In Missouri getting ready to roll out

Okay, so my plan to blog hasn’t really panned out. There just isn’t that much down time and when there is, sitting down and putting my thoughts together about the past several hours just isn’t a priority. I really do have an awesome story to tell. But at this point I am struggling to remember all of it. I am sure once I take a few mins to look back over the 600+ photos I have taken and the tweets we’ve been laying down, I will be able to put things together. There have been so many cool things that have happened, but with the fatigue that comes with only a few hours of sleep each day and really not even knowing what day it is, it’s been tough.

Here’s where we are and what’s to come. I’ve been navigating with Carl and we’ve been with Team Bake the last few shifts. Our last shift, which started around 11pm Tues and ended around 8am Weds, took us deep into Missouri. We started in Jefferson at TS #34 which is the capitol and headed east, crossing the Missouri River a few times and ended our shift at TS#35 just before crossing the Mississippi River in West Alton (148 miles I think). The terrain reminded me of home with steep, short climbs. It’s quite a contrast from the big mountains out west. The guys spent most of their time on the TT bike, but a few climbs called for the road bikes. We passed through lots of beautiful countryside, but most was virtually invisible since it was dark. However, when the sun began to rise, the corn fields opened up along the flat flood plain of eastern Missouri. This was the sketchiest place thus far when it comes to angry drivers. We got cussed a few times and people in general seemed disgruntled and bothered by our presence. But it was a good leg, the guys rolled fast and now we are all rested and readying ourselves for Team Shake to hand off the baton back to off to us as we roll out from TS 38 to end at TS 41(around 175 miles in this leg) where we will have only 613.5 miles to go. Team Bake will be getting the state-line points as we cross into Ohio sometime after dark. The miles are starting to tick away quickly as we get ever-so-closer to Annapolis. Spirits are high and the racers and crew are in a rhythm that’s unstoppable. Unless something unforeseen comes our way, we should be on-schedule to win and hopefully set a new record! More to come.

Exchange site #3

We are getting ready for team exchange #3 out of 17 or 18 over the next few days. We are at a Safeway grocery parking lot where me and Carl along w/Team Bake will hop in the vans and keep the race moving toward Utah w/o losing any time, relieving the 4 who have been busting it for the last several hours. Bob divided the 8 racers into two teams-Team Shake & Team Bake after his fav movie. Team Shake just climbed 5000+ feet in their leg to Flagstaff and we will hit a few good climbs in our leg into Utah. Wish us well. More updates to come.
I have so much to post and many things to share. Maybe I'll get some time after the next exchange. Internet is sketchy here in the mtns. And posting from the rider van isn't possible. It's a constant effort with all the rider transitions every 8 or 10 mins so thats why I have gotten quiet. Later and thanks for reading. Go TT1!

Less then 2 hours till Race Time!

Our team is now doing it's thing! We moved out of the hotel, loaded trailers, vans & RV's and we are all on our way. Here's what it looks like. The 4 racers who will be riding the 1st leg are in the rider van at the pier awaiting the race start at 2pm. Good luck guys! They also have another van-the Follow Van-with them and it will begin following them around mile 21 (first part of race is along bike path and no vehicles are allowed). The racer RV, crew RV and utility van are all headed to the 1st exchange point which is located near a border patrol station here in CA at mile 186.7 into the race. Once there, we will prepare for the arrival of the 4 racers who will be fed and climb in their RV for their rest while the 4 rested racers will start their 1st shift on the road. It's at this point that Kyle and I will begin our first shift as rider van driver & navigator for the next several hours. Kyle, the navigator, will keep us on course per the route book while I will drive our van and keep the racers moving up the road. Our racers will be Jerry Willis, Daniel Schneider, Tom and Lonny. Here we go!

The coolest part about RAAM is the people

Today we went down to the Oceanside Pier-the race starting point-to go through all the RAAM inspections and to attend the official RAAM team meeting and presentation. It was a pretty awesome experience because it was the first time I was around the other teams and got a feel for just how big this all really is. There are teams from 20 different countries over 6 continents and lots of great causes are being represented and publicized. The organizers said this years' RAAM teams have collectively raised over $1 million for numerous charities. All very impressive, but no where nearly as impressive as some the folks competing. Two of the folks I spoke with today really put things into perspective for me...Conner Ellison of Team Donate Life and Kyle Bryant of Team FARA.

