Introduction.
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| Racing across Kansas |
1. Our amazingly professional crew - no one was there to make the numbers up. They were all handpicked and half were brought in because they were professionals in their own field.
2. Our technology - working with our technology partner, Dimension Data allowed us to showcase our new Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The team were able to monitor my performance and effort in real time over wireless technology. This was especially useful during the night or when I was tackling the harder parts of the course.
3. Training - living and training in Scotland for ultra endurance sports means training in miserable weather on rough roads most of the time. This means that when the road is smooth and flat and there isn't much wind to speak of it’s a lot easier than what I would experience on a normal ride. This meant for me most of RAAM was ridden on roads that were easier than in my training.
4. Nutrition - we had fantastic support from High5 and I also had the benefit of having a briliant chef, Lyn with us at RAAM who made us amazing food to eat during the event. We didn't use any fancy liquid diet for me as we always planned to eat normal healthy food together with the supplements from High5.
5. Luck - we had a few lucky turns. It was a little bit cooler for the solo riders than it was last year during the first couple of days and we avoided the major storm that landed towards the end of the race.
6. Qualifying - In October 2015 we travelled to Texas to qualify for RAAM. We had failed in Denmark at my first Ultra Cycling race to qualify for RAAM but No Country for Old Men (NCOM) was a great success and it showed us how to race in RAAM conditions. The rules are basically the same, the terrain is similar and it taught us a lot about how to operate as a team over multiple days.
6. Qualifying - In October 2015 we travelled to Texas to qualify for RAAM. We had failed in Denmark at my first Ultra Cycling race to qualify for RAAM but No Country for Old Men (NCOM) was a great success and it showed us how to race in RAAM conditions. The rules are basically the same, the terrain is similar and it taught us a lot about how to operate as a team over multiple days.
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| Project Kansas Race Crew on the pier at Oceanside |
Oceanside at Last
Steve, our Crew Chief and Tony our deputy Crew Chief and I had said it lots of times during the RAAM build up. "If we get to Oceanside we will need to sit down and enjoy a cool beer together near the pier!" And here we were at last. 18 months of brainstorming, discussion, planning, testing, training, fund raising, cajoling. You name it, we explored it. The outcome ended up better than we had ever thought it could be. Here we were at Oceanside about to start the "Toughest Bike Race in the World", we had two huge corporate sponsors in Cisco (employer to half of our crew) and Dimension Data (long time strategic partner of Cisco), We had fantastic support from my local bike shop, Pedal Power in Scotland and nutrition taken care of by my favorite sports nutrition company High5 We also had the benefit of my fitness dramatically improving under the expert coaching guidance from Gary Hand at Espresso Cycle Coaching and all that important core strength work overseen by Thirza Gibson from Physis Physiotherapy, who also managed to keep my body working during all that intensive training.
But back there in Oceanside before we could get those beers we had to do rider registration and attend the rider presentation. Both of which were happy experiences and with my fantastic crew behind me I remember being relaxed and enjoying shaking the hands of all the other solo riders at the presentation ceremony.
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| Rider Registration |
The Start
The start day was pretty hectic for the crew. I distinctly remember trying to get out of their way most of the time and in the end put my headphones on and my feet up. It's not easy relaxing with your crew running about getting everything ready, theres something not right about all that. But I knew that from that moment on I was a RAAM racer which meant leaving almost everything to the crew, something which isn't a natural thing for me. All my non cycling clothes and gear were packed away in a separate suitcase and I wouldn't be seeing them until we reached Annapolis. That was a promise I made to Gary my coach and room mate. No quitting allowed! All my personal belongings were taken away and it was full team issue kit for me for the next 12 days. Way before I’d have liked it I was summoned to the car park, we had a race to start. Someone checked me out of the hotel, "I have people to do these things now" I joked with Steve, and I climbed into the team car and we drove to the start line.
Once parked up at our official parking spot I went for a cruise on the bike, GoPro in hand. You would expect that this would be an anxious time but as per our successful RAAM qualifying event in Texas I was totally calm so was able to enjoy the moments before we got started which mainly involved joking about what we were about to do. I remember sitting on the bike, leaning against the team car trying to look cool and Tony was there entertaining us with a worryingly professional impromptu “Dad dancing” session. I’m sure he will be glad to know we have a video of it here.
Day 1 - California
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Keith, our motorhome driver (Lyn's sous chef and my boss at work - cheers boss!) took this photo of me at the start, Lyn is seen taking another photo at the same time. |
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| Two minutes after the start - still trying to look pro, bye bye Pacific Ocean, next stop the Atlantic Ocean |
Just after this photo was taken I was met by two guides on bikes who would make sure I didn't get lost on the cycle paths heading east out of Oceanside. The first 20 odd miles are "self supported" so that the crew vehicles don't get in the way of the traffic. I learned that one of my guides was non other than Chuck Lowery the Deputy Major of Oceanside so we had a great chat about what being a Deputy Mayor was like before my guides both circled back to the start and I was alone for the first time.
I enjoyed the time on my own as I knew I’d be managed 24/7 for the next 12 days. I remember telling myself to enjoy the freedom for a while because soon all eyes would be on me. I rode along in the Californian sunshine unhindered by schedules almost oblivious of the 3000 miles ahead of me. After a while I knew I was getting close to where I would meet up with the crew so I started to think more about the race and what I was doing. I felt a certain weight of responsibility now, to my crew, my family, my employer and sponsors. I thought about certain key people who had put their faith in me, there was no way I was going to fail at this. It was going to be my only shot at RAAM. I was confident in my own abilities mainly because during all the training Steve, my crew chief and partner in crime for RAAM and I had done together. I had hit rock bottom lots of times during training; bonking (when you don't eat enough and then suffer low blood glucose), terrible nausea, freezing conditions, rain soaked roads and even snow and ice! I even managed to get pneumonia over the winter and had to train in my garage all of January and February. We had always managed to find ways to get over these challenges and now we were here and I was riding in the Californian sunshine feeling fit and healthy.
Soon I could see the support car parked alongside lots of other racers' cars. I spotted it easily because I could see the Scottish flag flying, I guess that’s the benefit of being the first Scotsman to attempt solo RAAM. We were all together and so we headed out through the Californian hills towards the desert. To see how the crew dealt with the heat of day 1 check out the RAAM daily update video here (5.25 for coverage of our crew.)
