TexOz Rider Report by Peter Wilson

2 Men, 2 bikes and 8-support crew complete RAAM2007 in 9 Days 4 Hours.

The Date is 12 Jun 2007, the Place is Oceanside Pier California, the event is the Race Across America, a 3050-mile non-stop cycle race, and the finish line is 10 days away on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City.

Team Donate Life TexOz stands ready at the start line; we wear the number 205 so we are up the front as the 2-person team numbers are all in the 200’s. The 4 and 8 person teams lining up behind.

With all the pre-race photos, well wishers and hype both Gary and I missed our call to the line but on arriving at the marshals gate we were ushered into our proper spot on the starting grid to much noise and fanfare, it was hard not to get carried away with the emotion of it all – nearly 3 years of dedicated preparation to get to this point – and no idea how the next 10 days would unravel – You cannot train for RAAM in the traditional sense like you can for a marathon. When I ran marathons it was traditional to train daily over a third of the distance with a long run of around half distance once every 3 weeks – this would be the minimum to guarantee that you at least had a chance of completing the 26 miles 385 yards to the finish line. For a 2 person RAAM team, that same strategy would have you riding 500 miles a day and once every 3 weeks riding 750 miles – Just not possible – for me anyway.

RAAM starts with a parade ride – a mixture of recreational riders, local club riders and the RAAM competitors. Gary and I both rode the Parade with Gary turning back before the Neutral Support Race Zone where I stepped up to take TexOz through to the 28 mile mark when Gary would take over and ride through to the 1st Time Station at Lake Henshaw at 55 miles. The riding was easy and very fast – a mixture of adrenalin and good riding terrain. We were into it and TexOz was looking good, really good – we held our own against the 4 and 8 person teams staying in touch and in front of some for 2 days.

We tore the 2nd time station apart, Gary was riding fast between 25 and 30 mph on the flat, I was cruising at 20 mph I had trained to ride at 15 to 18 mph but the conditions were good and I believed I was comfortable with the pace – we were on a schedule of 1 hr on 1 hr off at this stage all going according to plan.

From TS2 to TS 3 the route took us up onto the Interstate 10 (I-10) and our first taste of night riding. We were still flying.

TS3 to TS4 sees us arrive at Blythe 228 miles done only 2818 to go. It was on this leg that we tried the 1st of our sleep strategies, Gary would go to 2 hr pulls to let me sleep then I would follow with a 2-hour pull so Gary could sleep.

After I woke from my sleep, I could sense that something was wrong, everyone looked worried – in direct contrast to how everyone was when I went to sleep. Gary was in trouble and it looked serious – he was riding at 10 mph and all over the road. Off the bike he was a mess – I elected to do a long pull to let the crew sort him out and get him a decent sleep thinking, no hoping that was all he needed.

I ended up on the bike for 6 or more hours and our average speed dived to below12 mph. Riding in to Williams TS8 I was a very disheartening to see that Gary was totally wasted even after such a long time off the bike. It was explained to me that 2 things had happened, firstly Gary was dehydrated and required a drip, this was arranged and administered at Prescott – secondly Gary had red-lined his heart in the desert and his heart was fluttering- he was medicated to control his pulse – he was given permission to ride whilst on the medication but it restricted his heart beat to 90 bpm no matter what he did – he was speed limited and could produce no power – so hills were out of the question - the concept of the Texan flatlander was born.

There was real concern now that we wouldn’t make the cut-off at Cortez TS14, but I was in no mood to give up. Gary and I had often discussed our strategy should one of us become sick or damaged – in that each of us should be prepared to ride for 24 –48 hours solo, whatever it took, in the hope that the incapacitated rider could recover. So this was it – the Crew Chief crunched the numbers and said that to reach Cortez before the cut-off I would need to maintain 13 mph average. So I changed the saddle on my bike for the comfortable Gel seat I brought alone – one of 3 different saddles in my pack up – got on the bike and rode – My thoughts were in a mess – here we were struggling at the end of Day 1 – I had thought that the sort of trouble we were in would be a Day 3 or Day 4 affair – some things in life just come early. Flagstaff, Tuba City, Kayenta all went by in a blur. When the
going was flat we put Gary on the bike for short pulls so I could rest even 15 minutes off the bike was appreciated. At Kayenta TS11 Gary was very week again and needed more sleep so he was put to bed in the RV and I prepared to ride through Monument Valley to Mexican Hat. It was hot, very hot but I had on my Skins and a neck shade and the 5 weeks training in 130 degrees in the Australian Desert paid big dividends – That ride is now a cherished memory, I was so strong – there was a favourable wind – not exactly a tail wind but anything that is not a headwind in appreciated. And the scenery was – well it was Monument Valley Utah.

