Enough Said...we are ready!A month from now..meaning June 24th..we can expect to be in Missouri heading east. After the long stretch through Kansas we will be tired, weary, anxious, feisty, checking teams, bridging gaps, nursing sores, eating whatever we can, checking sanity, ready to finish, ready to win, smelling ripe, able to sleep on a moments notice, unable to sleep at all, thanking the crew, cursing the bike seat, lathering up on sunscreen, praising the Lord for Chamois butter...the endless cycles of this routine will continue until Maryland.
If you are like me, I was not able to sleep all that much when the 07 team was on the road...the same thing happened last year. I would find myself wondering, as I stared at the ceiling at 3am..." I wonder where they are now?" With these thoughts I would refresh the map and and check updates and realize that either Bernie was just getting done or Tim was still hammering away or Amy was dealing with weather...and so on. I hope you get sleep but really, I hope you are up late praying for us. Be it solo or team - this is an effort. I applaud the soloists as well as the teams...just to get this going is a race and an epic adventure.
Many have asked - how do we do this? How do we plan this out? How many miles do you ride? Do you ride all night? I can answer some of these - tactics are best kept under wraps but in short....the race is 3012 miles. For the soloists...they race them ALL usually riding about 21 hours a day at least. OUCH! Our four-man team - which has TWO soloists from years past - will each complete about 753 miles in about 6 days. That is a lot of miles. Oh and yes, we have a bike going forward 24hrs a day...yes even at 3am.
Also asked...are you ready Andy? I think that is best answered in MD but I would have to say YES with a fist pump to boot. Physically I feel as ready as I can be and getting better each day. I will depend upon those that have gone before me to instruct on various things but I have to say that physically and mentally I am ready to put the pedals down to close up some miles. Geez, I make it sound like it will be a breeze...it wont but it will be fun.
The difference with the teams is that we will be racing at a faster pace than a soloist and trying to maintain that pace over 3012 miles is the trick...steadfast focus is the key - not to mention nutrition, rest.... Team Strong Heart 09 is ready to embark and ready to make this trip.
Follow us - cheer for us - yell at us to pick up the pace and welcome us home...
So whether you are in Iraq (love you Paul), resting with a beverage in MN, looking for dad on video clips while in New Hampshire, watching from the fire station in CO, checking the blog/site from the ATS offices (not during work hours of course), killing time in Stillwater or behind us in a follow vehicle... cheer for us and cheer for Camp Odayin...they are the reason we are doing this.
Head Honcho
If you are like me, I was not able to sleep all that much when the 07 team was on the road...the same thing happened last year. I would find myself wondering, as I stared at the ceiling at 3am..." I wonder where they are now?" With these thoughts I would refresh the map and and check updates and realize that either Bernie was just getting done or Tim was still hammering away or Amy was dealing with weather...and so on. I hope you get sleep but really, I hope you are up late praying for us. Be it solo or team - this is an effort. I applaud the soloists as well as the teams...just to get this going is a race and an epic adventure.
Many have asked - how do we do this? How do we plan this out? How many miles do you ride? Do you ride all night? I can answer some of these - tactics are best kept under wraps but in short....the race is 3012 miles. For the soloists...they race them ALL usually riding about 21 hours a day at least. OUCH! Our four-man team - which has TWO soloists from years past - will each complete about 753 miles in about 6 days. That is a lot of miles. Oh and yes, we have a bike going forward 24hrs a day...yes even at 3am.
Also asked...are you ready Andy? I think that is best answered in MD but I would have to say YES with a fist pump to boot. Physically I feel as ready as I can be and getting better each day. I will depend upon those that have gone before me to instruct on various things but I have to say that physically and mentally I am ready to put the pedals down to close up some miles. Geez, I make it sound like it will be a breeze...it wont but it will be fun.
The difference with the teams is that we will be racing at a faster pace than a soloist and trying to maintain that pace over 3012 miles is the trick...steadfast focus is the key - not to mention nutrition, rest.... Team Strong Heart 09 is ready to embark and ready to make this trip.
Follow us - cheer for us - yell at us to pick up the pace and welcome us home...
So whether you are in Iraq (love you Paul), resting with a beverage in MN, looking for dad on video clips while in New Hampshire, watching from the fire station in CO, checking the blog/site from the ATS offices (not during work hours of course), killing time in Stillwater or behind us in a follow vehicle... cheer for us and cheer for Camp Odayin...they are the reason we are doing this.
Head Honcho
2 comments:
I'm a fairly new cyclist (less than a year), but have recently done a multi-day ride (6 day - 600 miles) that has further perked my interest in doing another next year (maybe a RAAM qualifiying event) and see what happens. I will check on your blog regularly as I like your writing style and am interested to hear about what this event is really like. I wish you all a safe and great ride.
That is amazing! you have a gift for the endurance racing. you may want to - if you have not already - check out the UMCA website for events. Thank you for your support - we are ready, nervous etc...you get the idea. Keep the rubber side down!
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