The Glass Elevator and On To The Desert
One of the highlights of the race comes on day 1 and its called The Glass Elevator. For me I reached it early evening. I crested the top and was told to "take it easy" Mmmm I wasn't sure I could do that! Its a long steep decent with a typical Alpine gradient but it's different in that you can see the desert floor beneath you - oh and the small matter of the estimated 50 mph cross winds that make the descent so treacherous and exciting. I was literally hanging my head and shoulders way out over my front wheel trying to keep it on the tarmac. At one point the force of the cross wind was incredible I really thought I was going to loose my front wheel but there was no way I was slowing down. I was riding at over 45 mph and really enjoying the experience. I could see the desert stretching off to the horizon below me, it was like coming into land at Las Vegas airport. I remember catching another RAAM rider, passing him on the outside of a corner and then he had the cheek to repass me on the straight. I thought "fair enough" but then he kept slowing for the corners which was frustrating given the huge grip there was. We were nearly at the bottom anyway so I just chilled out, remembering this was a long race.
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| Crew 2 at Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs |
Before I knew it I was in Borrego Springs and on the desert floor way below sea level. I saw the RV for the first time since we’d parted ways at the hotel in the morning. There I was met by the other support crew (we had two sets of three crew members that worked in 8 hour shifts) and the RV crew Lyn and Keith. We did a quick swap to get me on the TT bike and we were off into the desert. I remember battling the headwind for a while but we all knew that the course moved around and soon it would effectively become a tailwind. Night fell and I then experienced another unique RAAM moment - 30 mph tailwinds, slight downhill terrain, warm dry air (i.e. fast riding conditions) and sand being blown gently over the road which looked just like the dry ice they used to have at the local disco. I was riding head down, full aero TT mode at 30 mph with barely any effort, my heart rate was about 100 bpm, this was a riders’ dream.
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| Borrego Springs, Gateway to the Californian desert |
Day 2 - Flagstaff and Tuba City
The day started really well with an amazing climb up Woodchute Mountain and more importantly an amazing descent down into Cottonwood. Heres a video Tony took of us chatting during the climb. We were heading to Flagstaff, I remember being stopped at a contraflow due to roadworks in Arizona in the middle of the desert. I was the first "vehicle" to arrive and the worker changed the sign from Go to Stop. I asked how long we would be stopped thinking he would say 2 minutes or so, he replied "About 15 minutes or so" “Really?” It was 37c and really rather unpleasant in the hot sun when standing still. I was glad to be moving again after that little stop but I managed a nice photo once we got going again so it cant have been that bad.
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| In the desert heading to Flagstaff with the crew behind |
If there was a standout day in RAAM then it was this one and for good reason. It was day two and we were pretty close to being disqualified because we were 4 hours behind the slowest time to continue past the first cut off point at Durango at the end of day 3. Before we could get to Durango though we needed to get to Tuba City. Steve explained it to me in simplistic terms. If I didn't get to Durango by early evening the next day then we were out of the race. Based on current speed I was just about fast enough but essentially we didn't have time to stop that night for the usual two to three hours for food and some sleep. I needed to ride all day and I wouldn't be seeing the RV tonight at all. The plan was to ride into Tuba City via a 50 mile descent, sleep in the team car then get back on the bike and ride out of Tuba City up the same incline but on the eastern side. I distinctly remember the awful road that lead down to Tuba City that evening. It was dark and the road was rough and very straight. I suffered visual hallucinations most of the way there, I was really glad to get to Tuba City but then I was greeted with a depressing collection of cheap motels and fast food outlets. We stopped at the official time station and I climbed into the team car. It was the dead of night and I was told I would get 15 minutes of sleep. The crew settled me down in a sleeping bag and then vacated my temporary sleeping quarters. 15 minutes later Steve woke me up carefully. "Lets go." he said as gently as he could. I knew he was being sensitive to how tired I was but it’s what we’d signed up for so I put up no resistance, we knew there would be nights like this. I got back on the bike and pedalled across the car park and towards the road, it felt like I was escaping from some sort of nightmarish underworld.
The climb out of Tuba City was horrific. I was so tired I was constantly falling asleep on the bike. I kept asking the crew to speak to me over the radio but they were busy trying to figure out if we were going to make the time cut. Little did I know but I learned afterwards that they crew were also struggling due to lack of sleep. To their credit they hid that from me at the time. Gary was driving and he had to sound the horn several times to wake me when I started drifting off to the side due to another micro sleep. At one point I just stopped in the middle of the road, got off my bike and lay down on the tarmac in front of the car. The road was deserted and I assume I was probably riding on the hard shoulder but still, seems a bit dramatic to think about doing it now. I needed to give my back a rest as I'd been riding my TT bike for many hours now. I just wanted to stop moving for a moment, the constant movement was really getting to me. Gary and Steve were really good at understanding my sleep challenges but I could tell they needed me to just keep moving. We had no time to spare. The deal was this: Keep moving no matter how slow, but just keep moving. I settled into a rhythm and glued my eyes on the horizon. Even though it was dark I could still make out the horizon against the lighter sky. Unfortunately I was on one of those endless straight roads but at least I was heading away from Tuba City.
As the sun started to rise for day 3 I started to wake up a little bit but then I was faced with another problem. I couldn’t look forward at all due to the strong sun ahead of me. We were heading due east and right into the sunrise so I just stared at the road and kept going. After another couple of hours we got to the place where the next crew were to meet us. The night had been the longest I'd ever experienced on a bike (and that was saying something) but because I'd hardly stopped all night we were back on track, but I was now a sleepwalking wreck.
I remember trying to walk away from the road to take a natural break during the crew handover and I was so unstable on my feet that the team were worried I was going to fall over. I nearly did. And I'd have welcomed the lie down to be honest. However I waddled back to the team car and greeted Beata, Thirza and Tony. They would be my crew for the next 8 hours, would they see me all the way to Durango? To be honest I didn't really care, I was just on auto pilot and had given up thinking about anything.
Thirza and Beata were simply amazing that morning. I hadn't eaten enough during the night and so my energy levels were minimal and I could tell this was a key moment. Mentally I was pretty fragile and for the first time quietly started to explore in my head the idea that I might not make it but the girls forced me to chat to them, Thirza's voice was welcome company in my right ear. I'd endured hours of silence over the radio the previous night because the guys weren’t as good at chatting to me as the girls were. Sure, they were great at the technical aspects, what to do, where we were and all that useful stuff but at this moment all I needed was a distraction from the race.
