Update: June 12, 2008 -- Jure Robic leads at halfway point in Kansas; other RAAM news

Crews are stocking up on caffeine and butt blister creme in southern California this weekend as most solo cyclists in the 27th annual Race Across America prepare to set off from the Oceanside pier on Sunday.

Some 250 cyclists are participating in this year's cross-country ultra bicycling event in the solo and team categories. The route will take the cyclists some 3,000 miles to the new finish in Annapolis, Maryland.

Unbelieveably, the winner of the solo ride usually rolls across the finish line about 8 or 9 days after the start. For three of the past four years, that person has been Jure Robic, a Slovenian cyclist.

Go to RAAM website for progress reports on all the cyclists.

Meanwhile, the 2-, 4-, and 8-person teams leave on Wednesday and sometimes complete the trip must faster than the solo riders, as they ride in relays. Many of those teams are riding for charities.

Following the race

If you want to keep track of RAAM, I'd suggest going to the RAAM website, which is posting live updates, such as video interviews with Robic. 

You can also check out the action live, and RAAM has posted approximate times when cyclists are expected to pass through the various checkpoints. The first solo riders are expected at City Dock in Annapolis on Monday evening (June 16). The fastest teams are expected to begin showing up the next morning.

Rob Lucas, one of my favorite bloggers at UltraRob Adventures, will be working as a crewmember for RAAM solo competitor Dave Holt. Something cool that Rob's doing is putting Twitter updates on his blog, so we can follow that action along with him.

I can't wait to read what Rob will be writing about when the sleep-deprived crew pulls into El Dorado, Kansas, at 3 in the morning this coming week.

Rob, himself a former RAAM cyclist, also plans to post 30-second audio blogs through Jott. Read more about his plans at his post "Blogging from Coast to Coast."