(These images came from the RaceAcrossAmerica website, under the title: "Slight Oldies but Goodies")Monday, June 11th, 11pm
Greensburg, Indiana
Well once again, we pulled into our motel late, and will get maybe 2 hours of motel sleep (we sack out in the back of the van while driving several hours to meet up with the other team members). The crew is much more sleep-deprived, working slavishly for the riders. They drive, we sleep and ride. Right now they are out purchasing provisions for the ride ahead. Eating is usually sports bars and drinks, but Fritos and Egg McMuffins have certainly helped at times. Coffee is usually bad, so I requested some Starbucks bottled mocha drinks for the road tonight.
We started past Camdenton, MO, early this morning about 2am. Rode through the capital, Jefferson City, and caught one team there. Rode through a dramatic and scary thunderstorm at about 3am. There was water everywhere and frogs were hopping into the road as I rode through. We made one wrong turn that ended up with us just going back to on on-ramp to the interstate a bit. (The mandatory follow vehicle, a Prius, has been invaluable in helping us find directions, in particular, when we pass through a city. Dave and Karyl drive in it and shine the headlights just right for us to illuminate the dark roads.) Then, in eastern Missouri, there were several steep climbs in and out of creek basins, eventually breaking into the daylight and flatter sections of Missouri, and then Illinois. We caught another team coming out of the Missouri hills, and then made a wrong turn at the time station. I had to re-pass them and they played “cat-and-mouse” with us, trying to stay with us as if it was a 20-mile race! We eventually dropped them for good before crossing the Mississippi River (yea, 1000 miles to go!). However, Bruce’s van sustained a flat tire while driving on the shoulder. We would have to rely on Christian to keep riding, while Bruce and I (he was shuttling me at the time) fixed his flat. Fortunately, there was a mandatory 17-mile car ride to avoid a flooded bike trail, and that gave Christian a break; eventually, about 1 ½ hour later, we caught up and I took over. Now riding in Illinois, we had tailwind, and my average speed went up to about 25mph (using the time trial bike mostly - this is very fast when ridden aggressively, but one has to watch the cross winds with solid wheels!). We caught another team in Illinois, this team from Brazil. They put up a fight as well, even according to Dave, tailing me with one of their support vehicles as I chased, trying to figure out how fast I was riding so that they could try and hold me off! (I passed their rider with “authority”, about 3 mph faster, and they cheered me as I went by their support vehicle!) All in all, we caught 4 teams today on our shift alone!
This morning, we will cross into Ohio and try to make it all the way across to the beginning of the Appalachian climbs. (Out of "Tornado Alley"?) With all the obstacles we have had to overcome, we are looking to finish early Wednesday morning (less than 7 days)!
Greensburg, Indiana
Well once again, we pulled into our motel late, and will get maybe 2 hours of motel sleep (we sack out in the back of the van while driving several hours to meet up with the other team members). The crew is much more sleep-deprived, working slavishly for the riders. They drive, we sleep and ride. Right now they are out purchasing provisions for the ride ahead. Eating is usually sports bars and drinks, but Fritos and Egg McMuffins have certainly helped at times. Coffee is usually bad, so I requested some Starbucks bottled mocha drinks for the road tonight.
We started past Camdenton, MO, early this morning about 2am. Rode through the capital, Jefferson City, and caught one team there. Rode through a dramatic and scary thunderstorm at about 3am. There was water everywhere and frogs were hopping into the road as I rode through. We made one wrong turn that ended up with us just going back to on on-ramp to the interstate a bit. (The mandatory follow vehicle, a Prius, has been invaluable in helping us find directions, in particular, when we pass through a city. Dave and Karyl drive in it and shine the headlights just right for us to illuminate the dark roads.) Then, in eastern Missouri, there were several steep climbs in and out of creek basins, eventually breaking into the daylight and flatter sections of Missouri, and then Illinois. We caught another team coming out of the Missouri hills, and then made a wrong turn at the time station. I had to re-pass them and they played “cat-and-mouse” with us, trying to stay with us as if it was a 20-mile race! We eventually dropped them for good before crossing the Mississippi River (yea, 1000 miles to go!). However, Bruce’s van sustained a flat tire while driving on the shoulder. We would have to rely on Christian to keep riding, while Bruce and I (he was shuttling me at the time) fixed his flat. Fortunately, there was a mandatory 17-mile car ride to avoid a flooded bike trail, and that gave Christian a break; eventually, about 1 ½ hour later, we caught up and I took over. Now riding in Illinois, we had tailwind, and my average speed went up to about 25mph (using the time trial bike mostly - this is very fast when ridden aggressively, but one has to watch the cross winds with solid wheels!). We caught another team in Illinois, this team from Brazil. They put up a fight as well, even according to Dave, tailing me with one of their support vehicles as I chased, trying to figure out how fast I was riding so that they could try and hold me off! (I passed their rider with “authority”, about 3 mph faster, and they cheered me as I went by their support vehicle!) All in all, we caught 4 teams today on our shift alone!
This morning, we will cross into Ohio and try to make it all the way across to the beginning of the Appalachian climbs. (Out of "Tornado Alley"?) With all the obstacles we have had to overcome, we are looking to finish early Wednesday morning (less than 7 days)!
3 comments:
Mike,
We have been watching your race constantly. Your team is awesome! Keep it up, you are almost there! I can't believe how fast your times are compared to the competition.
Lindsay has so many questions about this RAAM race. It sure is a good Geography lesson. I have been telling everyone I come across about your team, so you are kind of famous here in Queen Creek, AZ.
Be safe and keep it going. WOOO HOOO!!!
Charlotte
Mike and Christian,
Way to go!!!
Must be fun to be passing teams now! Keep hammering! Only about 22 wed/fri morning rides left to go! (Well by the time you get the message less than that!)
The Pleas'
KPg
Mike,
You guys are incredible. After everything going on you just keep going. Looks like you will be there sometime tomorrow. Hang in there. We are proud to be "part" of the team.
Tony Freytag, Crunch Pak
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