Crew person's view of Day 2

Day 2 1250 RAAM Time (Day 3 will start at 1537 today) Mile 535.8 Time Station 8

Shift #1 (Rich, Al and Mary) are leaving Flagstaff with Randy, headed for Tuba City, AZ

53 miles away. Beautiful puffy clouds, sunny and 77 degrees, with a tail wind. This is a perfect change from yesterday at this time when the thermometer reading 112 degrees and not a cloud in sight! We were crossing the desert from Parker, AZ to Prescott, AZ and that was not the max temp. That was to be 114 degrees!

Oh, but wait…the locals say, “It isn’t that hot, because it is a dry heat.” Righto, just like an oven or a kiln! I can tell you it was as hot as hell! The challenge was to keep Randy cool enough that he could ride safely and make some progress toward Annapolis. We found ouT later that many of the riders had been pulled by their crew and were resting during the heat. We pressed on, exchanging fluid bottles every 5-10 minutes, as Randy drank and drank. We made “ice socks” with a plastic bag full of ice stuffed into a tube sock and draped them around his neck, tucked into his jersey. Those had to be exchanged about every 20 minutes, as they melted.

About mid-day our 3 vehicles met up under a “tree” and Randy went to the RV for a rest and a massage. First he was weighed. It is essential to monitor his weight to be confident he is hydrating well. We expect some weight loss but he was 7# down. No more suggestions about hydration and start being forceful.

This very tired biker stripped off his wet clothes and laid down. Connie, our massage therapist, started working his leg muscles and he fell fast asleep. We allowed him to sleep for about 90 minutes, woke him and chef Troy fed him a grilled turkey sandwich with hummus and an Ensure Plus.

Randy wore a light jersey, a light skull cap, white arm covers and white gloves and lots of SPF 70 sun blocker, applied several times. He struggled to take in calories, as it is hard when it is so hot. So, we started giving him dilute iced chicken broth with Lava Salts poured into each bottle for the sodium and a few calories and the ice. He loved it and quickly downed about 4 bottles. He ate some red Twizzlers licorice, some Pringles, Ensure Plus, a dilute cola and Mountain Dew.

You note that his nutrition sounds unorthodox. But, after 24 hours, the gels, manufactured energy foods are nearly inedible. The palate tires and the stomach revolts. We have fed him cheeseburgers, pancakes with syrup and butter, shrimp salad, V8 juice and every other thing that sounds good to him.

Randy ended up riding about 20 hours this day. He is on track for a solid finish in Annapolis. And although we are leaving the desert, we still have the mountains of Colorado, the heat and endless prairie land of the Midwest, and finally, the Appalachians.