Conner is 13 years old, the youngest person to compete in the RAAM as a member of an 8-person team. And did I mention that he suffers from a serious liver disease called Congential Hepatic Fibrosis? It's created all sorts of obstacles for him throughout his life. His mom (who is also riding on the team w/Conner) and I were talking today and she told me that he's the kid that from a very young age was told by lots of doctors that "he never would be able to..." Well, he didn't let that define him and crush his dreams. No sir, he was determined to prove them all wrong. And might I just say, he's doing so in a BIG way by racing in the RAAM. What a testament to the power in the human spirit that's there in ALL of us if we just choose to use. Conner truly is an inspiration and I feel honored to have met him. He even signed an autograph for my 10 year old son who he inspired. If you want to read more of his story, check out his blog. He's a fantastic writer! You can also follow his team's RAAM progress here on twitter.

Another amazing person competing is Kyle Bryant of Team FARA (a 4-person team). FARA is the The Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance and Kyle rides in support of this alliance in hopes of raising awareness for this terrible disease from which he and teammate Sean Baumstark suffer. It's called Friedreich's Ataxia and it's a debilitating, life-shortening, degenerative neuro-muscular disorder. It has wreaked havoc on their bodies but they haven't let it stop them from being active and competing in the toughest race in the world! Kyle's enthusiasm is amazing and his commitment to helping this cause is admirable, to say the least. I didn't meet Sean, but I am sure he's just as great as Kyle. If you want to see a video about Kyle and Team FARA, check this out and you can read their blog here. They even have a film crew travelling them working on a documentary about their efforts. I will be excited to see that when it's finished up.

The cool thing I am realizing about the RAAM is that it's made up of countless people with stories just like those of Kyle, Sean and Conner. The team I am crewing for is made up of Type 1 diabetics. Team Type 2 is made up of Type 2 diabetics. They all have a purpose for their efforts in this race and it isn't for themselves. They have much bigger goals in mind. I don't believe this isn't just another race. It's a display of humanity at it's best...people working together under very difficult circumstances for the good of something much bigger than themselves. That's what it's all about. And for me to be a part of such an event really is humbling. Now to sleep.

Ways to keep up with the TeamType1's race

Twitterfall for TeamType 1 Tweets (a cool way to see tweets that are coming from our folks)
Twitterfall for all of RAAM (all the tweets from folks using #RAAM2010)-this feed will have LOTS of tweets from random folks
RAAM Official Standing for the teams
http://chrischampion.org/
My Flickr Photostream for RAAM Photos
TeamType1 on Twitter Will be posting updates almost hourly once race gets underway.
TeamType2 on Twitter

List of TT1 RAAM Racers on Twitter
@adrisc1 (Adam Driscoll)
@DanielSchneider (Daniel Schneider)
@Jerry Willis (Jerry Willis)
@lknabe (Lonny Knabe)

@jamesstout (James Stout)

@RDWRS (Dustin Folger)

List of TT2 Racers on Twitter

@projektyle (Bill Arnold)

@robcoburn (Rob Coburn)

List of TT1 Crew on Twitter
@type1bob (Bob Shrank)
@jrichardson30 (that's me:)
@jb_wrench (Jason Barksdale)
@PhilSoutherland (Phil Southerland)

@barconrad55 (Barry Conrad)

Now it's starting to make more sense

Since I've never done anything like this before, there were lots of questions coming into it but now things are starting to settle out a bit and I think I am getting a better picture of what's gonna happen when the race begins. It still have lots of questions about the rider transitions and details related to other logistics but I'm a fast learner and think i'll get the hang of it quickly. We've all been working really hard to get it all together and now I see why Team Type 1 has done so well in this race. This is a VERY well-oiled machine and very little is left to chance. Dave, the team master, has done a fantastic job organizing everything and the crew is 100% committed which is key to success. Not to mention that this is one of the friendliest groups of people I have ever been around. We had a big meeting last night where everyone was in one room and I really got a feel for what it takes to make this deal happen. Let me just say, it's a VERY big deal and I am glad to be a part!

