Monday, June 16, 2008
Pictures from RAAM
Interesting day for the team. Lots of detours and changes. They are starting to feel the ride but I reminded them that they will smell the barn soon. When you get close to the end you start to speed up. They are almost there!
The Pins
If you look at the profile of this time station you can see why I call it "The Pins." This was the hardest part of RAAM for me. Tim is through it and now can simply ride for a while and the team is in it right now and seem to be doing great. They have extended their gap and look to be moving right along. The crews are doing a great job at keeping the riders' heads in the game. The crew is critical and they are doing a great job! Keep it up!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A new day...
Ok, so the truth behind my title is I don't really know what day it is. hehe...
I just arrived to a hotl room in Washington, Missouri where Gordon (crew member) and I are going to take a 3 hour nap before Tim arrives. Things were supposed to go smoothly. We were going to drive ahead and get rest after a long day prior with chopped non-quality sleep, and Tim and the rest of the crew would do shift change later. Welllllll, not quite said mother nature. A HUGE storm rolled into the area right as Tim was pedaing towards Time station 32. I was already 50 miles ahead when I got the call that we have his rain gear. Well, so much for that rest. It was rush, rush, rush back to met Tim and the crew. We came up with a quick game plan around the storm which unfortunately slowed us down a little, but was invitable due to Tim's safety. It wasn't much time later and a little prayer was answered as the storm moved south, and the route moved east. Tim road through only 16 miles of downpours, and then the sun and tail winds arrived :-) He is currently 40 miles away from here where he is flying through the hills....
So let me back up to yesterday and how we got to today.
Tim approached the Sedgwick Fire Station 33, and as soon as he pulled in when they were going to do this great display of lights and sounds, they OF COURSE got a call. Yes our luck. But we still hung out there, and these guys were the nicest most generous people that just really made our day! We got to give Tim a little lunch, a bathroom, shade, massage, and some chit chat in the environment he is most comfortable with for motication. Then he continued on, and Gordon and I stayed, did som wash, took ice for the coolers, and got update the blog. Thanks again to all the guys at Station 33!
That was a start of a day that just seemed perfct. Tim was cruising, and told us this was the best day he was having. All saddl e sore pain is gone with our new seat, and minimal knee pain. He said he just couldn't believe how smooth things were going, and how strong he feels. We pounded through 280 miles by the end of the day, and unfortunately had a little mishap that was a very close call. Once Tim starts to get into extreme tiredness he becomes real foggy, and we have to watch him closely. We were doing a bottle hand off and as he went to ride away from the vehicle, he lost balance on the ruts along the line of the road and his bike got stuck under the wheel rim of the vehicle. I truley thought it was all over. BUT...once again it wasn't. We took him to a hotel where Eric (crew cheif) was sleeping, and he took care of everything. His bike was fine, but a defenite scare, and a yucky way to end an almost perfect day.
This morning was tough as Tim was very groggy and slow to wake up. A bit irritable, but always kind to us. However an hour later he showed his strength and told us wants to make it to the Mississippi River by the evening.
Tim amazes us every minute of the day. I truley don't know how he just pedals that bike non-stop for hours on and the way he does. This morning when in his waking up, cranky state he asked me why he's doing this, and I reminded him how through this experince he will always know his amazing abilities to be a fighter, and a surviver for any challenge in his life.
Oh, and don't let me forget. So yesterday afternoon, as Tim was powering through Kansas he tells us how he is having hallucinations, and tried to show us the cartoon animals in in the road. Yah that was when we put his sleep plan together.
Speaking of sleep, I think its time for that.
See ya on the other side of the Mississippi next time we speak!
I just arrived to a hotl room in Washington, Missouri where Gordon (crew member) and I are going to take a 3 hour nap before Tim arrives. Things were supposed to go smoothly. We were going to drive ahead and get rest after a long day prior with chopped non-quality sleep, and Tim and the rest of the crew would do shift change later. Welllllll, not quite said mother nature. A HUGE storm rolled into the area right as Tim was pedaing towards Time station 32. I was already 50 miles ahead when I got the call that we have his rain gear. Well, so much for that rest. It was rush, rush, rush back to met Tim and the crew. We came up with a quick game plan around the storm which unfortunately slowed us down a little, but was invitable due to Tim's safety. It wasn't much time later and a little prayer was answered as the storm moved south, and the route moved east. Tim road through only 16 miles of downpours, and then the sun and tail winds arrived :-) He is currently 40 miles away from here where he is flying through the hills....
So let me back up to yesterday and how we got to today.
Tim approached the Sedgwick Fire Station 33, and as soon as he pulled in when they were going to do this great display of lights and sounds, they OF COURSE got a call. Yes our luck. But we still hung out there, and these guys were the nicest most generous people that just really made our day! We got to give Tim a little lunch, a bathroom, shade, massage, and some chit chat in the environment he is most comfortable with for motication. Then he continued on, and Gordon and I stayed, did som wash, took ice for the coolers, and got update the blog. Thanks again to all the guys at Station 33!