The girls and Tony seemed to have an endless ability to entertain me over the radio. They asked me all sorts of questions just to keep me alert and we all learned that Tony has an encyclopaedic knowledge of James Bond films and we both share a likeness for spaghetti Westerns and that we all think Clint Eastwood is cool. With all this going on I soon started to feel hungry again. I knew what that meant, I was on the upward spiral again. “Yes!” I thought, I’d been here before and knew that once I'd woken up and started eating everything would be fine. After such an incredibly hard night I was just about recovered then Thirza told me something really significant. It flicked a big switch in my head in an instant. "We are heading to Monument Valley today" she said in a rather chirpy and upbeat way. "Today?" I asked, "Yip" Thirza replied. "Wow." I couldn't believe it, I had no idea it was today. I’d not been thinking of the route much and just taking it day by day so far. I was determined not to miss the chance to ride through the famous landscape of Utah. I had made up my mind in an instant, I was going to ride through Monument Valley no matter how hard it got. For the next couple of hours I got stronger and we all got ready to experience the most iconic part of the RAAM route.
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| Monument Valley, photo taken from the team car |
Just ahead of the famous Valley we could see the stone sculptures on the horizon. I could sense the excitement from the team over the radio. We stopped just before the famous road to change me back onto the TT bike. It was told it was to be a formula 1-like pit stop. I was rushed into TT mode and someone sprayed me with suntan lotion. I hated being controlled so much but the team explained it was all in the name of saving time. Within minutes I was back on the road, no ice cream stops today. I pushed hard on the pedals to get me past a couple of Race Across the West (RAW) riders. I needed the mental boost of passing riders who were only going to ride a third of RAAM so passing them was important to me. It also showed to the team that mentally I was back in the game and confident. I had a date with destiny tonight, we were going to Durango no matter how far away it was or how hot today was going to be.
We turned into Monument Valley, it was simply incredible! Everyone was awestruck at the size and scale of the place. The needles reaching out of the ground and the uniqueness of the rock formations were breath taking. I'm not normally impressed with things like this, the last place that was as impressive was when I took a helicopter down into the Grand Canyon. These are the sorts of places you need to see for yourself to believe they actually exist and to see how magnificent they are.
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| Monument Valley on a TT bike, note Oakley's and dark visor for the desert sun |
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Not many cyclists have a picture of themselves racing through Monument Valley on a TT bike but I do! |
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| Team car leaving the Monuments behind |
Durango
As the day progressed I rode through Utah and into Colorado. Three states in one day, Monument valley and the Rockies. It was a definitely in the category of "Big Day On The Bike." Around early afternoon we were approaching the crew change time again. The crew were doing leapfrog support, where they are not allowed to drive behind me and must leap forwards, wait then drive forwards again. I was riding on a truly awful road that had been covered in white dust and stones and then apparently left there for some magic to happen or perhaps someone forgot they needed to finish the road with actual tarmac. It was ridiculous that we were having to ride over it, the road was totally dangerous, it was like riding on ice and was a puncture waiting to happen. I just focussed on keeping the wheels upright.
It was a quiet road, probably because the locals were sick of getting stone chips on their cars so were avoiding it and then all of a sudden I heard a car approach from behind me. It was crew 1, Gary, Steve and Luc in the shuttle car. They were heading up to meet crew 2 but they were very animated. Something was going on. Usually I got a nice cheer, a peep from the horn and they pass by and I see them down the road but this time they were going crazy. “What on earth was happening?” I thought. They passed me and I went back to focussing on not crashing out on the slippery road. Later I was told what the fuss was all about. They had been chasing me for the last few hours. I was so far ahead on the road that they weren’t even sure I was still in front of them. They thought that they had somehow passed me earlier on. When they finally found me on the road they knew we were going to make it to Durango. We were still in the race and the crew were ecstatic!
Soon after, I did get the expected puncture and because all the crew were now in front of me I had to ride for 5 miles on just the carbon rim with no air in the tyre. We did a quick crew (and wheel) change and finally we found a road that was black and smooth. To say crew 1 were happy would be an understatement. Steve and Gary were on the radio all the time, it was like the end of the race. I could sense they were happy with me. I remember climbing up over the first mountain in the Rockies, it was a significant climb but the banter was flying. Gary and I were discussing the finer details of bike equipment and whether gold chains looked good on a bike (the consensus was yes.) And we all enjoyed the late afternoon sun and the sense that we were back on track. I descended down into Durango and rode through the RAW finish line. The crew were all so pleased we had made it and I was told I’d be sleeping in a hotel tonight. Wow, no RV. I had a suite at the hotel all to myself. Well that’s what it felt like but it was just a standard room but it was awesome.
I had dinner in the RV, chatted to Keith (the evening ritual that I so looked forward to each day) then headed into the hotel. Thirza gave me a massage and I fell asleep. I had 2 1/2 hours of sleep that night, the longest nights’ sleep of any during the race.
Day 4 - Wolf Creek Pass
The “next day”, about three hours later I was back on the bike feeling pretty good. Todays reward for making the time cut was to ride over Wolf Creek Pass, the legendary climb to an altitude of 10,857 ft and across the continental divide. Altitude sickness is a real danger here and I had never been that high on a bike before so we planned to use the IoT technology to good effect. This technology would tell the team what I was doing, making sure I wouldn’t ride too hard and risk pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) a potentially life threatening condition and one that has taken several riders out of the race and into hospital. Dr Luc was on the team in case there was any issues, this was something to take seriously and once past it only the great plains could get in our way.
