Race Across America (RAAM)
Portland, OR to Pensecola, FL, USA, June 17-?, 2001
Updates and Reports
The Ultimate Road Trip
by Peter Marsh
Don't have any energy after a flight across the country? Can't keep
your eyes open on your way home from the airport? Then consider the
riders in the Race Across America — they pedal from coast to coast
in 8-10 days, sleeping two hours a night.
The Ultra Marathon Cycling Association proudly calls this "the toughest
race in the world," and there are very few prepared to argue the point.
Like other "extreme" sports, this madness began in the late 1970s when
a few long-distance enthusiasts began testing themselves on the trans-continental
course, both one-way and round-trip. By cutting sleep to a bare 3-4
hours a day, they pushed physical endurance to new levels and demolished
the old records. Human nature being what it is, a race was bound to
happen.
Race across America (RAAM) kicked off in 1982, when four men rolled
out of Santa Monica bound for New York. The winner was Lon Haldeman
in 9 days, 20 hours. Twenty years later, long-distance cycling occupies
a small but growing niche in the fitness world with the organized century
ride (100 miles) the starting point. From there the progression--should
you choose to follow it--is to the double century (200 miles), the 24-hour
ride (400+ miles), and finally the 500-miler. That still leaves the
3000-mile Race Across America or RAAM in a class of its own--an enormous
step that requires vast mileage in training for many months.
The top competitors are reluctant to discuss their training systems,
but are rumored to cover distances of up to 1000 miles per week. Until
last year, learning to tolerate the heat of the desert states in mid-summer
was also part of the challenge. In 2000, race director, and original
RAAM winner, Lon Haldeman laid out a new route from Portland, Oregon
to Pensacola, Florida, and took the RAAM start outside California for
the first time. The heat of the desert was eliminated as a deciding
factor, but 70% of the 101,000 feet of climbing was encountered in the
first half of the race. Elevators are not an option with RAAM competitors!
The race started in pleasantly cool weather with Mount Hood and the
Cascades the first obstacle. Then a strong tailwind set in for 200 miles.
To take advantage of the conditions, Austrian Wolfgang Fasching went
out hard and rode for 40 hours without sleep. Despite over 25,000 feet
of climbing, he covered about 475 miles at almost 20 mph, in the first
24 hours, a new RAAM one-day record. Fasching reached the 1,000-mile
point in under 2 days 7 hours with a four-hour lead over compatriot
Herbert Meneweger. The route then went into Colorado, over Tennessee
Pass (10,424'), the high point of the route, then on to the plains of
Oklahoma, where lightning flashed all night like a strobe light. At
the finish line in Pensacola, Florida, Fasching was still riding 6-7
hour centuries (allowing for a few hours per day for sleep breaks).
"Million Mile Man" Danny Chew of the US, finished second. The races
pace can be seen with even the slower riders riding about 8-hour centuries
- this after 10 days of racing!
For those willing to share the pain and the glory, the RAAM also has
a relay division with two and four-person teams going around the clock.
The fittest have cut the time down to an amazing 5 1/2 days. Pete Lekisch
competed as part of the four-man Team Alaska, average age 52, which
finished in 6 days, 16 hours. "We had everything. A huge moon in Colorado,
lightning flashing in New Mexico, red rocks, plains where you could
see for ever, beautiful rolling hills. If I had to design a course to
show off America, this would be it." Lekisch, now 60, is back this year
trying to be the oldest finisher ever. He will have his own start a
day early to kick off another round of sightseeing and punishment.
How do Alaskans train for ultra-cycling? Try wintering in Arizona,
where Lekisch has been piling up the miles. The training has to be professional,
but the race is essentially an amateur event. There is no prize money
in RAAM, and competitors have to raise funds or sponsorship to meet
the costs of driving a large RV, one or more smaller support vehicles,
and a team of 6-12 people across country. The riders are totally dependent
on their support crews to keep them racing; and good crew organization
is as vital as a cast-iron constitution. The luckiest riders will have
the round-the-clock services of a masseur or chiropractor, bike mechanic,
coach, cook, plus several drivers and helpers. The trip is no picnic
for the crew, who can experience sleep deprivation almost as badly as
the riders. The crew chief is responsible for keeping not only the rider,
but the entire team, motivated all the way to the finish line.
