Another epic Race Across America begins this week as bicycle racers depart from Oceanside, California, for a 3,004-mile sleep-deprived slog across 14 states to Annapolis, Maryland.
The efforts of the two-, four-, and 8-person relay teams that leave on Saturday are remarkable. Even more phenomenal are the aspirations of 5 female solo racers who leave today and the 25 men who leave on Wednesday.
They'll single-handedly battle the mountains, headwinds, and dark nights as they pedal across the US ahead of their support crews. In the past 28 years of the event, only 200 solo riders have finished the race. Most succumb to exhaustion, hallucinations or failure to meet the time cutoffs. Two died in collisions with motor vehicles.
Robic returns
One of the finishers, and a four-time winner, is Jure Robic (above right) of Slovenia. He's returning for another try this year after losing in a very close contest last year against Daniel Wyss of Switzerland.
The two traded leads several times across the country, but Robic had to serve 60 minutes in penalties at the last stop 55 miles from the finish. Instead of serving them, he quit. One penalty — 15 minutes — was for urinating in some bushes at the start line because he couldn't find a restroom.
Near-record speed
Winning his second RAAM in 2009, Wyss finished last year's 3,021-mile course in 8 days, 5 hours and 45 minutes. His overall average speed of 15.28 mph was the second-fastest ever, following the 15.4 mph record set by Pete Penseyres in 1986. That average speed includes time on and off the bike.
Among the 30 solo racers, 5 are women and 11 are from the US. Three cyclists make their homes in West Coast states: Ross Muecke, 45, Kennewick, Washington; Timothy Woudenberg, 53, San Francisco; and Sandy Earl, 47, Eugene, Oregon.
You can find all the solo and relay team racers listed at Racers on the RAAM website.
Follow RAAM
There are several ways to follow the race online.
Check the 2010 Leaderboard at the RAAM website. Solo riders and teams are listed on separate pages. There's also an animated map and occasional video reports. Some of the individual riders also have websites that update their progress.
The support crews and race officials in RAAM also are being asked to use Twitter to make notable updates. All their Tweets will include #raam2010. Search www.Twitter.com or go towww.wthashtag.com.
Information also will be posted on the RAAM Facebook page.
A wonderful film has been produced about RAAM. See “Bicycle Dreams tells the behind-the-scenes story of RAAM.”
Recent Comments