Gran Fondo Fixies - RAAM '08

Brenda's pictures from RAAM

2008-06-27T08:28:00.001-07:00

I finally got around to getting my favorite photos posted to Shutterfly.

They can be viewed at:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8KZt3Ddu0YnQ&emid=sharview&linkid=link4

You do not need to sign in. Just click on View Pictures then click on View Slideshow.

Enjoy!

Brenda

Getting Home

2008-06-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

The RAAM-a-lam-a-ding-dong (a.k.a. Dodge Caravan) transporting Kevin, Doyce, and Alan is safely back home in Augusta. What an amazing journey! I'm quite tired today, so I expect it will take some time to get current with all the excitement that's happened over the last 10 days or so. Perhaps, however, I'll summon up enough energy to make a group ride tonight.

The race was extremely exciting for me and definately a dream come true. I expect most people from afar wished us well but secretly didn't think we had much of a chance to make it to the finish. That's understandable, because RAAM truly is truly a tough and epic race. However, we had a flawless training plan and a perfect crew that increased our chances of success immeasurably.

There's a million people to thank, and hopefully I won't forget anyone as I try to catch up with all that's happened since the race began. I do want to thank Jeff Bauer here for being on this great team with me. It was his ground breaking fixed gear exploits from 2004 that inspired this race. Jeff vowed never to ride more than 200k on a fixed gear bike after 2004, but fortunately I was able to con him into a team RAAM. Anyone who knows Jeff also knows that he is the perfect teammate. He was methodical and well prepared, and he trained very hard for this race. He was rock solid on the bike and never seemed to let the rain, headwinds, or long hills bring him down. In fact, I had to ask him to at least act like he was suffering at the rider exchanges so I wouldn't feel so all alone.

We also had a perfect crew of 10 people who were kind enough to donate two weeks of their lives to our race. Proof of their great perfmances include ZERO team penalties, as little as two bonus miles over the course of a 3,000 mile race, and almost non-existant down time for the 8 day race. GREAT JOB! Don Mayne had the thankless job of being crew chief and he was outstanding at it. Every other member of our crew had distinct personalities that benefited us, and each of them brought something good and unique to the table. Everyone should be proud of how they managed to get these two cyclists through all the challenges of RAAM.

I was extremely inspired by all the people who made it out to cheer for us along the race route. My only regret is that there were many, many people who waited for us at time stations and we had to blow on through in pursuit of a finish. It seemed to start in Fort Scott, Kansas with a few people holding up a sign with "Go, Fixies, Go" on it. How amazing was this, as I didn't realize that I knew anyone from Fort Scott. I also got a great kick out of seeing Jeff's Mom, brother, and friends bringing out good cheer (and cookies) around Bloomington. Rodney Caswell came out in St. Louis and Tim Carroll met up with us in Ohio. Then there was Bill Beck and a roadside angel (Maile Neel) taking pictures of our assault on the finish line. It was fun to see a few fixies jerseys on the road, and it was obvious that people were following our race. I'm hoping that anyone who showed up will send an e-mail to me so I can properly thank them.

I hope everyone enjoyed following this race as much as I enjoyed racing in it. I gave it all I had, and I know Jeff did, too. Thanks for helping make my dream come true!

Kevin Kaiser

Fw: More Photos

2008-06-18T05:06:00.001-07:00

Here are more photos from the finish.

Mary Crawley

----- Original Message -----
From: Maile Neel <maileneel@gmail.com>
To: Crawley, Mary (USAPAE)
Sent: Tue Jun 17 18:34:29 2008
Subject: More Photos

Mary -

Share with everyone:

My photos from the finish today:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcn7/sets/72157605672152301/

AND Bill Beck's completely AWESOME photos from Mt. Airy. From the email Bill sent to DCRand:

I know that I said that I wouldn't send more notices, but I can't resist because the pictures include "The Man," Jure Robic, as well as Team Viasat.

And boy was I lucky! While I was waiting by the side of MD27 for Jure to ride by, he and his van suddenly stopped right at the driveway where I had parked. Jure tossed his bike to the ground and walked up to a shaded grassy area where a crew member laid down a mat and blanket. Jure took a 10-miute power nap, sat up, and after being helped to his feet by a crew member, got back on his bike and started riding again. At time station 52 at Mt Airy Bicycles, Jure sat out his 15-minute time penalty in his large motor home, and then a crew member actually carrier him out of the van and placed him on his bike. Check out the pictures!

Jure Robic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wabeck/sets/72157605663760760/

Team Viasat: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wabeck/sets/72157605664175278/

Snaps to DC Randonneurs Bill, Maile, Clint, Kelly and Chris!

2008-06-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Gran Fondo Fixies were welcomed to Mt. Airy and Annapolis by DC Randonneurs Bill Beck, Maile Neel, Kelly Smith, Clint Provenza and Chris Mento. Bill and Maile came out in the pouring rain to Mt. Airy to take excellent photos of the fixieboys. Clint Provenza, Kelly Smith and Maile greeted the team at the Annapolis Mall, and Clint even brought a cooler full of cold drinks. We saw Chris Mento at the docks; Chris will be providing part of the official RAAM escort for the final 4 mile ride to the docks this afternoon. Maile and Kelly then joined the team for dinner last night down on the docks.

What a wonderful showing of support from the DC Randonneurs! Kevin and Jeff, and the crew, appreciate it very much.

Mary Crawley

We "Won"

2008-06-17T06:21:00.001-07:00

Jeff and Kevin won RAAM ... or at least the two-man fixed gear division. How about instead saying, "Jeff and Kevin were the first riders across the 'finish line' at 2008 RAAM." Of course, they haven't yet gone over the finish line, so is that really right? Hmmm ... OK, how about I just recap and you can figure it out from there.

When last we blogged our intrepid explorers, they were in Mt. Airy at the bike shop. Jeff came in and Kevin headed out. Jeff was immediately mobbed by loyal supporters who had come in (including the now infamous really a person Maille Neel), RAAM fans, and the folks at the bike shop (bike shop people love a great bike like the Salsa Casserrol, particularly when it has been kept simple like a fixie, and they loved Jeff and Kevin's basic approach to cycling in general). It was like being with Julia on the red carpet on Oscar night. I was holding an umbrella over Jeff's head to keep the rain off, trying to let him get cleaned up from his ride and ready to go back out, while fending off people with cameras (ah, those paparazzi!) and everyone trying to shake his hand or just touch the sleeve of his raimant (keep your hands off the raimant -- it's got to go back to the shop!).