That morning I was back with team 2 – the girls and Tony. They got all the cushy deals, Monument Valley the day before and now the famous Wolf Creek Pass. I called my wife from the bike when we were ascending the lower slopes as the slower pace meant it was quieter. We chatted for quite a while, the longest for the entire time I was racing. Things were looking up, literally. The middle third of the climb we videoed the team using the Dimension Data IoT technology and generally focused on what the benefits of it were, documenting it for marketing use later on. After that we sort of joked that we’d better start thinking about riding the climb now. I stripped off my leg and arm warmers, gave them to the crew and they headed up the road leaving me to enjoy the climb alone. It was just me and one of the biggest climbs in the world, I was in my element and loving it. Here's a video of the climb. In fact I was loving it too much. I rode right over the top, past the media people and crews stationed there and started the descent. I said hello over the radio to Steve - crew 1 was now back on shift. I'd missed the top completely. "Was that it?" I asked Steve. "What was all the fuss about?" I headed down the long descent spending pretty much the whole time on the radio catching up with Steve, one hand pressing the headphone tightly to my ear so I could make out what he was saying over the noise of the wind rushing over my ear at over 50 mph.
100 miles and another 10 hours later it was dark and we were approaching the second of the days two big climbs - Cucharas Pass. I hadn't paid any attention to this climb before the race because everyone worries about Wolf Creek Pass. But to me it had been a breeze, surely this one would be too I figured. Well that was a mistake. I'd left Durango at 2.30 am and it was now 8.30 pm. By the time I'd started climbing again I was already tired and had no idea it was nearly as long a climb as Wolf Creek. This climb was much more undulating with ups and downs in quick succession. At one stage I dropped my chain off the big ring as the road changed from downhill to uphill and I ended up falling off such was my inability to cope with sudden change in pedalling speed needed. It was cold up there in the dark and I was glad I was wearing my full winter gloves as it saved my hands when I broke my fall. No drama, the team rushed out and picked me up quite literally. I was too tired to care that much and just got back on and pedalled as if nothing had happened. I felt a bit pathetic now, all the usual grace had been stripped away. I felt like a newbie on a bike.
100 miles and another 10 hours later it was dark and we were approaching the second of the days two big climbs - Cucharas Pass. I hadn't paid any attention to this climb before the race because everyone worries about Wolf Creek Pass. But to me it had been a breeze, surely this one would be too I figured. Well that was a mistake. I'd left Durango at 2.30 am and it was now 8.30 pm. By the time I'd started climbing again I was already tired and had no idea it was nearly as long a climb as Wolf Creek. This climb was much more undulating with ups and downs in quick succession. At one stage I dropped my chain off the big ring as the road changed from downhill to uphill and I ended up falling off such was my inability to cope with sudden change in pedalling speed needed. It was cold up there in the dark and I was glad I was wearing my full winter gloves as it saved my hands when I broke my fall. No drama, the team rushed out and picked me up quite literally. I was too tired to care that much and just got back on and pedalled as if nothing had happened. I felt a bit pathetic now, all the usual grace had been stripped away. I felt like a newbie on a bike.
Keeping The Wheels Turning
The next few days we started to get to grips with a more efficient way of operating. This was the regime imposed on me to save precious time. I was told I could earn time off the bike by being faster on it. This was quite good because every section I was able to go faster than the minimum we needed so I was able to get a 15 minutes stop about three times a day. Ice cream and petrol station coffee was the usual bribery to get me to a place for a certain time. Speaking of food I have covered the diet in another blog here but there were some interesting changes during the race. Namely my total addiction to red grapes. During the desert phase it was easier to eat fruit than normal food so fruit was in my race diet from the start but Gary had the idea that we could fill a large cup of deseeded grapes and I could “drink” them whilst riding. I have no idea how many grapes I consumed during the race but it was a lot, an awful lot!
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| The crew often bribed me with promises of ice cream during the hot afternoons |
Almost The End?
By now we were nearing Kansas and I started to experience a lot of pain in my toe on my right foot. I’d already swapped out my new Bont shoes for my old ones that I’d been using for several years but I guess the sheer duration of wearing them for 20 odd hours everyday eventually highlighted even the smallest fitment issue. The pain started getting so great that at the next crew stop I explained the issue. We were in another Walmart car park so a blowtorch was purchased and used on the shoe to relieve the area that had been pressing against my toe. The shoes were heat moldable but you are supposed to put them in an oven and gently put them on when they are warm, then they cool and stiffen to the shape of your feet. We didn’t have an oven so we just improvised. Gary is a dab hand at wielding a blowtorch but clearly wasn’t too comfortable rendering my carbon racing shoes to the bin post RAAM. Gary went to work with the blowtorch and a screwdriver, I ignored the rather scorched leather and just hoped the solution had worked.
I headed off down another arrow straight road towards the horizon. We had been doing leapfrog support all day so the team were ahead of me up the road somewhere. It was a really busy highway with lots of trucks and pick-ups thundering along. It was baking hot as it was the middle of the afternoon. I was on the TT bike and battling the stiff headwind, breathing in smog and diesel fumes. This is what makes RAAM so damn hard, it’s just the sheer unpleasantness of it all sometimes. After a while the pain started returning to my foot, the heat from the tarmac probably wasn’t helping either. Both my big toes felt like they were on fire again due to the constant pressure against the front of the shoe and the road temperature which was likely around 50c. I’d experienced this burning sensation on the days before going through the desert and it really does feel like your toes are on fire but there is nothing you can do whilst riding.
I tried to ignore the pain but it was just too great, I had to stop. I pulled over and tried to unclip my right foot but it was no good, it was just too painful to twist my ankle outwards to get my shoe out of the pedal so I took my foot out of the shoe instead. It was agony, the pains were shooting up my body all the way to my head. It was so painful I could hardly breath properly. I’d describe it like getting a tooth drilled without aesthetic, it was unbearable. I tried to get back on the bike by riding a little then getting my foot into my shoe Triathlon-style. But my foot was so painful and I was a bit too tired and I ended up falling off onto the hot tarmac. That was fall number 2.
I sat on the baking tarmac trying to avoid the road-kill and broken glass and I watched the cars and trucks thunder by. I didn’t know what to do, the team were not within radio range so I just sat there and put my head in my hands. Was this the end of our race? If I couldn’t even stand on my right foot, how could I ride another 2000 miles? After battling the weather during training, putting up with the sleep deprivation, the nausea, the exhaustion. How could this be the reason to fail? It was completely unexpected and just felt utterly final.
