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Race Across America - NE

USA, June 19-July 1, 2005

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Day 11 - June 29

Giving Back – Team Give Lives Tells You How

By Wendy Booher

Like a police lineup for do-gooders, Team Give Life filed onto the awards stage this morning after crossing the finish line at 7:50. Lurking among this team, Lou Lamoureux, revealed to the audience nothing that gave away his identity as a kidney-transplant patient.

Lamoureux, a gold medallist in the 2002 World Transplant Games, received a kidney from his mother in 2000. Lamoureux and his four-man Team Give Life endured RAAM to finish with a greater purpose of increasing awareness of the chronic shortage of the U.S. blood supply and encourage the donation of blood, blood products, organs and tissues. The race, according to comments from Lamoureux, was secondary to their stated. mission

"I think for 6-7 days we knew we were going up against tough competition," said Lamoureux, "the important thing was to spread the word about blood, organ and tissue donation."

Lamoureux pointed out that during a crisis, such as 9/11, Americans came out in droves to give blood but the day-to-day need for blood donation sometimes falls on the shoulders of charitable members of the medical community.

Team Give Life completed RAAM with a time of 7 days, 14 hours, 39 minutes.

Crazy Gones

By Paul Skilbeck

Crossing the finish line, disappointment was written all over the faces of the first French riders ever to enter the Insight Race Across America. Dominique Briand and Pascal Pechallat rolled into Atlantic City, New Jersey, at 5 a.m., 7 days, 11 hours and 43 minutes after leaving San Diego 3,052 miles ago.

The crack French duo had been favorite to win the Two-Person division, but as is often the case with RAAM rookies, so many things went wrong in their first attempt at this race.

"We had problems with logistics, our team, and our equipment," explained Pascal Pechellat on Atlantic City's famous Boardwalk. Pointing to his bicycle seat, which was covered with duct tape and to his rear end, Pechellat added that he had been troubled by saddle sores.

"We are fighters, but it was not enough. This is a very, very big race," Pechellat went on. He was gracious about the Lower Austria - Krems team, which for much of the race had looked like challenging the average speed record that Pechellat and Briand had come to RAAM hoping to break. "The Austrians were incredible. In Colorado we were separated by only 30 minutes. We tried to catch them, but... it is too difficult to explain in English all the things that happened."

Searching for perspective, Pechellat commented that their time was respectable, but he added that his goal was to have finished in under seven days. In the tough conditions of the 2005 RAAM, not even the experienced Krems team managed that.

The Briand-Pechallat duo, racing solo or together had distinguished themseleves as front-runners in European competitions such as Paris-Bordeaux, Paris-Brest-Paris, and Race Across The Alps. Yet when it came to RAAM, they agreed that lack of experience in this toughest of the tough races was their undoing. "For the Krems team, it was a lot easier. They have already competed - and won - here in the 4-person competition," said Pechallat.

The two Frenchmen were also agreed that they do not plan to return to RAAM. "It was too hard finding money, being away from my family and work," said Pechallat, adding that "We wanted to do well here at our first attempt." Briand nodded his agreement.

That said, they will keep many positive memories of their experience here. "It is a great race with great participants," said Pechallat. "The team of Patrick Autissier, which spoke French, helped me a lot with my saddle sores. And I enjoyed riding and talking with Chris MacDonald and Jim Trout. There was a great sense of cameraderie."

The Vern's Inc.

By Paul Skilbeck

Rolling across the finish line amid a flurry of wisecracks and giggles, the happiest team in the race, Vern's Inc., made RAAM history by becoming the first team to make the coast-to-coast crossing without a crew. Well, that's not quite true: they did have a driver.

Prior to the race, RAAM management had discussed whether or not to permit the team to enter, given that they refused to take on a support crew. It was considered potentially unsafe. In the end a compromise was reached when the team took on the driver.

According to April Guinchard, the team captain, the team was not actually racing at all. Rather, the group of mountain bikers and adventure racers came to RAAM looking for a new challenge. The 3052 miles took the team a respectable 7 days, 10 hours and 5 minutes.

"It was unbelievably easy," said April Guinchard of the lack of a support crew. "If we had to do it all over again, we'd do it without the driver. Fewer people in the RV would have been better."

"They were definitely one of the friendliest teams in the race," commented Colleen Shannon, one of the headquarters staff who spoke with them by telephone at many of the 57 time stations along the route.

High points of the team's experience, according to Guinchard, were: "The cameraderie. Laughing and sharing stories." Almost uncharacteristic for a trans-national road trip, there were practically no cross words exchanged along the route. "There were a few minor things, trying to stay on the route, but more fun snipes than anything else. We've all been friends for too long to jeopardize that," Guinchard explained.

Early in the race, team member Mike Pallisco got ill with dehydration and at one point required a hospital visit. For two full days the team rode with only seven riders.