At Mexican Hat Gary was much recovered and ready to ride, my fear was that he would try to make up for lost time and hurt himself again but I needn’t have worried – yes he was down, he was very disappointed for himself and the team – but ride he did and although still under the affects of the medication he was riding well enough to keep us alive. Gary seemed to be able to hold a good pace for about 25 minutes so the Crew Chief ordered a 30 minute on, 30 minute off, Schedule and a 1hr 30 minute sleep break every 24 hours both of us off the bike together. I didn’t like the idea of both riders being off the road together but did as I was told. It turned out to be the magic formulae and we stuck to it for the rest of the race. It meant that neither of us developed chronic fatigue and could match each other in effort day in day out. We shuffled the pulls around a bit on the climbs as Gary could still only perform on the relatively flat – that’s if you consider there are any relatively flat areas on the RAAM route.

We hit Cortez in 53 hrs 47 min – 7 hours inside the 61 hr cut-off time.
Good, we were still in the race – Gary was still very weak, depressed and still under the influence of his medication but he was hoping that as the effects wore off his performance would improve.

Cortez was the last of the dramatics, I feel sure that the Crew Chief had many issues and that’s his story to tell, but for us riders is was just a matter of getting on the bike every 30 minutes and riding. There was even some fun stuff in there somewhere where both Gary and I were on the bikes together working turns and really enjoying the ride.

Wolf Creek Pass was memorable, Gary started the climb until he was done then I took over and destroyed the mountain – 5 weeks training at 8,0000 feet, 7 days in the Grand Canyon alone, really paid off – I also did La Veta solo – I love riding the mountains and because Gary was still below par I don’t think he minded me hogging all the climbs.

The cut off at El Dorado KS, TS28 was hit at 110 hrs 45 min – 12 hrs inside the cut-off, we were back and very safe.

Next the cut-off at Indianapolis TS40 was hit after 161 hrs 54 min, 14 hrs inside the cut-off we were improving with each day. Gary was out from under the effects of his medication and he was much more aware of his hydration and calorie requirements.

Leaving TS 50 in the dark, I was settling in to one of 4 long hard climbs, the climbing was relentless at this stage as every molehill felt like a mountain. One climb in particular was listed in the Route book as a walker, No way – I have not met the RAAM rider yet who would get of and walk – not now, not here, in site of the finish line. There was 3 Solo riders in front riding at 18 mph and swapping places at the front – these guys were in a caravan and racing hard – after 8 days of racing I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was motivated to catch them and climbing well I closed on the 3rd rider to a distance of about 20 yards – my crew called me off – I wasn’t about to pass them and establish any sort of lead – not with them traveling at 18 mph. Stay back was the order don’t interfere with the Solo race just stay back 100 yards and watch the drama unfold. What a site – rock music blasting out to the riders and a lot of tactical posturing was going on – wonderful stuff. At the top of the climb Gary took over but we wasted too much time on the changeover and lost touch on the downhill – Gary rode hard but they had descended like demons and there was no sight of them. At the next climb I took over again and clawed back some of the time but by then
the caravan had broken up – the 2 in front were disappearing fast and the 3rd guy was in sight but still going strong – as his lights disappeared over the summit – I was told – that’s it Pete there gone – settle to your own rhythm now and lets get on with the business of getting to the finish line. At once I felt lonely, we had been following those guys for over an hour and it was exciting – now it was back to 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off, eating, drinking and riding – we had a long night ahead.

It was not until we hit Pennsylvania that the true Gary came back to the team. Through Pennsylvania and into New Jersey as we approached the finish line Gary was awesome – his form on the bike was picture perfect and so strong he was cruising hitting 30 mph on the flats in an effortless rhythm that was something to behold. We were meant to be still doing 30-minute pulls, but with my agreement, and unknown to Gary (If you ever read this Gary please forgive us) the support crew started to top and tail my pulls and give Gary and extra 10 minutes. It make sense as I was working hard to average 22 mph and Gary was cruising at an average of 28mph we had to capitalize on his effort. We cruised into McDonalds at TS 56, the RV and the rest of the support crew were zooming down the freeway to meet us at the finish – or supposed to be, we learnt later that they were stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident –
at one point it looked like we would beat them to the finish – I could only imagine the stress this caused the crew after 9 days of ushering us across the country, would they miss the finish?.

Gary and I both rode the last leg to the freeway ramp to pick up the police escort – perhaps we should had rode hard as the clock was still ticking – but we were basking in the euphoria of finishing – the formalities of the finish line were for everyone else – to us riders the clock stopped on the Freeway Ramp. We both rode the escorted trip down the freeway – I found the pace very fast and had to draft the escort car – what was going on did the nice policeman think he were escorting motorcycles to the finish line. Well it made the 5 miles down the freeway a quick trip I guess, then it was onto the boardwalk, through the finish tape and up onto the podium – that was it for me – I lost contact with the real world – whatever I said or did I hope was it was appropriate. I remember none of it. I hope I thanked all my
friends and family, Team Donate Life and especially our superb support crew in an appropriate way. I’ve seen the official photos and I like them all, Gary and I look like we were satisfied with our effort - 9 Days and 4 hrs – good enough for a pair of 55 year olds looking for adventure – Well we got the adventure bit in Spades.

Will there be a solo attempt – Let me just say that I haven’t discounted the possibility. As for Gary, well the potential is there and should he give it a go – if he wants he already has a Crew Chief in me. Well done Pardner – lets hope there is more to come from the TexOz partnership.