All of a sudden an RV arrived and pulled onto the hard shoulder. At first I thought it was another racers' (most of them were exactly the same apart from the rider number on the back) but then I realised it was ours. “How lucky was that?” I thought. You couldn’t make it up! We had two support vehicles and 6 race crew and here of all people were Lyn and Keith in the RV coming to my rescue. Keith got out and walked towards me. I explained the situation and he helped me hobble over to the back of the RV and I sat on the bumper. I really thought this was the end. Keith was as calm as usual and he asked me a few questions about how I was feeling but I just couldn’t get any words out. I was upset and couldn’t speak. He left me alone for a moment. Then I realised I was going to have to tell the crew I couldn’t continue. Of all the things to stop me was it going to be an ill fitting shoe? How ridiculous. Keith helped me into the RV and I sat down. It was so refreshingly cool in there compared to the desert heat outside but the pain was still excruciating. Before I knew it one ice bath in a plastic basin was hastily arranged and I plunged my feet into it and took some pain killers - the first and only time I'd need any form of medication in the whole race.
Within 5 minutes the pain had completely disappeared, the crew had arrived and I could breath easy again. I was amazed at how quickly the pain had been brought under control. Thirza checked my foot out and told me the toe joint was fine and it was just localised pressure causing the pain. We needed to figure out how to solve this quickly. For the first time since the start of the race all the team were there together at the side of the road without doing a crew change. I was surrounded by some very experienced people, a medical professional, cycling coach, physiotherapist - problem solvers a plenty. I felt confident we could sort this out. We were back in the race again.
Within 5 minutes the pain had completely disappeared, the crew had arrived and I could breath easy again. I was amazed at how quickly the pain had been brought under control. Thirza checked my foot out and told me the toe joint was fine and it was just localised pressure causing the pain. We needed to figure out how to solve this quickly. For the first time since the start of the race all the team were there together at the side of the road without doing a crew change. I was surrounded by some very experienced people, a medical professional, cycling coach, physiotherapist - problem solvers a plenty. I felt confident we could sort this out. We were back in the race again.
Various solutions were voiced which were all pretty elegant but relied on trial and error. Steve and I looked at each other a little unconvinced. “Just cut the shoe” I said. He nodded. And disappeared off outside with Gary and a pocket knife. Five minutes later my improved shoes were presented to me. The right one had a large hole along the side and the sharp edges were taped up with Gaffer tape. It was a decent job given the circumstances. I finished the race with those shoes, they fitted great after that but they were thrown in the bin before leaving Annapolis.
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| Modifying my cycling shoes with a blow torch and knife |
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| Kansas on a TT bike - the only way to ride through Kansas in a day |
Oddly I don't remember much about this section of the race other than the roads were wide, straight and busy. Sometimes we had to dodge lots of dangerous traffic crossing over the off ramp at the last minute to stay on the main road. Both crews were fantastic at using the support car to shield me from the 70 mph trucks and other fast moving vehicles. I was in constant radio communication with them and I was told when to cross from the shoulder and dart across the off ramp and back onto the road. It was pretty dicey at some times and I know it was stressful for the crews. For me it wasn't stressful but I could sense the danger so just concentrated on what the crew were telling me and kept my eyes peeled for any stray vehicles driving towards me as I crossed the lanes. We all thought it would have been better to reduce the length of these dangerous sections especially when we could see quieter roads beside the highway but perhaps this is just another unique part of the race that makes it such a challenge . It was incredible to realise that I rode over all that broken glass, stones and dead animals without getting a single puncture on the highways.
Day 8, 9 10 - Indiana, Ohio
The rest of the race sort of morphed into one long cycle of ride, change crew, ride, change crew, ride, change crew, ride, stop at RV (most nights) chat to Keith and Lyn about their day at Walmart whilst eating dinner, shower, get massage, sleep a bit, wake, get dressed, have breakfast, ride....So I wont try to document this section in chronological order but would prefer to add some amusing stories that I do remember. However somewhere in this section of the race I managed to fall off again. I remember thinking that I wouldn't have taken my mountain bike over that section of broken up concrete that was pretending to be a road never mind a state of the art carbon TT bike with deep section wheels. After about two hours of having my wrists hammered by the road one bump managed to get its way and I was spat off the bike and into the verge. I rode forward to the team car and told them why I was delayed. They didn't seem especially bothered (I'm sure they cared really) but I'm well practiced at bouncing off tarmac so I just pedalled on. That was fall number 3.
Ice cubes
I was feeling a little delicate sitting on the saddle after a while. It was suggested that ice cubes down my shorts would relieve the bruising but I can now report categorically that it doesn’t actually work in treating the pain but it does provide great entertainment for the crew.
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| Don't try this unless you like more pain |
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| This is America, people eat donuts for breakfast. Don't they? |
RAAM Talk Radio
The girls and Tony were naturals at what I called our "RAAM talk radio". It was a very entertaining distraction to the race. The girls took no prisoners and the banter was hilarious. How Tony managed to crawl around in the back of the car and host the "show" at the same time I'll never know!
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| Tony, Beata and Thirza entertained me a lot! |
Falling Asleep Again
RAAM racers love to sleep. Its the thing we get the least of and crave the most. But one of the days I was told that the previous night whilst talking to Thirza who was working her magic on my aching back I actually fell asleep mid sentence. Sorry Thirza.
One of the days on a humid sunny morning I was so sleepy I actually stopped at the side of the main road when the crew were up ahead of me. I kneeled down and immediately fell asleep. Woke after what was probably about one minute. Fell asleep again. Woke up, fell asleep then woke again. The only way to sort this was to race hard so I got back on my bike and raced off up the next hill, caught the rider ahead and hammered it all the way to the next time station. Apparently the fans at the Time Station were tracking me and had watched me pass the other rider and were really impressed. The other riders' crew even asked me what my diet was as it seemed to be working. But the reality was that I had burned a match simply to wake up and the special diet was just coffee and donuts.
One of the days on a humid sunny morning I was so sleepy I actually stopped at the side of the main road when the crew were up ahead of me. I kneeled down and immediately fell asleep. Woke after what was probably about one minute. Fell asleep again. Woke up, fell asleep then woke again. The only way to sort this was to race hard so I got back on my bike and raced off up the next hill, caught the rider ahead and hammered it all the way to the next time station. Apparently the fans at the Time Station were tracking me and had watched me pass the other rider and were really impressed. The other riders' crew even asked me what my diet was as it seemed to be working. But the reality was that I had burned a match simply to wake up and the special diet was just coffee and donuts.