That was a start of a day that just seemed perfct. Tim was cruising, and told us this was the best day he was having. All saddl e sore pain is gone with our new seat, and minimal knee pain. He said he just couldn't believe how smooth things were going, and how strong he feels. We pounded through 280 miles by the end of the day, and unfortunately had a little mishap that was a very close call. Once Tim starts to get into extreme tiredness he becomes real foggy, and we have to watch him closely. We were doing a bottle hand off and as he went to ride away from the vehicle, he lost balance on the ruts along the line of the road and his bike got stuck under the wheel rim of the vehicle. I truley thought it was all over. BUT...once again it wasn't. We took him to a hotel where Eric (crew cheif) was sleeping, and he took care of everything. His bike was fine, but a defenite scare, and a yucky way to end an almost perfect day.
This morning was tough as Tim was very groggy and slow to wake up. A bit irritable, but always kind to us. However an hour later he showed his strength and told us wants to make it to the Mississippi River by the evening.
Tim amazes us every minute of the day. I truley don't know how he just pedals that bike non-stop for hours on and the way he does. This morning when in his waking up, cranky state he asked me why he's doing this, and I reminded him how through this experince he will always know his amazing abilities to be a fighter, and a surviver for any challenge in his life.
Oh, and don't let me forget. So yesterday afternoon, as Tim was powering through Kansas he tells us how he is having hallucinations, and tried to show us the cartoon animals in in the road. Yah that was when we put his sleep plan together.
Speaking of sleep, I think its time for that.
See ya on the other side of the Mississippi next time we speak!
Storms?
Weather is on the minds of the Team tonight. It is off to the north but the possibility of storms is in the forecast. The team continues to motor on. They are maintaining a half hour lead over Team Theraplay. Team Cycle Smart, who Strong Heart was battling last night, has fallen back and has yet to pass time station 29. So, Team Strong Heart has a strong hold of second place. We hope that Team Cycle Smart is all right. They were battling so hard.
We have yet to hear from Tim today but he continues to impress. I talked to him on Tuesday and he was suffering; I am so impressed that he continues to roll, really it is unbelievable. Stay tuned!
The Team is Flying!
They have been closing all day and now they have it! Second place by 8 minutes! Way to go!
Hungry for the Challenge!
When asked how the riders were doing, Melinda chimed in with "I am hungry for the challenge." This was after she found out that they are closing in on second place. I asked Holly how everyone was doing and she said, "They are having a blast." Wow! I did not feel that way in MO! That is for sure! They have a very good thing going right now! Power on!
Free McDonalds!!
John got jelly biscuits in Pratt. It has become a tradition that the McDonalds will feed RAAM participants for free. As silly as it seems, I remember that the experience at McDonalds provided comfort and a reminder that we were half way home. The service was incredible!
I guess that Team Cycle Smart was exchanging the lead with John and Melinda last night. They finally fell back and now Team Strong Heart is looking at bridging up to Team Theraplay for second place! Go Team Strong Heart.
We are eager to hear from Tim and his crew this morning! Stay tuned!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Tail Winds!
Tim's bike modifications. (Picture from RAAM site.)
It is great to be back from the woods and tuned into the race!! The 4 person team is going great! The crew is good and they actually had tail winds in Kansas! Tim is in the adventure of a lifetime! What a crazy race!
This is kind of cool.
TSH in Kansas
Early Saturday morning TSH passed another group and is making great time. They have the wind at their back at this point. The crew and riders are tired but doing well.
Kenny S. Talks with Jay T
I just got off the phone with Jay. They're in NM now, he said there isn't a tree in site! All brown with rolling hills. He said his legs have never felt the way they do now. I asked him how the team was doing, he said pretty well, although Melinda is having trouble sleeping and is tired. Jay says he sleeps in the van between shifts with Amy and has no problem falling asleep in the RV. He was getting ready to saddle up and said this is quite the adventure!
Watch out... here we come!
Let me tell you, 36 hours straight turned into 48 hours straight of working beside Tim. I was a non-functioning human being, but now I have had 5 hours of sleep and a big cup of coffee.
A lot has happened since our last full update. Unfortunately, we lost two of our crewmembers. We had to make decision. Basically there was just a conflict of interest in the goals and the needs of Tim. This was for his benefit; we just allowed those crewmembers to move on.
It was kind of a mutual thing, and Tim was OK with the choice. Needless to say, we had to quickly change the course. Again.
We are down to four crewmembers, and it’s working out well.
Before I go onto the real time updates, I must tell you more about Tim’s medical issues. Tim was really struggling because these saddle sores were really bad. This was near Taos, two days ago. Because of the saddle sores, he was getting this horrid knee pain on the right. He couldn’t really do a real down struck. He had these two injuries going on, and he was in so much pain because he could only pedal three strokes and then he had to coast.
