The Gathering of the Crew

If you read the last post, you know that Susie and Rich are driving cross country with the Follow van. At last check in they had left Jackson, Tennessee and reached Amarillo, Texas.

(video at the link shows what Texas looks like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DyADhITvIc) .

Meantime our medical team had taken to the air and is now in Encenitas, California. They say they have "Been going to all the running/bike stores and everyone wants to know about our solo RAAM rider!"

It also turns out that in the pressure of acquiring and packing everything so that Susie and Rich can take it to the start, a item of medical grear was forgotten. But Al remembered, ordered it shipped express and it will likely arrive at the start before the rest of the kit does. Don't ask me what was forgotten as they've not told me.

The Adventure Begins!

One thing we learned from HOS and the Great Eastern Swamp Ride is that the organization of the follow vehicle is very important. Rather than be in a rush to set up a follow vehicle in California and risk problems in set-up, the decision was made to set it up here and drive it there. So tomorrow, 9 June, at 0430, Susie and Rich are headed for California with the follow van.

The video below shows you how every cubic inch of space inside the van has a purpose. You'll also get a glimpse of Randy exercising his engineering skills doing ...something... to the inside of the van. As you will learn from Susie's voice-over, it's been hot here lately.

Nutrition - details, details...

WARNING this post contains references to common bodily functions that may offend the sensibilities of those who like to pretend they don't have those functions.....

Stop and think about the effort and energy Randy needs to produce to ride 3000 miles in 10 days. That energy, thousands of calories per day, has to come from somewhere and eating that much is a real challenge (see The Science of Sport and Westerterp et al (1989) Study on food intake and energy expenditure during extreme sustained excercise: the Tour de France).

If Randy does not drink enough, he will dehydrate which is a Bad Thing (TM) affecting his ability to ride and think . (See the hyperbolic Sports Science episode on Dehydration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mve0mVu5y5A.) This is a particular concern during the desert crossing in the first third of the race.

So how does the Crew make sure Randy eats and drinks enough? The answer is the Nutrition Log. The Log is basically a spreadsheet (though we are using pencil and paper for reliability's sake) with columns for:

Race Time - RAAM time = EDT and is kept in 24 hr notation (1330 = 1:30 PM)

Race Mile - Miles into the race

Time Off - time spent off the bike in minutes

Comments - Temp, weather, Randy's state of mind, whatever

Electrolytes - How much consumed in 0z

Liquid food - in oz

Water - in oz

Solid food - by type, standard sizes

Calories - estimated from qty and food type, totaled at end of shift

Potty - what goes in must come out; if it doesn't, there's a problem brewing

Weight - helps track hydration and gross caloric intake

Every time Randy asks for food or drink, the Nutritionist on duty in the Follow Van fills out a line in the Log to record what when/where he asked for nutrition, what he asked for, how much. By recording these elements, the Crew can watch for trends and work to keep Randy properly feed and hydrated.

Thus you can see that keeping Randy operating at peak efficiency requires attention to detail and will require reminding/telling him that he needs to eat or drink. Hopefully he'll figure out his other needs.

Where is Randy?

We just found out that the RAAM has a new sponsor, MyAthlete. MyAthelete provides athlete tracking along event courses.. At the moment we're not sure how this is going to work out, but the theory is that you will be able to follow Randy's location in near-real time online.

The way athlete tracking works is that each athlete wears a tracking device. The device uses GPS to get location data and sends it to the website via cell phone. Because cell phone coverage is lacking along some parts of the route, it may look like Randy has stopped for a long time. Once he gets back into cell coverage, it will look like he traveled a Looooong way instantly. Once they get RAAM on the events page you will be able to track Randy's location here http://www.myathletelive.com/events.

But to know what is happening wherever Randy is, read this blog :-)

Vignettes

In addition to common items like packing, each individual crew member has his or her own preparations to make for the RAAM.

For example, the Crew Chief, Edgar, bought a new cell phone so he can text and take pictures that should end up here. He is also getting spare batteries for his headlamp and compulsively reading and rereading the rule and route books. Going off course or violating rules can cost Randy a lot of time and energy.

Connie is finishing up assembling the massage supplies. She's going to pass them to the follow van as it passes her place on it's way to CA. Connie will catchup with the Team on Sunday when she flies in.

Al and Mary have been assembling the medical supplies which range from an AED (automated external defibrillator), to IV bags and kits, to Epipens (TM). The Epipens are a necessary precaution as Randy has had reactions to bug bites and stings.