Race Across America (RAAM)Portland, OR to Pensecola, FL, USA, June 17-?, 2001Updates and ReportsPreview & Start list
Day 8 Report and StandingsEight days and pedaling! By Peter Marsh There was no rest for the wicked, the crews or the riders on the seventh day of the 2001 Insight Race Across America, and the eighth only promised more of the same. For the leaders, struggling to keep their focus on the road and their eyes on the prize, the end is in sight. They've crosses the great plains of Oklahoma and reached Arkansas--a state that is identified with "the south" in the U.S. but best known around the world as the home of one William Jefferson Clinton. The superhuman performance of Liechtenstein's Andrea Clavadetscher will carry him on to Mississippi tonight and to Alabama on Monday. Once again, youth is proving no match for age and experience on this 2,980 mile adventure. Clavedetscher is 40; Rob Kish, 150-miles back is 45; Mark Patten, is another 40 year old; Danny Chew in fourth is a mere 38. It's going to be a fight to the finish for Patten and Chew, who are close enough to be in sight of each other. Cassie Lowe from Australia, the sole solo woman still in the saddle, was only 400 miles behind the leader and could be swapping places with Wayne Greenway and Hans-Jurgen Schmidt all the way to Florida. Although the soloists are spread out for hundreds of miles, they get a brief diversion when the relay teams overtake. The goal of staggering the starts is to have everyone converge at the end, and the plan seems to be working. The four lads from Vail have passed Clavadetscher and are now leading the way, the Twin Team that started with the soloists is catching Kish, with the four women from Kentucky, Team RB4/BIAK are not far behind. Anne Hutchinson, Christina Norris, Nancy McElwain and Della Irby have been taking 45-minute shifts, and they've averaged almost 18 mph, which puts them on record pace for a transcontinental team crossing. These four women embody the spirit of the team RAAM--that it's within the reach of any group of well-trained riders with sufficient determination. At the start they were happy to tell me about their charity goal--to make bike helmets available to every child in their state, but they are also born competitors. After years of racing against each other in triathlons, the RAAM has given them a chance to ride together. I don't suppose any of the riders are in the mood for those "up close and personal interviews" beloved by American TV, but I've found out a little of how they must be feeling by reading their accounts of previous RAAMs. This is from Mark Patten's homepage, (www.markpatten.com)."I've never felt so good in my life; and I've never felt so awful in my life," is the way he appraises 10 days of endurance racing. "The trick is to make the euphoric episodes far outnumber the grim times, or to stay safely somewhere in between. Sometimes things feel effortless, going up a hill. Everything is falling together and I'm laughing inside it's so effortless." In 1999, Mark became delusional from sleep deprivation and dropped out with 112 miles left to the finishing line. "I felt like I wasn't moving, but the ground was spinning under me," he says. "I was so tired, and when you are that tired your brain plays tricks with your eyes. You just kind of have to chuckle to yourself and let it go," he explains. "There were times where I was asking myself--why am I going through all this pain and agony? What am I doing this for?" Patten says. "But that was when it was really bad and I was uncomfortable. We fixed most of the problems, and by the end of the trip they were gone," he said. Patten thinks it takes his body up to six months to fully recover. So, who's up for RAAM 2002?
Position Name (Country) Miles covered
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