This came at the worst time. We had this amazing tail wind. Everyone was taking advantage of it, going 25 to 30 miles an hour. But because of Tim’s pain, he couldn’t.
We were close to calling it quits. We figured it was worth our time to stop and figure something out for his bike. Looking in the car, I thought, “oh my god, my massage table, the face of the table—it’s a doughnut.”
We basically put the face cradle on top of his seat saddle so we completely take all the pressure away from his saddle sore. We were all hysterical. His knee pain has almost gone away. Since then Tim has gained a ton of time. We have eliminated all medical issues.
He is starting to gain time on all the racers.
Our big adventure today was in Platt, Kan. This guy at the McDonald’s gives you what ever you want for free. He wants to support the RAAM.
It was really cute. Tim pulls in the middle of the night. He had his big sweater on. He ate. Ooh boy, he ate. He ordered two breakfast wraps and the deluxe platter with pancakes, eggs and a large OJ.
When we pulled into McDonald’s, everybody was jealous of our seat. We also put egg crates near his handlebars so he can just lay there in comfort. I’ll send pictures soon.
At the McDonald’s, we got advice on the sleeping thing from Danny, the RAAM historian. We were about to get a hotel room, and Danny asked us to take his hotel room. We all got to sleep—it was so nice and generous.
Because of the medical issues being gone, he is on the bike more during the day, so he can sleep more at night, up to 3 or 4 hours.
We are strong now. Tim is strong. We are going to get in 7 hours early of the cut off at the Mississippi River.
Tim’s whole attitude since we alleviated the pain is different. He is a racer now.
We are in this 100 percent.
He is heading toward time station 26. We are ahead of him by about two hours. He is with the crew behind us.
We just passed Sedgwick Fire Department (Tim’s a Boulder firefighter). Tim’s going to be rolling through there in two hours; they are going to roll out the engines and do a little parade for him.
That’s going to motivate him.
He is excited to show people what he can do.
That’s it for now. I’ll update you guys tomorrow.
A lot has happened since our last full update. Unfortunately, we lost two of our crewmembers. We had to make decision. Basically there was just a conflict of interest in the goals and the needs of Tim. This was for his benefit; we just allowed those crewmembers to move on.
It was kind of a mutual thing, and Tim was OK with the choice. Needless to say, we had to quickly change the course. Again.
We are down to four crewmembers, and it’s working out well.
Before I go onto the real time updates, I must tell you more about Tim’s medical issues. Tim was really struggling because these saddle sores were really bad. This was near Taos, two days ago. Because of the saddle sores, he was getting this horrid knee pain on the right. He couldn’t really do a real down struck. He had these two injuries going on, and he was in so much pain because he could only pedal three strokes and then he had to coast.
This came at the worst time. We had this amazing tail wind. Everyone was taking advantage of it, going 25 to 30 miles an hour. But because of Tim’s pain, he couldn’t.
We were close to calling it quits. We figured it was worth our time to stop and figure something out for his bike. Looking in the car, I thought, “oh my god, my massage table, the face of the table—it’s a doughnut.”
We basically put the face cradle on top of his seat saddle so we completely take all the pressure away from his saddle sore. We were all hysterical. His knee pain has almost gone away. Since then Tim has gained a ton of time. We have eliminated all medical issues.
He is starting to gain time on all the racers.
Our big adventure today was in Platt, Kan. This guy at the McDonald’s gives you what ever you want for free. He wants to support the RAAM.
It was really cute. Tim pulls in the middle of the night. He had his big sweater on. He ate. Ooh boy, he ate. He ordered two breakfast wraps and the deluxe platter with pancakes, eggs and a large OJ.
When we pulled into McDonald’s, everybody was jealous of our seat. We also put egg crates near his handlebars so he can just lay there in comfort. I’ll send pictures soon.
At the McDonald’s, we got advice on the sleeping thing from Danny, the RAAM historian. We were about to get a hotel room, and Danny asked us to take his hotel room. We all got to sleep—it was so nice and generous.
Because of the medical issues being gone, he is on the bike more during the day, so he can sleep more at night, up to 3 or 4 hours.
We are strong now. Tim is strong. We are going to get in 7 hours early of the cut off at the Mississippi River.
Tim’s whole attitude since we alleviated the pain is different. He is a racer now.
We are in this 100 percent.
He is heading toward time station 26. We are ahead of him by about two hours. He is with the crew behind us.
We just passed Sedgwick Fire Department (Tim’s a Boulder firefighter). Tim’s going to be rolling through there in two hours; they are going to roll out the engines and do a little parade for him.
That’s going to motivate him.
He is excited to show people what he can do.
That’s it for now. I’ll update you guys tomorrow.
Friday, June 13, 2008
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