Eventually, we got him changed and back in the van and Mary and I headed down the road with Jeff to the next rider swap at mile 30. At this point we're on a busy interchange between Baltimore and Annapolis, hanging out at a gas station, with Jeff ready to roll and street people chatting him up about why he has two bicycles. It could have been the exhaustion setting in, but things now seemed a trifle surreal. Kevin comes in and Jeff is about to go out when we find out that RAAM only wants one rider on the road at a time here. We decide to let Kevin finish it up, then, and let Jeff stay dry (the rain had stopped by the roads were nasty). So, load up the bike and rider and back into the van.

We're then heading to the mall where the "finish" line is. Now, let me explain: Yes, it's not quite at the coast, but this is where riders are supposed to "finish" the ride. RAAM then calls ahead and gets a big shebang set up so that, when the rider rolls up to the pier in Annapolis the band can be struck up and officials can present the rider this laurel and hardy handshake and yadda-yada. That's the finish line everybody sees in the movies.

The real finish line is the mall parking lot outside of Pottery Barn. Which makes sense, in a way, as Pottery Barn is heaven in a number of lesser known pantheons. Buy me a couple of glasses of single-malt scotch one day and I'll explain how it works.

En route to this heaven/finish line, Jeff and Mary and I get another call: Come back -- RAAM says you two can both ride in together. U-Turn, drive back, get Jeff out and bike off, and then Kevin shows up with the other van (did I mention we named it the RAAM-a-lam-a-ding-dong somewhere during this trip?) and Doyce and Allen and Don and off they go. Mary and I then jump back in the van and zip down to heaven/finish line.

Don, Brenda, Gary, Chris, and David are there with the pursuit van, as well as Terry Zmrhal and other RAAM officials and many of the fans from Mt. Airy and still other fans and friends who had driven over. We get ready and Jeff and Kevin come rolling in while we cheer and film and shoot pictures. Then it's lots of congratulations and back-slapping and about the level of euphoria that you would expect after an eight-day long roller coaster of frantic activity like this. Okay, so you may have to use LOTS of imagination.

From there we head to a nearby hotel where we dump stuff and kind of change, then back into the van to drive down to the pier where they have a bunch of people who have been waiting to see Kevin and Jeff come in. More cheering, back-slapping, people touching raimants (okay, touch away for all I care -- but if you break it you've bought it!). Then we went to a local pub for dinner and a little champagne. There would have been lots of champagne, as well as a few other imbibements, but I knew I had to somehow navigate back to the hotel later, and we were all so exhausted we just did not yet trust ourselves to partake of anything that would lessen our abilities to function. Perhaps some other day ...

Instead, we all got to enjoy something precious that few people really appreciate any more: EIGHT HOURS OF UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP. That is bliss. If they would let you go into Pottery Barn and lay on one of their beds for eight hours ... well, now you know why it's one version of heaven.

It's now almost 9:15 and we soon expect Jure Robic -- the Slovenian soldier that left with us from Oceanside, CA, a week ago Saturday and who looks to be the one who will "win" the solo RAAM division -- to come in. After that, Jeff and Kevin can jump on their bikes and partake in the parade finish down to the pier in Annapolis for the formal end of the race, complete with the speeches and the officials with the laurel and hardy handshake (you can't use that joke too much). I will blog again after that. Jeff and I then plan to throw everything into the back of the RAAMinator and start driving back to Nashville.

Meanwhile, attached are pictures from the finish line (sorry I didn't get heaven in the picture) and the banner at the other finish line at the pier. They were just putting the finishing touches on this, because Jeff and Kevin rode so fast that things were quite ready.

--
Robert Hendry

The opinions expressed in this missive are my own and in no way reflect the views of Gran Fondo, RAAM, or any of my compatriots. If you have been offended by my less-than-reverent verbiage, I would apologize if I cared about your feelings. Get over it.

Fw: photos

2008-06-17T05:39:00.000-07:00

Links to photos from Mt. Airy and Annapolis, taken by Maile Neel and Bill Beck. Thanks again!

Mary

----- Original Message -----
From: Maile Neel <maileneel@gmail.com>
To: Crawley, Mary (USAPAE)
Sent: Tue Jun 17 02:01:04 2008
Subject: photos

Mary -

Share these links with the boys and the crew:

Bill's

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wabeck/sets/72157605655457737/

Mine

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcn7/sets/72157605654326486/

See you later today!

M

Annapolis

2008-06-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

We got to the mall about 8:30. Much rejoicing. I'll send a more detailed blog tomorrow morning.

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mt Airy Bicycle

2008-06-16T13:48:00.001-07:00

Jeff just pulled into one of the coolest bike shops in the world (sorry, Lynn and everybody, but this place is huge - they even have a tandem made out of bamboo). This is the time station with the RAAM "jail." Since we have no infractions (yaaa!), we don't have to wait in the penalty box. Too bad, because it's a nice place.

Interestingly enough, not only do we have no penalties, we have a 45-minute time bonus. I don't know how we'll spend it.

It's raining, but these guys are randonneurs do they don't care.

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The link!

2008-06-16T10:32:00.001-07:00

Oops! The link for Jeff's interview is:

http://www.wtap.com/home/headlines/19961649.html

Jeff Bauer

2008-06-16T10:28:00.001-07:00

This is from the TV station that interviewed Jeff Bauer. Sorry about the commercials at the beginning. Not sure how to edit (or even if it is possible).

For Grand Fondo Fixies

2008-06-16T10:14:00.001-07:00

This is sent for Brenda Carlton:

Links to You Tube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQoQKb1wCcM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPTEljtZ9-Y

Jeff entering Maryland

2008-06-16T08:26:00.001-07:00

We later crossed back into West Virginia, and Kevin went back into Maryland just after the shift change. The route crossed back into Pennsylvania before going into Maryland again ... for the last time.

No more state lines. 130 miles to the finish (just over a 200K!). Currently projected to get there about 8 pm.

--
Robert A. Hendry

A night of climbs

2008-06-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

The guys have made it through the three hardest sections of the trip. One of the climbs was 3 1/2 miles at 8 percent.

We left at 4:00 am from Keyser, WV.
We have 220 miles to go so looks like we'll finish early Monday evening. The guys are starting today tired and without sleep. We're all excited to be so near the finish. They have done an awesome job.