Fifteen solo male riders, have taken up the challenge in 2001, including
entries from Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The favorite among
the three women is Australian Cassie Lowe. In her first attempt in 2000,
Lowe was the only woman entered, yet rode like a veteran and beat 2/3
of the men to finish an amazing seventh. "My plan was to ride my own
race," she explained at the finish. "I let the other riders go in the
beginning and figured I'd see them again. The biggest thrill of all
was to finish less than an hour behind Rob Kish. I passed him the last
night, but then had to take a 15 minute nap and he passed me. I caught
him again, but then had to nap again and he caught me." (Rob Kish has
finished 15 RAAMs, won three, and holds the record time of 8 days, 3
hours.)
"I slept for 90 minutes the first night and then three hours every
night except the last night. The last night I took a one hour sleep
break, but then needed the two naps. I prefer three hours; I'd rather
have more sleep and ride with focus than fall off the bike. The altitude
was really hard on me. I love to climb, but we were at altitude so long
and I wasn't sleeping well," Lowe said. "I ate everything. RAAM
is a challenge to every cell in the body. It's hard living on the edge
constantly-the imbalances are multiplied. For example, labored breathing
when you usually don't struggle with climbs," she reported after her
first race. "I find training to be a full-time job; I applaud anyone
who can work and train," she says. Lowe used the last race to raise
over $30,000 for the Giant Step School for Children with Autism in Sydney.
There will also be more women on the road this year in the two and
four-person team races, with a pair of 58-year old twins from San Diego,
and four professional women from Kentucky, ages 38 to 53, riding for
the Brain Injury Association of Kentucky (BIAK) and encouraging the
use of bicycle helmets among young riders. The male, two-person record
holders, Arap/Milano from Sao Paulo, Brazil, will also be back to test
themselves against the new course.
Start
list
RAAM
2001 Contestants
Name Country State Age
Men's Solo Division
Guus Moonen Netherlands Oisterwijk 49
Keith Krombel USA Vermont 46
Peter Lekisch USA Alaska 60
Wayne Greenway USA California 42
Dan Jordan USA Missouri 35
Jeff Stephens USA Ohio 39
Rob Kish USA Florida 45
Fredi Virag Solvenia Idrija 33
Fabio Biasiolo Italy Venezia 39
Rainer Klaus Germany Lenningen-Hochwant 37
Mark Patten USA California 40
Jack Vincent USA Colorado 35
Hans-JurgenSchmidt Germany Bad Oegnhausen 53
Terry Lansdell USA North Carolina 34
Andrea Clavadetscher Liechtenstein Vaduz 40
Danny Chew USA Pennsylvania 38
Women's Solo Division
Cassie Lowe Australia Sydney 37
Katie Lindquist USA Colorado 35
Two Person Teams
Team eXtreme
Charles Liskey USA California 44
Steve Winfrey USA California 40
Team E-Caps
Jim Pitre USA Arizona 51
Peter Pop USA California 50
Team BenTom
Tom Pettus USA Minnesota 51
Ben Popp USA Minnesota 26
Team Colorado
Bob Baur USA Colorado 46
Don Beck USA Colorado 41
Team Matec
Jose' Carlos Secco Brazil Sao Paulo 38
Ricardo Arap Brazil San Paulo 34
The Twin Team
Dr. Barbara Warren USA California 58
Angelika Castaneda USA California 58
Team No Limits
Thorsten Vahlf Germany Klostermarkt 33
Joey Kelly Germany Schwabach 29
Team DISCOVER CEARÁ / POWERBAR
Michel Boli Brazil Sao Paulo 31
Jose Pinto Filho Brazil Fortaleza 35
Four Person Teams
Team RB4/BIAK
Christina Norris USA Kentucky 45
Nancy McElwain USA Kentucky 35
Della Irby USA Kentucky 38
Anne Huntington USA Kentucky 53
Janice Tower (Alt) USA Alaska 30
Team Vail
Adam Palmer USA Colorado 29
Zach Bingham USA Colorado 31
Jimmy Mortenson USA Colorado 25
Brett Malin USA Colorado 28
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