Dangerous Dogs on Course
At one point in the race we were warned of dangerous dogs on the course. The crew informed me about it over the radio but I actually thought they were joking such was the effect of days without proper sleep. The instructions were to ferry the rider in the team car between two distinct points for safety. Thinking this was a wind up just to amuse me I only realised it was true when I heard the dogs howling in the darkness ahead. It was around 11.30 pm and we were close to the sanctuary of the RV and my bed as I was due a short sleep. Tony leapt out of the car and I remember thinking it was funny that he was actually quite worried about me as he bundled me into the car. I was so tired I had no awareness of the danger. We drove past the dogs and then we saw them, they were rather large and both of them ran after the car for quite a long time! I remember thinking that they crew were right after all. Thanks for keeping me safe Tony.
There were many other warnings during the race but this was the most amusing.
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| We never saw these teenagers but they sounded really dangerous |
I began to notice that people were interacting with us more often as we progressed through the more populated parts of America. I have to admit to asking the crew at one point how so many people noticed me on the road so easily. To which it was pointed out that I was being followed by a large white car covered in stickers and logos, two spare bikes and half a dozen spare wheels on the roof together with several flashing amber lights. "Oh yeah, that would be why." I said. Yeah thats me being totally oblivious again. I blamed the lack of sleep.
There were many people who spoke to us on the road and asked us what we were doing. As I was outside and exposed to more of this than the crew they often heard just my end of a conversation with someone over the radio that I wore all the time (which unfortunately also included trips to the bathroom at service stations because I never did figure out where the mute button was.) There was no better example of meeting people than when one driver came alongside me as I was riding and asked what we were doing. He was rather interested in what we were doing and asked where I was riding to and I told him “Annapolis.” His reply is not repeatable here but suffice to say he was rather impressed. Then he asked me where I’d ridden from and his second reply was even less repeatable here! He was beside himself with amazement. He was very enthusiastic and encouraging. He gave me a real boost and made me proud to be in the race. I told the crew what he had said to me and it made us all laugh for quite some time.
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| Athens Time Station 44 |
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| Thirza at Athens Time Station 44 |
We also experienced the attention of the "RAAM groupies" at the Timing Stations along the road. After the initial few days had passed we settled into a rhythm and we started making time to speak to the volunteers and some of the people cheering us on from the side of the road. I was humbled when one group had actually made a poster with my name on it. We figured that they must watch the progress of the racers on the Internet live tracker and get prepared for when they pass by.
I wished we had been able to take a photo of the people holding the poster with my name on it. It had a real impact with me and the team. Chapeau whoever you were. And another time there was a man standing in the middle of the street. I thought he was just crossing the road but he pulled out a camera and started taking pictures of me, running alongside me and asking me questions about my race. It was incredible and very humbling to think people were so interested in the race.
I wished we had been able to take a photo of the people holding the poster with my name on it. It had a real impact with me and the team. Chapeau whoever you were. And another time there was a man standing in the middle of the street. I thought he was just crossing the road but he pulled out a camera and started taking pictures of me, running alongside me and asking me questions about my race. It was incredible and very humbling to think people were so interested in the race.
But the best encounter was the little boy that wanted to race me along the road. He must have been 7 years old. He was riding a rusty BMX with no brakes and he had no shoes on. He kept encouraging me to sprint towards him but my legs were tired so I just said "no" a couple of times but he insisted so I sprinted towards him a little, caught him up and we rode together for a few minutes. It was fantastic to talk to him, he was so happy to see the racers riding along his street. I regret not asking him his name but I did offer some advice about how to stop his bike with no brakes. I hope he got as much of a kick out of our little ride together as I did.
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| Riding with a future RAAM racer? |
Day 11 - Nearly at Annapolis
By day 11 we had really figured out how to do ultra racing. It was by micro managing the stages between Time Stations and analysing the course and expected ride time that kept us on schedule. When I say analyse what I really mean is that Steve, Tony and Gary analysed it and just gave me the highlights. At the start of each stage I just wanted to know how long it was, usually 50 miles or so. A quick glance at the route profile and a basic description of the roads (rural, urban, highway) and I could then set an expectation in my head about how difficult or otherwise it would be. I'd found that riding into the unknown didn't work for me, it was unsettling not to know where within the days riding I was. I just needed to know if I had 10 or 100 miles to go before stopping at the RV. I didn't need too many details but the headlines were really important.
As we neared the end of the race we realised we were riding on schedule but it was close to the limit of what we were allowed for an official finish. This was always in the plan but it afforded little in the way of extra time if there was an incident like a crash or mechanical problem. It was pretty easy to figure out the tactics for the next couple of hundred miles - do as we did getting to Durango. Ride, sleep in the car if necessary, ride to the finish. Easy, lets just do it.
We were to pass through Gettysburg during the last night, it was a strange night, as the course seemed to twist and turn unnecessarily so. I got the impression we were meandering through the "sights" of Gettysburg just for the sake of it but actually I think this was just because I was really tired and it was dark and the roads were less straight than I'd become accustomed to. And it also didn't help that since leaving Oceanside for the first time we actually got lost.
It was clear to me we were lost as I could hear lots of chatter on the radio about mile markers, road numbers and so on. It didn't phase me one little bit. I was quite glad of the rest and happy to sit in the darkness beside the team car several times as the crew tried to figure out where to go. It was obvious that we were not alone in getting lost. We saw a couple of riders and one went left at the problematic junction and one went right. "Ok so that doesn't help us." I thought. Unbeknown to me at the time one of our friends and colleagues and Project Kansas team member from back home - Tony had been following us on the live tracker fairly late at night in the UK. Even he could see we were lost as our tracker dot had been round and round the same roads for quite some time. He even tried to call Steve to ask him what we were doing. Now that would have been funny, I can imagine the conversation. "Hey Steve its Tony, are you guys lost or what?" But in any case, somehow the guys got us all on track again and off we went into the darkness. However I was struggling to stay awake as we were in the phase of the night that I just wanted to sleep through. But we dare not stop this early on so Gary had me do interval sprints in the dark to stay awake. He would count them down and when he said "Go!" I had to sprint... 20 second, 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...arghhh "My legs are killing me!" I shouted. "Don't care" was his reply. I think I sort of laughed inside at the sheer ridiculousness of it. Here I was doing interval sprints in the dark after 2800 odd miles virtually non stop, I could barely sit down due to saddle sores but I had three friends in a team car behind me all willing me on with all their might. I will never worry about doing another interval session again.