Cheers
Brenda

12:50 am, crossing the Maryland state line

2008-06-15T21:58:00.001-07:00

It's 12:50 am on Monday morning, and Jeff just crossed into Maryland from West Virginia. This after climbing three miles at eight percent in the dark. . .the fun never stops on RAAM.

Only 306 miles left to go!

Jeff at TS39

2008-06-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

I know it's a little late, but here's Jeff yesterday afternoon (on Saturday)

PS - Jeff is missing out on "Ride the Lobster" - a Unicycle Race!

Just outside Grafton

2008-06-15T18:06:00.001-07:00

We in Pruntytown, three miles from Grafton, WV. Kevin is taking the first four-hour session of the evening, and Jeff is asleep in the back of the RAAMinator.

For those that don't know, this is what supporting two-man RAAM is really like. You drive behind your rider for whatever period has been determined - with us it's usually a two- or four-hour rotation - passing him full bottles, taking the empties, telling him when to turn, keeping him in your headlights when it's dark, shielding him from semis, playing music over the PA, and watching to make sure his spirits and energy stay high. With Jeff and Kevin, this is pretty easy since they are so strong.

When they come in from a rotation, you get them fed and watered and cleaned and changed, then try to get them to rest. Meanwhile, you zip down the road 40-70 miles to where they must next start riding. You also try to get fuel for the van and crew and any supplies you may need for when you go back on. If you can, you squeeze in a bathroom break.

When you get to the spot, you wait and try to sleep yourself. Sometimes there's a store, but that can be dangerous because stores have humans and humans are loud, and remember that you're hoping for sleep for you, the crew, and the rider. During this period you communicate with the other crew figuring out when your rider must be ready, when and where your relief crew will come, and what's going on with the other teams. Sometimes you blog.

So, it's periods of tense tedium punctuated by phases of frantic action and intervals of pure panic. And we only have 310 more miles of it.

Robert Hendry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Greatest McDonalds in the World

2008-06-15T12:27:00.001-07:00

Pratt Kansas. If you are a serious ultracyclist, this is a mecca. Steve and his people rock.

--
Robert A. Hendry

Jeff descending into desert

2008-06-15T12:15:00.001-07:00

Nashville Cheerleading Crew Returns!

2008-06-15T11:35:00.001-07:00

Stephanie C, Karla M, Pat Clements, Mike and Patty W, and Jeff S just returned from Indiana where we got to see the riders and crew in action. What a spectacular experience! We caught up to Kevin in Bloomington, IN on Dunn Street approaching the time station in Bloomington, IN. I'm not sure Kevin thought we were drunk college students or what, but I think he finally realized what was going on and we got a little bit of a smile.

We caught the off-shift RAAMinator at the timestation and got to see Kevin come by again. Jeff was there and seemed in good spirits. He says he's getting about 90 minutes of sleep per off-shift. His Mom had just been up and brought cookies, so he made sure we ate what was left. I guess cookies and protein energy drink don't mix!

None of us have ever met Kevin, and still haven't but after leapfrogging him and cheering him on multiple times, I think we're all great buddies. At least we think so - he also might want to kill us! We finally left him on IN Hwy 46 past the top of the hill at Brown County State Park. Shortly afterwards, we sat in traffic as the Oakridge Boys concert left out of the Little Nashville Opry in Nashville, IN!

We stopped in the beautiful town of Columbus, IN for some dinner and libations and missed a fantastic photo opportunity of Kevin crossing a beautiful bridge over some river! But, downtown really was beautiful and the food and wine were great.

After dinner, we began cruising through the middle of nowhere. We were a little intimidated driving through the dark on rural roads - no lights, no gas stations, nothing. We all agreed that the boys and their crew are quite fearless braving this night after night. We finally caught Jeff somewhere between Columbus and I74 in the middle of BFE and began leapfrogging Jeff. Of course he rode no hands and gave two peace signs and a huge ear to ear grin!

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, we stopped by a trailer park for another photo opportunity and cheering session. We noticed a bunch of folks partying on their back porch, and invited them to cheer with us, which they did with great enthusiasm! They had enough tattoos and dreadlocks to hold a mini Indiana Bonnaroo!

Some time around 1AM, we followed Jeff for a while hoping to stop somewhere and moon him, but the officials showed up and we figured we'd better not. We talked to Robert and he was worried about a time penalty for "caravan'ing" so we cheered one more time and headed out for a two hour drive to find a hotel.

In summary, it's truly amazing what those two guys are doing. And I know they're so grateful for their crew, who are having an endurance event of their own. Paraphrasing Jeff at the timestation when we talked, he said with some rare emotion that riding across the United States is an amazing journey, and it's one big place!

Though a little weary and worn down, they look good. We think they'll be in Annapolis on Monday.

Keep pedaling guys. We're impressed and quite envious!

(PS - I'll try to get a link to all the pictures later tonight. Pat)

Some pictures

2008-06-15T11:33:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of Kevin crossing into Indiana, near the floods, and the tree growing out of the bell tower in Greensburg.

--
Robert A. Hendry

A big thank you to Maile Neel

2008-06-15T11:08:00.001-07:00

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a bike shop, NO, she's Maile Neel, randonneuse and friend extraordinaire. Thank you, Maile, for donating the parts and shipping for Gran Fondo to fix Jeff's bike! It is a measure of how sleep-deprived the crew is, that the question of who is Maile Neel went unanswered for so long. But no longer.

It's Sunday so we must be in Ohio. At 2 pm, Kevin is eating pizza at time station 43, and Jeff is on the bike. The fixieboys have less than 450 miles to go! They are approximately 8 hours ahead of the front solo rider, Robic, and they are psyched! Thanks to everyone for all of your support. Mary Crawley

Time station 39

2008-06-14T18:29:00.001-07:00

Mary, Jeff, and I are in Greensburg, waiting for Kevin. Greensburg is a nice town, although there's a tree growing out of the roof of the clock tower on the town square.

A bevy of folks from the Harpeth Bike Club, Jeff's and my cycling compatriots, met us at the last time station in Bloomingdale, IN. They drove all the way up from Nashville this afternoon, and Jeff was tickled pink to see them. They were going to follow us along the route this evening. A mooning or two was not out of the question.

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Almost to Ohio

2008-06-14T15:56:00.001-07:00

Today has gone really well.
Jeff's brother and mom met us in route to deliver the need bike parts from Gran Fondo. Plus his mom brought lots of homemade cookies and other goodies. What a sweet mom.
David Baur took the bike and parts to a local shop to be repaired. Now we're back to two bikes per person.

