I will write a part 2 to this section!
Jim
For two days I had been performing my duties as an RV driver, dishwasher, navigator, and like the rest of the crew, taking care of whatever was needed to get our guys down the road. I found I was relatively separated from the actual rider experience. Sure, I had seen our guys come and go at the transitions, but I hadn’t actually gotten my mitts into the race.
That all changed on the third day. On the third day I was pressed into duty as the rider car driver for the pull from Prescott, AZ to Tuba City, AZ. The shift would be about 180 miles, with several huge climbs – from Prescott over Jerome to Sedona, and Sedona to Flagstaff. It was during this 12 hour outing, that I learned what it’s like to be a rider on RAAM. For those twelve hours, I got to be up close and personal with RAAM; watching the four-man teams take shifts climbing, rocketing downhill on power descents, and just ride hard. It was like some sort of weird dream; driving, un-racking bikes, racking bikes, in the van, out of the van, driving, over and over again. But, still the riders rode; they pressed, they encouraged, they raced!
As the week passed, the routine rarely varied. 4 men in, 4 men out. Riding, racing, eating, resting, driving, and sleeping… at all hours of the day and night. On the last day, one of the riders, Bob Chaisson, stumbled and gashed his ankle, earning 7 stitches. What did he do when he returned to the team? He kept riding of course! That one act typified our team.
Thinking back on RAAM, it’s not as much the riding that intrigued me, it was the mental focus. Imagine if you will the focus you try to attain before a big ride. It could be a race, a citizen’s century, a 300 km brevet, or just a training interval. One does their best to get focused, get mentally ready to ride. Now, imagine turning that focus on and off like a switch. Every 45 minutes to an hour, get out of the van, get loose, and ride hard. It’s something to think about.
Well, enough for now. I think I will write a part 2 to this section!
Jim
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