DAY 1 - TUCSON TO SIERRA VISTA

The day starts out packing up for the ride to Sierra Vista (81 miles).

Susie in from of the PAC Tour van.

Typically one would fly out to Arizona to escape the east coast winters for some nice, warm weather to ride.  Day 1 would prove to be the exact opposite. Virginia weather was nice and toasty in the 70s.  Tucson - 25 mph winds, 43 with a high of 51 and rain, sleet, hail and snow.  We had it all. Of the 50 riders that started only eight completed the ride.

After my second flat, Susie was getting cold, as I could not find the culprit that caused the puncture. She would end up sacrificing her ride by giving me her front wheel, so I could complete the ride.

I was the last one in. I would have another flat about 5 miles from the finish. The flat culprits were due to the deteriorating steel belts of blown tires on the side of the road.  Virtually impossible to see on the road and equally impossible to see in the tire, making flat repair a lengthy process. I noticed many others with flats along the way. I'm sure it was another record flat day and much of the reason why many riders had dropped.  Once you took your gloves off to change the tube, it became too difficult to rewarm the hands. Breaking and shifting would be extremely difficult, making riding dangerous.

The top photo below is near the summit (4,500' EL) heading to Sonoita.  You can't see it in the photo, but it is mixed rain and sleet.  The descent was a chilly one.

This is Mike at the second control. Notice the playtex gloves. Mine are green.

Gina at the Shell Country Store. 

48 miles into the ride is a Shell gas station in Sonoita.  It would be the warming grounds for wet, very cold riders. Gina brought us towels and directed us to everything that we needed. For making a mess of her store, she was really just too nice.

Susie's Day 1: After I gave my front wheel to Randy, I stayed in the sag vehicle and shivered to the first rest stop, about five miles away. We'd planned to fix his wheel so we both could continue, but it was chaos. Many people had decided to bail and wanted rides to Sierra Vista. It was cold, rainy and the winds were howling. Fixing the tire didn't seem like an option b/c the support crew (who is totally awesome) was just too busy tending to cold riders. It didn't take long for us to decide that I'd get driven to Sierra Vista and Randy would continue on.

At first this seemed like a yummy option, given the conditions, but it took several hours to get to the hotel, and I was wet and shivering. Once we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express, it was still several hours until our room would be readyl. I went to the little girls room, peeled off my wet clothes, put my rain jacket back on -- the only dry piece of clothing I had -- and wrapped a towel around my waist. It was a very fetching outfit, I must say, but at least I was dry and warm. I traipsed around for the next three hours in this get-up until our room was ready. Congrats to me for making it a whopping 16 miles in crazy ugly conditions!

Day 2 is calling for much of the same weather and there is talk of an extremely early happy hour in room 215. We'll see how things unfold.

ARRIVED IN TUCSON

Susie and I arrived in Tucson before noon.  Assembled the bikes.  And then met up with Connie, my RAAM massage therapist, and her husband, Rich.  They drove 2 hours from Gilbert, AZ to meet up with us.  Once a crew member always a crew member!  LOL!  Thanks Rich and Connie.  You really made our day.  We sat and had a wonderful chat and then had dinner at Pita Jungle.  Food was delicious (Mediterranean).  Rich and Connie were good sports about eating a little early (AARP time), so we could return for a PAC Tour meeting.  45 degrees and rain!  Perfect weather to start the tour.

PAC Tour THIS MONTH

I almost forgot how to post to my own blog.  I'm transitioning from ultra cycling to ultra running and have been having a rough time making the break, which will be necessary to be successful.  One of my last events will be Century Week of PAC Tour with Lon and Susan.  Their tag line is to make good cyclists better and that is exactly what they do.  Not only do you reap the benefits of their knowledge, but you also have the opportunity to learn from all of the other cyclists participating in the tour.

Though we've had an extremely mild winter in Virginia, I'm looking forward to some warm weather riding.

Wishing all the RAAM 2012 riders the very best.  Train, train, train and believe in yourself and your crew.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS ON RAAM

I know this is long overdue.  I've been having difficulty coming up with words that have not been already written.  I've been looking for words to inspire others wishing to do RAAM in that this race is not about being fast and furious, but steady and calm.  It is certainly a race that anyone could achieve, if you have the right desire and passion.  But isn't that true about everything in life?  I am certainly your average Joe that just likes a challenge every now and then.  I don't think I'm obsessive about what I do.  I only obsess when I need to.  I think life is about balancing out everything on your plate and being able to digest it all without upsetting your stomach.  I like to use the food analogy because I like to eat.  Anyway, I hope that made sense.