We cycled through some flooded parts of Missouri. The water was up right next to the road.

Jeff flatted today. Mr. B, our most "experienced" team member (I didn't say OLD) fixed a flat and did 3 rear wheel changes today.

B-team went on shift 3:00 am last night and started out with Kevin.
It was foggy for a few hours then we had sun and heat the rest of the day.
The A-team shift caught up with us at 6:00 pm. Now we're driving forward 200 miles to find a hotel.

We are now 3 hours ahead Robic, the soloist front-runner. The officials are predicting we will arrive on Monday.
Only 700 miles left to go.

Cheers:
Brenda

Dog right

2008-06-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Jeff just got pestered by a dog. Even on RAAM ...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Bloomfield, IN

2008-06-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

We just went thru this busy little town, where the RAAM bike says the route "gets decidedly more lumpy." They aren't foolin', either.

Jeff's dad said that it was Rob at "Bike & Hike" in Effingham, IN that fixed Jeff's bike. Thanks, Rob!

Robert H.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Big THANKS

2008-06-14T11:33:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Maille Neel and Gran Fondo, Jeff is back on his original bike. Jeff's brother, David, met us in Effingham with the parts, as well as other stuff from Gran Fondo, like more water bottles and socks. Jeff's mom also came up, bringing lots of tasty home-made cookies. The crew is getting fat, but feels the love.

David then took the bike to a local bike shop, Maille Neel, who immediately fixed everything up in time for David to zip back to Graysville. These are the folks, along with the wonderful people at RAAM, our families, and our loyal fans like youselves, that make possible what Jeff and Kevin are attempting.

THANK YOU ALL!

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Indiana wants me

2008-06-14T10:51:00.001-07:00

Just entered Indiana near Graysville. Lots of flooding.

I once had a dog named Indiana. I liked that dog.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Thank you, Radio Shack

2008-06-14T10:19:00.001-07:00

The Radio Shack in Robinson, IN had the right cable for hooking Kevin's iPod to the PA, so we are no longer having to listen to the radio very loud while we hold the microphone up to the speaker.

Radio Shack rocks!

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Dollar for Altamont

2008-06-14T06:27:00.001-07:00

We're coming to the four-way stop in Altamont and Jeff wants a dollar. At the stop there are guys collecting - firefighters, flood relief, or something. Jeff hands the guy a dollar and rides on. The guy is so startled that he drops the dollar. When we go by he says, "He didn't even wait for his lollipop!"

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Across the Mississippi

2008-06-14T05:24:00.001-07:00

Yes, this blog took forever to post. I was waylaid (waylayed? Waylain?) With a migraine for a day. Sorry. So, let me bring you up to date ...

Thursday night we had some rain. And lightning. And some tornadoes, too. Such is Kansas. Jeff finished a four-hour session as the rain and lightning started, so Kevin got all the fun. He was riding along as the tornado siren went off, and he looked around once and kept on going. This scared the tornado away, and maybe the lightning, too. The rain? Not so much.

Chain lightning danced across the sky through the night, and Kevin and Jeff soldiered on in a light fairly steady rain. Kevin had a flat during one deluge, but his team quickly swapped wheels and got him back to work Friday morning brought no relief from the rain, as the riders entered Missouri and the road became hillier.

Traffic around Lake of the Ozarks was a bear, and RAAM gave us a dedicated escort for this stretch. Dave and Chris were surprised that Jeff got thru the area safe and fairly quickly.

Kevin was really tearing up the rollers in this stretch, and Gary reported that he was often doing almost 20 mph on the uphill sections ... Not bad for a fixed gear. The rain kept up thru most of this, and Jeff next got a flat.

Rain plus hills plus a big river equals flooding, and we had some. For the riders, it was an inconvience, but for the good folks of Missouri it was lives and homes. RAAM headquarters did a great job finding an alternate route, however, and Kevin had only an hour of "down-time" before he was on the road again, just before time station 34.

Just afterwards, Jeff rode over the Mississippi into Illinois. By then the rain had stopped, and Kevin took over at the Holiday Inn in Alton, Illinois. Rod Caswell came out to cheer us on in Meadowbrook, in the early foggy dawn, lightening Kevin's mood. The promise of pancakes at time station 35 in Greenville helped, too.

And now we're at mile 22 past that time station, having just rolled thru sleepy Bluff City, Illinois. Jeff is rockin' out to some Outkast, churning up the miles. Hey Ya!

Robert Hendry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Hello Rod!

2008-06-14T02:36:00.000-07:00

Just passed Rod Carswell at mile 20 past time station 34. Hey, Rod.

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Thanks for your support

2008-06-13T12:59:00.001-07:00

We're driving through Camdenton and Kevin has done 50 miles in the past 3 hours with big rollers. He just did 35 mph down this hill. He has an hour to go on this shift.

We just talked to him at a stoplight. He wanted to make sure to let everyone know how much he appreciates all the folks coming out to cheer him on and waving their signs. This is so cool!

Cheers
Brenda

Ozarks

2008-06-13T12:20:00.001-07:00

We crossed over the lake of the ozarks in missouri. Gorgeous. Still raining and traffic is heavy. Kevin is in hour #2 of his 4 hour shift.
We're driving thru Camdenton, MS at time station #31. Folks were at the time station with RAAM signs waving us on. A RAAM official just passed us in a van. Kevin is looking good.

Cheers:
Brenda

Rolling into TS31

2008-06-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just talked to Ellen. The rain was light and just picked up. They're about 15 minutes from timecheck 31 in Camden-something. Robert Hendry's crew shift (Shift A) will be switching on at 4pm, and Ellen's shift (Shift B) will go back on at 4am.

Kevin just got on the bike at about 12:55pm EST. They're riding 60 mile shifts.

Here's some press about the Fixies:
Pratt Tribune.
(you can peddle continuously to get your messages) LOL!

Friday - rainy night and day

2008-06-13T11:24:00.001-07:00

We made it through Kansas last night - in the rain and storms. This a.m we were 3 hours ahead of Robic, the solo leader.

Gary says the two tornadoes last night gave us a great tailwind and we sped across at 100 mph :-).

Today has been rainy most of the days. We heard a few thunder bumpers but that didn't slow our team. The B-shift crew stopped at mid-day to do laundry so the racers would have more dry clothes. They are still in good spirits and riding strong. Kevin is rolling up the hills at 15 -17 mph.