As the sun rose I was to tackle the last section of the Appellation mountains. They were relentless! One roller after another after another. I normally revel in these climbs and did so earlier in the race but now I just wanted them to end but I took comfort in knowing they were probably easier for me than most of the other riders due to my lower than average weight.
The morning had started rather badly I remember. The overnight stop was at the bottom of a nasty climb so I went out too wrapped up for the conditions and overheated on the climb then because it was damp I got cold. Thankfully I was able to get dry and change in the team car and we relaxed and took in the early morning scenery. You can see what it was like in this short video.
Eventually we arrived at TS52 and the famous bike shop next door. We were all really pleased that we had arrived and with 50 miles to go and several hours to spare we were in very good shape. I climbed into the team car put on my trusty orange jacket and fell asleep.
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| Saddle sores meant a lot of riding standing up towards the end of the race |
We were to pass through Gettysburg during the last night, it was a strange night, as the course seemed to twist and turn unnecessarily so. I got the impression we were meandering through the "sights" of Gettysburg just for the sake of it but actually I think this was just because I was really tired and it was dark and the roads were less straight than I'd become accustomed to. And it also didn't help that since leaving Oceanside for the first time we actually got lost.
It was clear to me we were lost as I could hear lots of chatter on the radio about mile markers, road numbers and so on. It didn't phase me one little bit. I was quite glad of the rest and happy to sit in the darkness beside the team car several times as the crew tried to figure out where to go. It was obvious that we were not alone in getting lost. We saw a couple of riders and one went left at the problematic junction and one went right. "Ok so that doesn't help us." I thought. Unbeknown to me at the time one of our friends and colleagues and Project Kansas team member from back home - Tony had been following us on the live tracker fairly late at night in the UK. Even he could see we were lost as our tracker dot had been round and round the same roads for quite some time. He even tried to call Steve to ask him what we were doing. Now that would have been funny, I can imagine the conversation. "Hey Steve its Tony, are you guys lost or what?" But in any case, somehow the guys got us all on track again and off we went into the darkness. However I was struggling to stay awake as we were in the phase of the night that I just wanted to sleep through. But we dare not stop this early on so Gary had me do interval sprints in the dark to stay awake. He would count them down and when he said "Go!" I had to sprint... 20 second, 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...arghhh "My legs are killing me!" I shouted. "Don't care" was his reply. I think I sort of laughed inside at the sheer ridiculousness of it. Here I was doing interval sprints in the dark after 2800 odd miles virtually non stop, I could barely sit down due to saddle sores but I had three friends in a team car behind me all willing me on with all their might. I will never worry about doing another interval session again.
As the sun rose I was to tackle the last section of the Appellation mountains. They were relentless! One roller after another after another. I normally revel in these climbs and did so earlier in the race but now I just wanted them to end but I took comfort in knowing they were probably easier for me than most of the other riders due to my lower than average weight.
The morning had started rather badly I remember. The overnight stop was at the bottom of a nasty climb so I went out too wrapped up for the conditions and overheated on the climb then because it was damp I got cold. Thankfully I was able to get dry and change in the team car and we relaxed and took in the early morning scenery. You can see what it was like in this short video.
Eventually we arrived at TS52 and the famous bike shop next door. We were all really pleased that we had arrived and with 50 miles to go and several hours to spare we were in very good shape. I climbed into the team car put on my trusty orange jacket and fell asleep.
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| Sleeping in the front seat for a change, you can tell its the last day, they'll let me do anything now |
The final 50 miles were quite frustrating. I remember trying to enjoy them but really I just wanted to get to the finish line. I'd not seen my wife and daughter for three weeks and I was looking forward to seeing them with my in-laws in Annapolis. What a welcome it would be. The weather was perfect with the exception of an annoying headwind. Tony tried to get me to ride a little faster but my legs weren't having it. I don't think it helped that I knew I had enough time to spare and wasn't racing anyone. I met another cyclist on the outskirts of Annapolis. He was a veteran rider, of at least 65 years. He had done a u turn in the road when he saw us heading east and he asked me all about my race. The only problem was that I couldn't hold his wheel. He was a club rider and clearly didn't realise he was riding away from me. I had to ask him to slow down! In the end I said I was going to go back to the team car to speak to the team but I really just didn't have the legs to ride alongside a fresh rider anymore despite his senior years. What an embarrassment. As we approached Rams Head Road House Tony took a video of me finishing. I managed a meagre sprint of a about 5 seconds and on the spur of the moment sat up no hands, and celebrated the timed finish line. We were nearly at the coast. We stopped in the car park and I thanked everyone in the crew. Of course Steve was the first to congratulate me, we shared a big (manly) hug and he said something unrepeatable but very encouraging. This race was as much yours as mine Steve, you were with me for every pedal stroke.
The cruise into Annapolis was more fun than the previous 50 miles. All the crew were together on the road for the first time since the toe/shoe incident. Even Lyn and Keith were there as they had managed to ditch the RV and join us in the shuttle car. For them this was the first time on the road with me actually riding. I rode behind Fred Boethling who was driving the RAAM pick-up truck. We had to stop at traffic lights quite a lot on the way which meant lots of stopping and the chance to turn around and speak to the crew, take pictures and generally mess about. Before long we were nearly at the Annapolis marina. I spoke to some locals and tourists who were wishing me well, it seemed everyone knew what was going on which I was rather impressed by. I waited just outside the finish area so the crew could get out of their cars and to the finish line. I rode in and was warmly greeted by the whole crew, my family and the RAAM media team. It was a very special moment that I will always remember. I went up on stage with the whole crew, got my medal and was interviewed by George Thomas. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the moment. For the first time in 11 days 20 hours the clock had stopped.
The cruise into Annapolis was more fun than the previous 50 miles. All the crew were together on the road for the first time since the toe/shoe incident. Even Lyn and Keith were there as they had managed to ditch the RV and join us in the shuttle car. For them this was the first time on the road with me actually riding. I rode behind Fred Boethling who was driving the RAAM pick-up truck. We had to stop at traffic lights quite a lot on the way which meant lots of stopping and the chance to turn around and speak to the crew, take pictures and generally mess about. Before long we were nearly at the Annapolis marina. I spoke to some locals and tourists who were wishing me well, it seemed everyone knew what was going on which I was rather impressed by. I waited just outside the finish area so the crew could get out of their cars and to the finish line. I rode in and was warmly greeted by the whole crew, my family and the RAAM media team. It was a very special moment that I will always remember. I went up on stage with the whole crew, got my medal and was interviewed by George Thomas. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the moment. For the first time in 11 days 20 hours the clock had stopped.