So nothing motivational here.  Just a few facts about my race.

Here are some numbers that may be of interest and may or may not have been covered in previous posts.  A big number is the expense.  Our RAAM related expenses (which started about 8 months out) amounted to $65,000.  We had raised $20,000 from cash and in-kind sponsors, $25,000 from donations and fund raisers and the balance came from personal funds.  Expenses for just the race were about $35,000, but our team was well outfitted.   I can imagine doing RAAM for about $15,000, but it would be tough on the crew and eventually the racer as well.

My sleep breaks ranged from 10 minute power naps to 2 hour luxury snoozes.  Some breaks were longer, but the actual sleep time was rarely over 1.5 hours.  I think I could go off less with better training.  As some of you know my training suffered during the time I was supposed to be peaking.  This was 6 weeks of sleep deprivation focus, based on Pete Penseyres plan of riding 400 miles after work on Fridays.  I only rode one 300 miler after work on Friday, so I really fell short on this focus, which showed during the race.

I never had any hallucinations, partly because I never pushed my mental state that hard and in looking back I'm not sure I have the ability to do such a thing without the high risk of falling asleep on the bike and crashing.  I had plenty of rude awakenings, which are unpleasant.  A lot of bad thoughts go through your mind when you catch yourself sleeping on the bike.

My crew played music over the PA system, but there are many times that I preferred the quiet.  There's something cool about just listening to the sound of your drive chain and the tires on the road.  Maybe that's why I was always so sleepy...

I didn't use a great deal of chamois creams.  I stayed with powder the majority of the way and would treat sores with Brave Soldier Antiseptic ointment and Lanacane.

I didn't have a great deal of aches and pains either.  The normal neck issues, swollen feet and hands, saddle sores and sore knee joints.  My crew took excellent care of me.  I was so fortunate to have compiled such a great, diverse crew.  And I can see why many folks say that the crew can make it or break it for the racer.  My crew definitely made it for me.  What a spectacular group of folks.

My favorite aspect of doing RAAM was meeting so many incredible people from around the world that are so passionate about their sport.  My least favorite aspect of doing RAAM is that it does, eventually end.

And it does so quickly.  You're out on the open roads having the time of your life with many of your closest friends and then you cross the finish line and it's over.  Everyone packs up and leaves.  RAAM racers get pampered like nobody's business.  It's a tough life when it comes to an end.  You REALLY do miss the attention.  But it's all over now.



RAAM was an incredible experience, but for some strange reason it fell short for me.  And it was my fault.  I thought I would be satisfied with an official finish, but I wasn't.  I am not.  I needed to suffer more than I had and I needed to push harder to get there.  I'm sure you've heard in many sports about an athlete leaving it all out there and having absolutely nothing left in the tank.  Well that wasn't me.  Maybe too much time has passed and I'm not thinking clearly.  Perhaps this was my intention all along.  I really don't know.  All I do know is that there will be another attempt some day.  And like RAAM 2011, the timing will have to be right in my life and the rest of you will know.

Thank you for all of your support and for being there for me!  If you have any desire at all to do RAAM, you can make it happen.

Much love, happiness and success to all of you.  Hope to see you on the road or trails.

Articles and Photos

While folks are waiting for me to post my story, there were a number of great photographers out there that were taking pictures and a few magazines that wanted to publish a story on me.  These are all listed below.  I hope you enjoy the articles and the photos.

Articles:

The Washingtonian:  http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/health/wellbeing/20070.html

The Fairfax Times:  http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20110701/NEWS/707019836/-1/fairfax-man-cycles-across-us-in-11-days&template=fairfaxTimes

Photos:

Elena Pence:  http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8EbNXDVs4btbW

Maile Neel:   http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcn7/sets/72157626931356107/

Charlie Thomas:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21868127@N02/sets/72157626930792539/with/5875249042/


Mike Wali:  http://www.flickr.com//photos/randomikew/sets/72157626930280279/

Chuck Wood:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/c-ctours/sets/72157627053992460/

Mary Gersema:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/gersema/sets/72157627056420790/

Ed Felker:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/8193389@N06/sets/72157627056437912/