The team plans to bunk somewhere near the Mississippi River tonight.

Cheers:
Brenda

Between TS28 and TS29

2008-06-13T04:37:00.001-07:00

Pat C here (BLOG control.) Again as of last night, no word from the crew. But, another snapshot for your enjoyment. The label to the west of the green is TS26 and the one to the right is TS33 near St Louis. Someone is right exactly under this:

Oh, I forgot to say - I talked to Robert's wife yesterday. They had a problem with the RAAMinator. So much electronic stuff was plugged in that the alternator wasn't charging the battery! They tried to roll the windows down and they wouldn't go. So, they had to ride for a while with stuff turned off. There's a reason they say the RAAM is a tough event, even for the crew.

Weather and Where are they?

2008-06-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

Weather is looking pretty nasty in Kansas. The race stats showed them passing through checkpoint 26 at 9:41pm EST (race time.) I snapped this picture from Google Earth about 9:51 EST. #26 is right under the storm.

Halfway

2008-06-12T14:17:00.001-07:00

Jeff just passed the halfway point of RAAM. He celebrated by riding hands-free and goofing off (still riding fast, of course).

Robert
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

30 miles to Pratt, KS

2008-06-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

We just passed Kevin on the road. He's 30 miles away from Pratt, the "halfway" point, and looking strong.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

We're in #1

2008-06-12T12:05:00.001-07:00

We took the lead last night over the solo riders . Yeah! The officials at the morning time station told us they were totally surprised at us being in the lead. They have requested more race officials to follow the course since they now must watch us in addition to Robic, the three time winner from Slovania. I just talked to Robic's crew at the last time station. They are all in the army in Slovania and it's their full time job to support Robic in his races. Sounds like a great job.

It's been an exciting trip since California. We're crossing Kansas now. We discovered this a.m that one of Jeff's bikes fell on the roof and has a bent front chain ring and spider on the crank. We're communicating with Gran Fondo in Nashville to find a bike shop in route with the right parts. The parts must be ordered. Parts will arrive tomorrow and they will ship them to a shop in route for Saturday pick up and repair. At that point we should be in Ohio.

Currently we're in route to Pratt, KS. The same race officials we talked with again at our lunch time station said the McDonalds time station is great......they give the teams free food.

Cheers!
Brenda

Meep meep

2008-06-12T10:12:00.001-07:00

Don, Doyce, Mary, Allen and I are still in Kansas (state motto: We're Flat), en route to catch up with our race leaders, Jeff and Kevin. We just saw a road runner. We've heard coyotes, but not seen any. Last night we saw lots of jackrabbits. They were wascally.

Last night we took the lead. Don't ask me where -- nobody saw Robic anywhere and we think he was off sleeping somewhere. It would have been cool to have some kind of Lance / Jan moment where the big European looks back as the plucky American pulls past him, music swelling in the background as we all swoon in jingoistic pride. It's not the same when Jan is parked off the road in an RV catching some ZZZs.

After Jeff came off shift we had a minor mishap with his bike sort of falling off the rack on the back. It's a long story, but basically I screwed up and didn't clamp the fork down. At first we thought we had just scraped a bunch of the edge off the handlebars, but when Jeff tried to ride it during his next shift we found that there was also a problem with his chainring and/or bottom bracket. He is riding the other bike, but prefers the previous one due to the longer crank arms. We hope to get this fixed one way or another today.

Robert Hendry, from Plains, KS, 13:12 race time.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Who hit the brakes?

2008-06-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

Jeff is about to finish a four-hour session that pitted him against a 20-mph headwind. His top speed during this: 15. He will have advanced us about 35 miles.

The irony is that this same wind was the tailwind that helped Kevin cover the previous 75 miles during his four-hour session. The wind literally clocked around in the last 10 minutes of his shift.

Speaking of which, just outside Clayton Kevin had a strange encounter. He was cruising along when he came upon and startled an antelope. (This is where they, and the deer, play, if you didn't know.) So, anyhow, the antelope starts running along, pacing Kevin. Kevin starts to sprint, and the antelope picks it up to keep pace. Then, the antelope starts to come over on Kevin, when a jackrabbit from the other side of the road starts into the race. Finally, the other animals give up and Kevin rides on, alone again.

The animals have been onto Kevin anyhow. Yesterday two big crows were fighting flying next to him when one caroomed off, missing Kevin's nose by inches. Weird.

Robert Hendry, near Elkhart, KS (time station 22)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Jure thru Clayton, KS

2008-06-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

Jeff, Mary, and I are about 30 miles ahead of Kevin and them in Clayton. Jure Robic just went thru.

Robert Hendry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Jeff in Eagle's Nest

2008-06-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Jeff is waiting for Kevin in Eagle's Nest, 23 miles before time staion 19 in Cimarron, NM. Jure Robic went thru about 30 minutes ago. Jeff said it's like racing a marathon where somebody got 23 miles ahead of you.

Robert Hendry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Terminator vs RAAMinator

2008-06-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

We just crossed the Rio Grande, where they have traffic stopped to film parts of Terminator 4. Lots of post-apocalypse cars covered in dirt along the road, but no Ah-nuld. The river below looks gorgeous.

Jeff and Kevin went thru time station 19 at 11:46 race time. We plan to catch up with them and take over supporting them around 4 pm race time. When we do, I can try to blog more about what's going on with them and give more immediate information, but when we're supporting the rider we tend to be very busy supporting the rider. Also, cellular coverage out here is not quite up to downtown Nashville levels. The best times to blog end up being when we're racing 200 miles to get ahead of the riders and go on-shift, in the rare spots that we are near a town.

Robert Hendry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Chama, NM

2008-06-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

Jeff got here about 2:30 am local time, after a tough 6+ hour pull that took us over the continental divide. Our highest elevation was more than 8000 feet.

It was very windy and a little cold on top. Jeff, of course, took it all in his usual stride, with humor and class. We in his crew have come to better appreciate and respect the kind of extraordinary person that he is.

Here's an example from Monday night: It was very cold in the wee hours coming thru the desert towards Monument Valley. Jeff put on arm warmers, then a vest, then tights, then his jacket, then more socks and ear covers. At one point, he says," It's cold, but it's a dry cold."

Robert Hendry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mancos, CO and Jeff

2008-06-11T04:47:00.000-07:00

We're not sure exactly where they are right now. But...

