June 9, Grace Valley Team

June 9, 2007

Team Donate Life Grace Valley - Final Preparation

Saturday 9am

Anticipation for the race continued to build as the Davis-based
cyclists finally got a chance to ride with teammate Rick Neptune, who
flew in from Texas. Leaving at 9am the team went for a 37-mile loop around Solano Lake. Halfway through the course, Rick took the opportunity to test the results of months of intense training, challenging the team with a "Let's go, guys!" and, as Marc Friedheim described it, "we just went red line all the way back home." Asked how he felt about this last team ride before the race, Marc grinned with a pained look -- "Intense."

Saturday, 12:30pm

Gathering in the parking lot behind Grace Valley Christian Academy, cyclists and crew worked quickly to pack the motor vehicles with supplies for the race. On Friday, a group picked up a Ford Expedition and two mini-vans to serve as our rider shuttle, rover, and follow vehicles, respectively. The vehicles were then outfitted with RAAM-approved lighting and signboards, as well as decals for our sponsors and, of course, prominent signage for our cause: "Donate Life."

As the riders were making their way around Solano Lake, a group of crew members drove to Sacramento to pick up two rental RVs that will serve as home bases for sleeping, food preparation, laundry, and race coordination – basically anything and everything that needs to be done to ensure the riders only concern for six days will be to compete at the peak of their abilities. Designated (creatively) RV1 and RV2, one will serve primarily as a crew and command vehicle, while the other will be a sleeping vehicle for retired riders.

With all five vehicles in the school parking lot, cyclists and crew attended to as many last-minute details as possible -- packing every available storage space with food and supplies, discussing the elaborate schedule for crew rotations, and in Crew Chief Ken Jackura's case, building custom platforms to hold the navigational laptops in the RVs.

Saturday 5:00pm

Saturday evening, most of the team members attend a prayer meeting in the sanctuary at Grace Valley Christian Center. Many of the prayers are for the upcoming race – prayers for safety of riders and crew; prayers for unity, patience, and humility among twenty-one individuals as we learn to work as a team in an ever-stressful challenge; and especially prayer that we maintain our focus on glorifying Christ in every way as we race for the cause of organ donation awareness and transplant research.