Tuesday, June 17, 2008

and the race goes on...

So yesterday was a hit for Tim having his parents show up in Effingham. He was really surprised. I know it gave him deep motivation, but more importantly calmed them of their fears of what may be going on. Tim's parents are such amazing people, and to drive 4 hours just to see thier son for 10 minutes shows their dedication to his dream.

Last night Tim road strong into the early morning when he went down for a short sleep in the truck. In the mean time, Gordon and I drove ahead with hope of getting some sleep. On the way we got a phone call that Tim was expressing boredom. We immediately pulled off to a McDonalds for some Wifi, and downloaded some audiobooks and podcast of his favorite comedian Brian Regan. He really loved it. Unfortunately as Gordon and I thought we were being prodctive towards our sleep location, we realized that we made a wrong turn somewhere, and were lost. This became so frustrating as every moment for sleep is prescious, and now we were wasting this opportunity by trying to get back where we needed to meet Tim and the crew. After some amazing GPS and map reading skills by Gordon, who at the same time was trying to calm my frustrations we made it back. It was shift change and we dozed for 2 hours until we were off again.

Tim got back on the road at 4 a.m and was looking strong. Our new sleep plan seems to be working, He isn't getting double vision, or going in this weird mental state as he was before. On the other hand, Gordon and I were in oversleep heaven, and thats when the giggles came out. It didn't matter what was said, and giggle away. This was when I opted to try my first redbull, and WOW that stuff works.

Tim rode hard, and made it to Bloomington,Indiana by mid morning, which he was excited about. He took a short nap, we switched crew, and he was on his way towards Ohio. Gordon and I moved ahead to try and get sleep as usual. We drove 150 miles forward with a great game plan for the team and of course there was no hotels. So in a pinch we back tracked on the route and found this true dive of a place that after checking in we immdeiately checked out due to the horrid smell and conditions. Once again we just couldn't find a moment to sleep. We have now moved much more forward on the route so we can rest and be preparred for Tim soon.

Today he and Ryan Corry road together for a little bit going towards time station 40. I haven't talked to Tim personally about it, but it sounds like there might a little motivation in the air for each of the riders.

For me I am feeling a little emotional challenges as I watch Tim push the pedals. I see his struggles, his gains, his pain, and his push, and it all amazes me. I have moments where I can't understand why someone would push their body to thse limits, and then I have other moments where I just can't stop watching his beautiful style and grace on the bike, and amazing drive that inspires me in too many ways to describe.

We only have a little over 500 miles to go, and I am confident Tim will make it. It is just up to him what the game plan will be. His crew will be behind him every step of the way!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So I've been following Tim's progress via this site as well as the RAAM site and think he's doing awesome!!

I met Tim last year while I was on the Team Donate Life - Primo team (8 person team). We had battled Team Strong Heart from the beginning and ended up beating them by I think 3 minutes overall...but we were an 8 man team compared to their 4 man team.

Anyway, I remember riding through West Virginia battling the five or six huge passes and saw Tim out there just hammering the hills. After those hills, we chatted a little bit and he said that he was hitting over 65mph down some of the hills...and was riding a 11x21 cassette...what a monster!!

Just wanted to say that he's an inspiration and we're all rooting for him.

Team Primo is going to be back in 2010 as a 4 man team...can't even begin to imagine how hard solo RAAM must be.

Good luck Tim...way to go!!!!

Eric Chebi
echebi@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Driving 8 hours in the car to and from Effingham is nothing compared to what Tim and crew is doing.

His mom and I keep asking if he'll do it again or will this get it out of his system? Stay tuned, you never know with him. Expect the unexpected is what I say.

Tim's mom always tells him that she's out there with him pushing him along just like when he was learning to ride his bike as a child.

GO SPEED RACER GO!!!

Mom & Dad Case

"I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it."
Gale Sayers