The route will take them through the town of Mancos, CO which is about halfway between Cortez and Durango, was founded by Jeff’s great-uncle, George Bauer, in the 1890s. His home, on 100 Bauer Ave., is now the Bauer Home Bed and Breakfast. Bauer Lake is a beautiful lake about 3 miles north of Mancos, known for its dramatic setting and great trout fishing. Jeff’s father John is also a native of Mancos. His mother Clare is from Tennessee, but she spent several summers in Mancos visiting her Aunt, and she met John there at a dance.
(Thanks for the info David! Hey, if we don't get crew updates, we start finding stuff for the BLOG!)

UPDATE: Robert Hendry says they're through there, but he suggested that they turn around to go check it out.

Rupp is OK

2008-06-10T17:17:00.001-07:00

Broken finger and road rash, but carrying on.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Richard Rupp out

2008-06-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

62-year-old Rupp crashed on the descent into Durango, just in front of Kevin. He started early, as the only 60+ starter.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

No country for old men

2008-06-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

Don, Doyce, Allen, Mary and I are thru time station 12, Montezuma Creek, heading to meet up with the riders and other crew in Durango, CO. We've passed two other RAAM racers and a loaded tourist with panniers. He was from Australia and asked to borrow air conditioning.

We've been seeing oil rigs out here. There will be blood.

Robert Hendry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Monument Valley (now)

2008-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Don, Doyce, Allen, Mary, and I have just entered Monument Valley. We stayed last night just 12 miles short of the Kayenta time station, at the Anasazi Inn. Don, Mary and I got there with Jeff just as the sun was coming up, and Kevin took over.

Yesterday we went thru Sedona and Red Rock Canyon, followed by Flagstaff. Allen says Sedona is the most beautiful place he's ever seen. "It seemed to be cut right into the cliffs, and all the buildings blended with the cliffs," he said.

Both riders are doing great. Kevin got to ride thru this valley as the sun was coming up, and I'm sure he loved that. Everyone is in good spirits. We're in second place, behind Jure Robic.

Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008.

Joshua

2008-06-10T10:44:00.001-07:00

Jeff rode thru here. Very windy and hard to follow him. But beautiful. We all decided we need to come back here and do a bicycle tour thru the region at a more sedate pace.

Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008.

Mary in desert time station, Brawley

2008-06-10T10:41:00.001-07:00

The volunteers gave us home-grown grapefruit. "The juiciest grapefruit I ever had, by far," says Doyce.

Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008.

Jeff descending Sunday to Borrego Springs

2008-06-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008.

Some Pictures of Kevin

2008-06-10T04:50:00.001-07:00

Not sure where the pictures came from (David B), or where or when they were taken. Pat

Don't stop pedaling!!!!

2008-06-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

The boys will be passing near Goulding, UT. Hwy 163 is where the famous scene where Forrest Gump stopped running. It's halfway between checkpoint 10 and 11.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/225288

I-40

2008-06-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Just saw a sign for I-40. We could get on that and go almost straight home. Sigh.

About to cross I-75 on US 89A

2008-06-09T18:51:00.001-07:00

It's been a tough day for the boys. The desert, the climbs, more desert, and another set of long climbs ... But they have persevered and are sort of in 6th place.

After a cooler start to the day, Kevin took a very long pull up the Yarnell Grade that left him feeling a little beat. Jeff rode for two hours, then, suffering as the day got even warmer. By then, Kevin was almost as good as new, and the two swapped off one-hour sessions as the day wore on.

As they climbed out of the desert the heat thankfully abated with the elevation and longer shadows. It's now down to 82 here on the edge of Flagstaff, AZ.

Robert

Leaving Blythe

2008-06-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

We got in to Blythe just after midnight local time, heading right to the Days Inn just past time station #3. Mary drove while I napped and Jeff tried to nap. Jeff immediately took a shower and went to bed ... I think. I was asleep before he turned in, and slept thru his leaving three hours later when Kevin came in.

We've all had breakfast, now, and checked out of the hotel. Don, Mary, and I got groceries at Albertson's and we are now off to catch up with the riders.

No updates...

2008-06-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

Pat here. I haven't gotten an update on exactly where they are today. But, I think they're somewhere around Phoenix, AZ - still out in the desert. Maybe we'll get an exact position today. No news is good news I hope.

Here is a mileage sheet for the time checks. The estimated times are irrelevant, since they're riding a different pace than solo or normal teams.

Jeff and Kevin swap

2008-06-08T23:32:00.001-07:00

Jeff is back in the van about 38 miles past time station 2. Kevin is riding. Everyone is a little sleepy, but doing well.

Waiting for Kevin

2008-06-08T19:27:00.001-07:00

We moved up the road and are ready to put Jeff out. Sunset is about 45 minutes out.

Kevin says "No, thanks"

2008-06-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

... And he's off to ride another hour.

Blu-In Park

2008-06-08T18:58:00.001-07:00

We moved up just over 15 miles to a little shop here. When Jeff comes in we'll exchange.

Borrego Springs

2008-06-08T17:55:00.001-07:00

Jeff just finished a very long downhill and went thru Borrego Springs. We sprayed him down and checked his fuel, but he's good. We will hook up with Kevin for a swap in about 30 minutes. Mary says it is 96 degrees.

Passed John Schlitter

2008-06-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

Jeff has passed John, who is doing solo RAAM on a recumbent. Jeff wants a cough drop.

Thru Time Station 1

2008-06-08T17:07:00.001-07:00

The race is on!

Kevin left Oceanside with a slew of other folks at high noon. While he then rode thru the hot afternoon, Jeff, Mary, and I drove the RAAMinator to the Hertz office to try to add me to the insurance on the roaming white van. They were closed on Sunday, however, so we started following the route RAAM gave us to get out of town and to the route.

Which was apparently the wrong way to go. Looking at the route sheet they gave us our interpretation of it was that we would get to the route 32 miles in. As we churned our way around this twisty route we started wondering: why must we go 92 miles to get to this point? At first I thought it was because they would be highway miles and the riders were supposed to be on a trail for a part of the route. But the road we were on was a twisty one-lane mountain road. Maybe they had us going this way for the scenery, I then surmised.

About this time my cel phone rings. It's the other folks wondering where the heck we are. We tell them and, after much consternation and dropped calls, it is made clear to us that we were off-route.

