Crew training

The whole point of the Eastern Shore weekend was for the Crew to gain familiarity with the processes and procedures necessary to support Randy as he races in the RAAM. This is especially true when it comes to the Follow Van and the RV.

The Follow Van is the vehicle that follows closely behind Randy as he rides. It contains his riding gear, lots of food choices (not all of them what you might imagine - I'll try to get a list) and hydration supplies. The van also carries a rather comprehensive medical kit assembled by Al (aka DOC). We hope we never need items like the Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

The RV serves as Crew bunkhouse, Team mess, and (if needed) Medical station. The Team rented an RV identical (we hope) to the one we will be picking up in California for the weekend so everyone could become familiar with it.

Until this weekend, none of the Crew had seen the selected RV much less packed, driven, or maintained it. It is very hard for a Crew member to visualize just how much room they have been allotted for clothing and personal items. Being able to actually see the room available makes everything concrete.

As you can see from the picture, the Crew practiced important tasks such as draining the holding tank. One wonders if they practiced filling it as well. But we won't know for sure; they won't tell me.