As for the team's corporate status, it relies on a very loose definition of the term and according to team members, the name is a tribute to the character of a certain Ernest "Hey Vern" Worrell who grabbed viewers' attention with the catchphrase: "KnowwhutImean?"

In a brief lapse into seriousness, team member Tom Cassidy said of the RAAM crossing: "It was awesome, the experience of a lifetime."

Soloist Chris MacDonald

By Chris Milliman

It seems an odd thing to dawn on you during a bike race, but with two days left to go in the 2005 Insight Race Across America Chris MacDonald realized he had to race his bike if he wanted to hold onto second place. Suffering from the oppressive Midwest heat wave, MacDonald opted for a strategy of sleeping during the hottest parts of the day, and he ended up sleeping more than his next nearest rival, Italy’s Fabio Biasiolo. Biasiolo used the opportunity to catch and pass MacDonald, putting the 32-year-old American under pressure to race hard.

In a race in which riders are often separated by time zones, two riders passing each other back and forth creates an unusual, and sometimes volatile, situation. MacDonald was forced out of midday break when his crew reported Biasiolo had just sped past, his strategy out the window.

“We had a unique thing going on,” said MacDonald. “We were racing each other and right until the last day we could even see each other. He’s a good bike racer and you could feel that. I expected he was down for the count several times.”

MacDonald finally broke Biasiolo during the penultimate day, putting two hour into the Italian. The margin bulged to over six hours by the time MacDonald crossed the finish in 10 days, 2 hours, 1 minute. MacDonald’s second-place marks a tremendous accomplishment for the first-time RAAM rider, and while he hedged about his intentions to return, he admitted that the lessons learned about the event’s unique style of racing could be key to moving up one spot on the finishing podium.

Chew's view - Day 10

On Tuesday, Slovenian Jure Robic won his 2nd consecutive RAAM. He finished the 3,052 mile race in 9 Days, 8 Hours, 48 Minutes with an average speed of 13.58 mph. This was much slower than last year (14.66 mph), but faster than his rookie year (12.66 mph) in 2003. He told me that the heat and wind this year were much worse than his two previous RAAMs. He becomes the 4th man (Lon Haldeman in 82/83, Bob Fourney in 90/91, and Rob Kish in 94/95) to win back-to-back RAAMs, and the 8th man to win two or more RAAMs. Other two-time winners include Pete Penseyres, Gerry Tatrai, and myself, and Wolfgang Fasching with three wins.

Still 18 hours behind Robic, 2nd place was decided. Rookie MacDonald increased his lead over Fabio Biasiolo to 5.5 hours by time station #56 in McKee City, NJ. We (Perry Stone, Billy DelRiego, and myself) came upon MacDonald and huge crew (18 people) on the narrow, windy, hilly roads of Pennsylvania. His 5 vehicles (two RVs and three minivans) were caravanning, and made it extremely difficult to drive past. I think there should be a new RAAM rule that limits the size (say 12) of the crew, and the number (say 3) of vehicles. MacDonald’s crew could smell the finish line in Atlantic City, and made a huge sign, which read “Only 400 Km. To Go Chris”. Another crewmember looked like a cheerleader complete with pom poms.

4th place David Haase was 9 hours behind Biasiolo at time station #53 in Hanover, PA. Eight hours behind Haase was Achermann in 5th place. Making a late race charge for 5th place, Zeller closed to within 40 minutes of Achermann at time station #51 in Hancock, MD. Eight hours behind Zeller in 7th place is 18 year old Ben Couturier. Five hours behind Couturier in 8th place, is the only woman starter Cat Berge. Mark Metcalfe was still in last place, but his average speed of 10.6 mph at time station #46 in Parkersburg, WV is still 0.08 above the official finisher minimum of 10.52. It will be no easy feat for 210 pound tired Mark to stay above this over the steep climbs through WV and MD.

The oldest (48) rider left in the race, Austria’s Karl Traunmueller arrived in 12th place at time station #45 in Athens, OH with an average speed of 10.91 mph. I was surprised to see him drop out from exhaustion since there were still two people behind including Metcalfe over 12 hours back. The police detective’s average speed had dropped to 10.13 mph at the 1,000 mile mark, but he recovered it nicely to over 11 mph by halfway.

Only half of the 26 solo riders remain in the race.

Chew's view - Day 9

Without any chance of breaking the 15.4 mph speed record or even tying his 14.66 mph set last year, leader Robic has slowed down. Srarting out super fast (he averaged 20.19 mph for the first 228miles to Blythe, CA), he built up such a huge lead over 2nd place that he felt no pressure from the rear the whole second half of the race. This allowed him to slow down and start sleeping more. His last over 15 mph time station split was clear back in Illinois. Robic rode 265 miles his 9th day giving him a nine day split of 2,939 miles.

The other solo riders are slowing down – none of them will finish in less than 10 days. 18 hours behind Robic, the battle for 2nd place unfolded. In the Appalachian Mountains rookie sensation MacDonald opened up a 28 minute gap over Biasiolo at time station #49 in Gormania, WV.