Quickly we come about and make our way back up the winding road, down another, and get to Lake Henshaw about 3:30 local time. We get Jeff's bike down and everything set up for him to ride, and about 10 minutes later Ellen, Brenda, Gary, David, and Chris come in. They tell us Kevin is about five miles back and that it's hot.

About 10 minutes after that, Don, Doyce and Allen in Kevin's support van comes in, followed a couple of minutes later by Kevin. Jeff starts off as Kevin rolls in, and we start cooling Kevin off. We give him a root beer, a tube sock full of ice for his neck, and an ice cream bar. He was starting to get comfortable when we left to start following Jeff.

While I've been writing this we've leapfrogged Jeff twice. It's hot, but he's doing okay.

Robert

interviews

2008-06-08T06:45:00.001-07:00

Looks like the results of Danny Chew's interview are here:

http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/wordpress/?p=284

There was another interview by a RAAM official afterwards. Mostly
just basic questions about our gear and the ubiquitous "Why fixed?".

--
Jeff Bauer
I want some JUNK food. Then I want to be ALONE.

post-inspection

2008-06-08T06:41:00.001-07:00

We went to vehicle check out late this morning and all the vehicles
(vans and bicycles) got the green light from the RAAM officials. The
officials were very organized and straight-forward; they have this
stuff down!

After check-out, Jeff and Kevin had a RAAM interview -- we guess for
press releases or articles. They then took the bikes for a quick spin
to loosen up their legs and make sure all was well with the rides. The
rest of us hung out in the parking lot, napped, read, and did
"official" stuff.

All together again, we walked a couple of blocks to a little Italian
restaurant and had a late lunch/early dinner, followed by a quick
final briefing. With everyone now informed and fed, we then hit the
grocery store for final supplies and returned to the hotel. And that's
where we are now.

Most of us are planning on an early night to try to cache some sleep,
since it will be in short supply soon. I've uploaded pictures of
everything -- enjoy!

--
Robert Hendry

pre-inspection

2008-06-08T06:38:00.001-07:00

We're about to go back to RAAM headquarters for vehicle inspection and
final folderol. We've got all the signs on the support vehicles and
everything is about set up and ready. The bikes are lubed and seem
ready, but Jeff and Kevin will do a test ride/leg warm-up this
afternoon to make sure.

Garret and Ed are leaving for the airport too. There's a picture of
them with the tricked-out RAAMinator, and of both rider support
vehicles with everything on. I'll post to the blog when we finish
there.

--
Robert Hendry

rider's meeting

2008-06-06T22:44:00.001-07:00

After Don collected all the crew members at the airport (except for Chris and David), we rode out to our motel. After checking in, we stopped at an In-N-Out Burger place. I've heard about In-N-Out from people who love them and insisted we stop there for a late lunch before attending the mandatory riders' meeting. It was good food at an inexpensive price.

Ed and Garrett dropped off the van. I was glad to see it arrive in good condition and I'm thankful they provided us with invaluable assistance. Tomorrow they fly back to Nashville.

Our rider's meeting was pretty low key. There was some embarrassment since we forgot to bring our postcard (which was a test to ensure we'd read through all the RAAM rules). The meeting covered some of the route where we can expect to see new road construction. Also some discussion about the most common rider/crew infractions that can result in a time penalty.

Afterwards we went back to the motel and put up all the mandatory signage on the three vehicles. Quite a job, even with ten people working on it. We didn't finish until after dark. Everybody's in a good mood. We're all excited about the race to come.

--
Jeff Bauer
I want some JUNK food. Then I want to be ALONE.

Parking lot fun

2008-06-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

We're hanging out in the parking lot at the airport waiting for Brenda and Gary. There's Ellen, Allen, Mary, Kevin, Doyce, Don, Jeff, and me. Folks are barracuda-ing around the lot in search of a spot. I think we could sell ours for a couple of bucks. A lady smacked into an illegally parked car backing out of her space.

Awesome fun.

In San Diego

2008-06-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I just landed. Calm flight, but full. The desert below looked hot - hopefully it will not be too bad for Jeff and Kevin on Monday.

Robert A. Hendry

RAAMinator Day 4

2008-06-06T09:47:00.001-07:00

RAAMinator Day 4

Snakes: 1
Lizards: 1
Short Men Freaking the Hell Out Over a Snake: 1
Skinned body parts from bouldering in Joshua Tree: 5
Trips Over the London Bridge (yes the REAL London Bridge): 4
Walking in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper: Priceless

RAAMintor day 4 saw another busy and incredible day for the humble RAAMinator crew. We started the day by running for one hour in Lake Havasu, AZ. A developer and chainsaw King, something-or-other McCollough, purchased the London Bridge and moved it to Lake Havasu, AZ in 1971. It was super weird walking over it at night knowing it's history. We found a carving from 1945 etched by a WW II veteran. There seemed to be a designation for the 1st Airborne Division or the Big Red 1.

We then motored to Joshua Tree National Forest and climbed boulders at two separate locations in the park. Crew member Smoothie King Ed recalled having his honeymoon at Joshua Tree. He tried to make Asher wear a long b runette wig and ballet tights in an effort to relive the memory, but Garrett was no fun.

Believe it of not, we were still not done. The Humble crew then RAAMinated into Burbank and toured Hollyweird Blvd. It was there that Asher decided he was indeed found of wigs and tights.

Peace, Love, and Understanding,

The Humble RAAMinator Crew,

Garrett & Ed

BNA

2008-06-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I are at the gate in Nashville, waiting for our 9 am flight to San Diego. I am in line at Starbuck's; Jeff is getting something to eat at Burger King.

I hate airports. It's like the bar in Mos Eisley from Star Wars, but without the band. In Nashville, though, everyone's carrying a guitar case. I've been bumped by two so far. They also have ugly pink cowboy hats that they bought downtown.

More when we land.

Robert A. Hendry

Concern?

2008-06-04T22:57:00.001-07:00

Who me concerned? No just wished I had a bike with me. Just hiking shoes, but that will do. I'm already in CA. Took me only 2 days to get here. Didn't see any dead animals I guess I was driving to fast. This is going to be GREAT!!!

Don

Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.