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| Arriving at the finish line I got to see my wife Julie and daughter Jessica for the first time for three weeks |
So people keep asking me would I do it again? Well, its an incredible thing to have done, even once, for the whole team involved. It's monumental in fact. Its almost too big to even believe we did it sometimes. Looking back we all just did what we needed to do, no questions asked. The bizarre things we did and the ridiculous routine quickly became the norm as everyones expectations were set so high. There are many endurance events out there that are described as "the ultimate challenge" and I'd have to say that most of them are wrong in doing so. But the Race Across America for all of its challenges, not just the ones that the cyclist has to conquer, surely must be in the running for the ultimate challenge.
I am immensely proud of my team and the way we conducted ourselves during the race. And personally I am so proud to have completed it. It gives me great satisfaction every time I ride my bike. To think I rode non stop across America and I had all that support. I'm just glad we took some photos or I'd soon think it was all a dream.
And the answer to the question - Hell yes! If I ever had the chance again.
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| Steve on the radio to me |
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| Tony doing Crew Chief updates |
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| Keith at Oceanside |
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| Beata on night duty |
Beata Mielcarek - Driver, navigator, US mastermind. Beata, you were the sensible one with your eyes always on the look out for danger. Even when we were in full on RAAM chat radio mode, thinking nothing of where we were you were always on the ball and over the radio would come a warning or instruction to ensure I kept within the rules of the road or on course. You always seemed to know where we were and had lots of information about the area. You also have a wide range of interests that we could tap into for other new and interesting conversations.
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| Thirza looking forward to getting on the road |
Thirza Gibson - Physio, navigator and "head of rider communications". Painful foot, stiff back, achy shoulders, dodgy knee? No problem, all can be fixed by Thirza. You were often the last person to see me at night before I slept even when you were supposed to be resting. Sometimes during the day you would setup a make-shift physio station next to the road. It was such a relief to have my lower back worked on sometimes but it was always very difficult to get up from the comfort of your physio mat! Thirza, I cant thank you enough for the night you helped me get back to the RV when I was struggling along that horrible dark road unable to focus due to the unrelenting white line that had tortured and mesmerised me all night. Without your voice in my ear I would not have made it through the night.
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| Luc at a rest stop in California |
Luc Beaucourt - Thank you for your humour, your calm demeanour and medical expertise. It was nice that your skills at saving lives was not needed but it was a relief to have you on hand for the foot and the saddle sores mini dramas. The time you applied that sticking plaster over my shaving cut was the best example I've seen of having someone completely overqualified for the job but you were always there for me. Thank you for keeping me safe. I remember that for a short time I was riding alongside the team car with you driving. You were playing some chilled out music over your SatPhone (the only person I know that streams music over a satphone!) I felt safe, happy and content during that moment, everything was all in hand.
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| Gary sneaking in some more air in my tyres |
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| Lyn and I at the riders banquet in Annapolis |
Paul K - I cant miss out Paul. He helped us amazingly before the race. He and Steve basically built up the team car with all the kit and prepared it ready for the race. Without Paul we would have been really struggling to get ready on time. His knowledge and experience crewing for other RAAM teams was invaluable to us. Thank you Paul, I'll be tracking your RAAM race in 2017!
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| Paul Korkowski flew out to Oceanside just to help us get ready |
Heres what it was like to watch a crew change from my perspective. From day 3 onwards the crews did their handover on the move so I didn't get the extra rest. Shame.
If its not on Strava it never happened
We managed to record most of the ride, there were some places we didn't due to swapping over Garmin units when the battery went flat but this is most of the ride. RAAM fairly added some miles to my yearly total.
https://www.strava.com/activities/613413337https://www.strava.com/activities/625658425
https://www.strava.com/activities/625658533
https://www.strava.com/activities/625658393
https://www.strava.com/activities/625678039
https://www.strava.com/activities/625658807
https://www.strava.com/activities/625658761
https://www.strava.com/activities/625659107
https://www.strava.com/activities/625659389
https://www.strava.com/activities/625659956
https://www.strava.com/activities/625660965
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| Project Kansas Team at the finish in Annapolis |
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| Here's a screenshot of the solo RAAM finishers reel. Great to be in it! Skip to 3.37 for my finish |
Some Stats
Ok so maybe I should put some stats down.
8 crew
1 Team support vehicle
1 team shuttle vehicle (identical to above)
1 RV
2 Road bikes (Giant TCR) One for climbing one for flat
1 Time Trial Bike (Giant Trinity)
8 bike wheels
3000 miles - approx 2500 ridden on the Trinity TT bike and 500 on a TCR (who says a solo cant ride most of it in a TT bike?)
3 times falling off the bike
3 bike punctures (but the last one we didn't spot until after the finish)
0 vehicle punctures
2 large tubs of chamois creme
0 injuries (that couldn't be tackled at the side of the road)
Dozens of croissants, sandwiches
Hundreds of red grapes
Several ice creams
11 days 19 hours duration from start to finish
16 hours sleep from start line to finish line
Ok so maybe I should put some stats down.
8 crew
1 Team support vehicle
1 team shuttle vehicle (identical to above)
1 RV
2 Road bikes (Giant TCR) One for climbing one for flat
1 Time Trial Bike (Giant Trinity)
8 bike wheels
3000 miles - approx 2500 ridden on the Trinity TT bike and 500 on a TCR (who says a solo cant ride most of it in a TT bike?)
3 times falling off the bike
3 bike punctures (but the last one we didn't spot until after the finish)
0 vehicle punctures
2 large tubs of chamois creme
0 injuries (that couldn't be tackled at the side of the road)
Dozens of croissants, sandwiches
Hundreds of red grapes
Several ice creams
11 days 19 hours duration from start to finish
16 hours sleep from start line to finish line
Thanks for reading my blog.
Additional information
"How we managed Nutrition for The Race Across America" blog is available here
"How we managed Nutrition for The Race Across America" blog is available here
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