13 hours behind Biasiolo, 4th place David Haase rode past the point in West Virginia where he dropped out from over hydration last year 2,508 miles in. Getting the most airtime on NBC TV’s 2004 RAAM coverage, Haase and crew were delighted to pass that point, and look forward to the finish line in Atlantic City. At time station #48 in Grafton, WV, David stopped and bathed in a two feet deep plastic, inflatable pool in somebody’s back yard (the door was knocked on, but nobody answered). A former training buddy of David’s, John Lanser came aboard the Haase crew on Friday planning to leave on Saturday, but fell so much in love with David’s performance, other crew members, and RAAM that he agreed to stay on until the finish. John’s father Wayne has been on the crew since San Diego.

Six hours behind Haase is Achermann in 5th place, and now only one hour behind Achermann is Zeller in 6th place. If Zeller’s crew can hold it together to the finish, they may just get 5th place. Five hours behind Zeller in 7th place is 18 year old phenom Ben Couturier from Alaska. Nine hours behind Couturier in 8th place, is the only woman starter Cat Berge. Two hours behind Berge is rookie Chris Hopkinson attempting to be England’s first solo RAAM finisher. Suffering from Shermerneck, he has been wearing an Alan Larsen type neck brace. Mark Metcalfe inherited 13th place after last place rider Tom Rodgers dropped out. Tom arrived at time station #37 in Effingham, IL with an average speed of just 9.78 well below the 10.52 mph minimum. Realizing he had little chance to increase his speed enough over 147 miles to time station #40 in Indianapolis, Tom became the 12th solo rider to drop out.

There are now only 14 out of 26 solo riders remaining in the race.

Team RAAM

In the 4 person division, Joe Petersen and his Kern Wheelmen had to settle for 3rd place this year. He and Kerry Ryan remain the only men to win 4 person three times. With Beaver Creek – Vail’s win this year, Jimmy Mortenson becomes a two time 4 person team winner – having won on Team Vail in 2001.

In the 4 person mixed division, Cheniere’s beat Landis Team Phoenix by 2.5 hours.

In the 2 person division, Lower Austria – City of Krems was leading Crazy Gones by 8.5 hours at time station #53 in Hanover, PA. 60+ is still in 3rd place and ahead of Wisconsin.

In the 2 person mixed division, Endorphins continue to increase their lead over Grupo Guapo. By time station #44 in Laurelville, OH, Endophins were over 5 hours ahead of GG.

Category Standings

Women’s Solo

With the finish almost in sight, Anna Catharina Berge seems to be putting on final surge of speed, and her estimated arrival time in Atlantic City, which moved back to 11 p.m. has now come forward to 9 p.m.

Men’s Solo

A tired but happy David Haase rolled in to Atlantic City shortly after the awards banquet finished on the night of the 29th. Dozens of RAAM finishers came out to welcome him in, in one of the most rousing receptions of the race. Haase finished with a time of 10 days, 12 hours and 41 minutes. At 6.28 a.m. Valentin Zeller of Austria crossed the line after a ride, the low point of which was almost certainly being dowsed with gasoline by passing motorist near Camdenton, Missouri. Zeller’s finishing time was 10 days, 20 hours, 25 minutes. Almost exactly four hours later, the Swiss rider Pius Achermann finished – like Haase at his second attempt in two years – with a time of 11 days and 26 minutes. In the early afternoon, 1.13 p.m. to be precise, Ben Couturier of Eagle River, Alaska, became the youngest rider to finish RAAM. Aged only 18, Couturier beat the record set by Chris Kostman in 1987 at 20 years of age. Couturier’s finishing time was 11 days, 3 hours and 10 minutes. Alexander Gepp of Austria, Chris Hopkinson of Great Britain, and Jim Trout of Seattle, Washington, are expected to finish inside the official cutoff time of noon July 1st. Mark Metcalf of Duncanville, Texas, would need to increase his speed to do so.

Two-person Mixed Division

Team Endorphins, driven by the UltraMan world champion, Shanna Armstrong, triumphed over Grupo Guapo with a late spurt, finishing at 10:52 EDT to win the mixed team award with a time of 8 days, 17 hours and 36 minutes. Grupo Guapo is expected to finish at 7:29 p.m. Dr Guy Wells of the Gruppo Guapo team fell ill early in the race and Armstrong took on the majority of the workload. “I rode probably 70% of the distance. I rode 16 hours one day,” Explained Armstrong, who has stated her intention to return and race as a solo. Could Cat Berge have found a future rival?

Two-person Men’s Division

Team 60+ arrived in third place, at 6.50 a.m. The team of Daniel Crain, of Irvine, Calif. and Fred Boethling, of Boulder, Colo. finished with a time of 8 days, 13 hours, 43 minutes.

Standings

[Not available]