RAAMinator Day 3

2008-06-04T20:23:00.001-07:00

RAAMinator Day 3

Lake Havasu AZ
Temp: 91 degrees
Wind: 20-30 with gusts to 50 mph out of the west

Stupidily wonderful mountain climbs on bike: 1
Native Americans: 1,000
Tee-Pees: 15
Killer Italian: 1
Joshua Trees: 50
Wal-Marts to make Asher crabby: 0

Day 3 again saw the humble RAAMinator crew crossing this beautiful land of ours. The day started with a road climb up Mt. Taylor. Asher was the surprise performance of the day, nearly keeping pace up the 6-9% 12 mile long climb at altitude. The ride was lead out by a coyote and two does. Fortunately for Team McClarty, Asher is a cautious descender, which allowed Ed to make a getaway and avoid humiliation. The journey to Lake Havasu was unremarkable other than a call from Don, who seemed concerned after reading the blog entires and deciding that perhaps we were having too much fun. He seemed someone concerned about our ability to arrive on schedule, but we assured him that all was under control. He seemed reassured.

Peace and Love from the Humble RAAMinator crew

Garret & Ed

RAAMinator Day 2

2008-06-03T19:02:00.001-07:00

RAAMinator Day 2

Grants, NM 92.1 degrees winds west southwest at 30-40 knots.

Altitude: 6550 ft.
Altitude climbing tomorrow Mt Taylor on bike prior to driving: 8214 ft.
Armadillo Roadkill: 4
Windmills: too many to count (buy ticker symbol OC for you stock traders)
Bad Attitudes: 1/8 (Asher gets moody when he's shopping at WalMart.)
Awesome Days: 2
Stallion Getting a Piece of Filly in West Texas: 1
Guys actually wearing spurs as part of there daily dress: 2

Day 2 was again an epic ride in the RAAMinator. We stopped on route 66 and checked out some ghost town type shops and cafes. We caught a glimpse of a stallion doing his groove thang aside the interstate. We were surprised by the number of actual cowboys wearing ten gallon hats and spurs. We are girly men from the city. These guys are the REAL men of this planet, other than of course our brave men fighting oversees. Albuquerque is a nice city. We stopped for S tarbucks drove through downtown. The RAAMinator gets a lot of respect.

Grants NM is a Uranium mining town inhabited by Native American peoples. We ate supper at a local Mexican hangout and we were two of the only four Angelo persons in the place. The people here at pure Native Americans in the tradition that one might expect in appearance and persona. It has been a cool experience. Anyway, tomorrow we climb Mt. Taylor at the crack of dawn and then head west to California.

Peace and Love from the Humble RAAMinator Crew

Garrett & Ed

Pimped out RAAMinator

2008-06-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

Garrett Asher, wearing our official Gran Fondo crew team T-shirt,
stands next to Robert Hendry's van. During the race, the bikes will
be carried outside -- either on the roof top or the bumper rack.

--
Jeff Bauer
Days to RAAM: 5
http://www.kaisercycling.com

Trying it out

2008-06-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

I'm in the rental van headed towards CA. Should be there by Tuesday or Wed. I stopped at my Mom's on the way out and stayed there 2 days. I'll post more later about trip!!

Don

Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.

RAAMINATOR REPORT: DAY 1

2008-06-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

Writing from beautiful Weatherford, OK. Temp 91 degrees, wind south at
30 knots sustained!!

Armadillos roadkill: 8
Crop Dusters: 4
Windmills: 30
Awesome ribeyes at the stockyards in Oklahoma City: 2
Bad Attitudes: 0
Awesome Days: 1

We covered 740 miles on Day 1. Perfect weather. The RAAMinator hummed
like $10.00 Kazoo. We noted 4 roadkill Armadillos in TN, none in AR,
and then 4 more in OK. We mused as to why the lack of Armadillo roadkill
in AR. Asher was clever enough to deduce that the residents of AR
perhaps collect such specimens as a delicacy. Other than such musings,
we found one another's company and the majesty of this great country of
ours sufficient to entertain us for the 12 hours on the road. We are
bunked down in the Comfort Inn in Weatherford, OK and fired up for Day 2
which should see us enter the mountains west of Albuquerque. Ed is
looking forward to hopping on his bike and climbing to the 11,000 ft.
peaks near Gallup.

Peace Out,

Your Humble RAAMinator Crew - Garrett & Ed

Doyce's Dodge Caravan

2008-06-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

Doyce and Alan left in the Dodge Caravan Friday morning. I hope we didn't forget to pack anything important.
Underneath the bed are 3 levels of storage compartments, holding everything including tools, clothing, food, towels, spare parts, etc. On the back side I have some cold weather clothing, raingear, spare flashing lights, cameras, and room to spare. Behind the rear seat we have room for the crew's gear, and I'm carrying a garden sprayer so I can be hosed off frequently in the desert. Up front, we have more storage compartments, a laptop holder for the navigator (the laptop will be GPS enabled), and a PA system for communication. We have a roof rack that holds up to three bikes with front wheels attached, and we'll have two spare wheels on top as well.

Doyce and Alan are currently taking a tour of the Hoover Dam. Just in case you're interested, there's enough concrete in the Hoover Dam to build a 3 inch X 3 foot sidewalk all the way around the world. Anyhow, Doyce sounded quite winded while they were hiking around the dam. All I could think of is poor Alan. If Doyce is winded, then Alan must really be suffering. Tomorrow they'll be taking a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon.
Kevin

Countdown: 6 days

2008-06-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

It's Monday morning, just 6 days before the race. Our
three crew vehicles have departed, the RAAMinator left
this morning, driven by Garrett Asher and Ed McClarty.
Robert Hendry should be posting some photos of the RAAMinator
shortly.

Yesterday, we had a 55-mile Gran Fondo Fixies send-off ride.
About two dozen people showed up, but the early rain sent
some of them home. Steve Carr brought out bagels (compliments
of Lynn Greer) and his espresso machine. No caffeine for me,
however. I'd like to thank at number of people who showed
up just to send us off, including Bill Glass, Hally Walton,
and Vida Greer. We appreciate your support! Crew mate Robert
Hendry came out to ride, along with Tennessee ancien's Jeff
Sammons and Peter Lee.

Robert and I plan to leave Nashville on Friday morning. We'll
regroup with the team in San Diego where all our vehicles and
gear await us.

--
Jeff Bauer
Days to RAAM: 6
http://www.kaisercycling.com

Gran Fondo Fixies

2008-03-26T06:06:00.001-07:00

Kevin Kaiser, Jeff Bauer and the crew of the Gran Fondo
Fixies will attempt to live blog our RAAM attempt as well
as our earlier double Heart of the South (1000+ miles)
crew training ride.