My day yesterday consisted of 3 trips to the SD airport (about 30 miles from our hotel) to shuttle crew/team back to our hotel as they arrived. My last run was at 11:00pm and got in the bed about 1:30am. I guess I am just acclimating to the lack of rest I will get starting tomorrow. I also got to take a scenic trip to a bike shop to get floor pumps. It wasn't meant to be scenic nor was it meant to take so long, but it did. We ended up at a Trek Factory Store, which was pretty cool. They had some super high-end bikes and lots of stuff you wouldn't find in a local shop. One road bike priced out at 7999.00 and they had a TT bike for 6999.00. I got both:) I also got to hang out a little bit with Type 1 racers...a great group of guys who I am looking forward to getting to know as I drive them (at least 4 of them, anyway) in the rider van. We already talked a little bit about music to get them amped and I have some of what they like on my iPod already so I think we will all get along just fine. Anyway, if you are wondering about how this race plays out for the racers, here's the scoop.

The team is made up of 8 racers split into 2 groups. 4 of them will be resting in the racer RV for around 8 hrs while the other 4 will be racing. At designated exchange points along the course (17 or 18 of them I think), the 4 riders that are riding will then move to the RV while the 4 rested riders will take their shift on the road. They will maintain this exchange system for the entire 3005 miles. Of the 4 racing, 1 will be on the road taking a pull time-trial style (8-15 min efforts at LT) while the other 3 will be in the van that I am driving. As the rider on the road begins to tire, I will be waiting a mile or so down the road with the next racer who will then begin his pull as soon as the current rider makes it up to us. The rider who just pulled will jump in the van to rest until his next pull while the navigator and myself rack the bike. We will then leapfrog around the follow-van (the van that follows the rider on the road at all times) and the racer on the road as we move ahead a few miles to where will ready the next rider in the van to take his pull. BTW, each racer has a road bike as well as a TT bike for the flats. We will maintain this strategy for the entire race. But don't worry, I won't be driving for the entirely. There are two crews so I will drive for around 8 hrs and then the navigator and I will move to the crew RV where we will rest for 8 while the other driver & navigator do their shift for 8 hrs. At least that's how I think it's all gonna go down.

So there's an update. Now I need to go get some food and get ready for inspections, which take place at the Oceanside Pier. The RAAM folks have to inspect everything from our RVs to the bikes and vans. This will be my first introduction to the official race part of things as we now just 1 day away from the start. I should be able to get some good photos there so check back soon.

Made it to Sunny Southern California

Yesterday was a loooong, fantastic day! It started with a great flight that went smoothly except for a brief, unexpected delay in Houston. I gotta say, I was prepared with iPod games, a movie and other random stuff to keep me occupied on the plane, but I ended up just staring out the window most of the time. It was one of those days where visibility was unbelievable and looking down at the constantly changing landscape from 26,000 ft kept my attention. Once in San Diego, I met up with a few of the other crew and the work began. We got all our vans (6) and RV’s (4) rented, picked up 4 full vanloads of bikes (25), wheels (25x2), tires, tshirts, nutrition items and other stuff that had been shipped out to the local UPS store. Let’s just say the UPS store folks were glad for us to get all our stuff out of there because they didn’t have room to turn around! Then we spent the evening planning what we need to get done today. And let me just say, there is still A LOT to get done. Our 3 mechanics worked late into the night getting a jump on all the work they have ahead of them over the next 2 days. Bikes have to be ready for inspection tomorrow so they still have a quite a bit of work to do to get ready for that. As for the rest of us, there is building trailers, stickering-up the vehicles, getting more provisions and still more stuff I ain’t gotta clue about. But I feel like I have much better handle on things now and I already feel connected with all my new friends the RAAM crews. I am working with a great group of folks from all over America and it’s going to be a fun bunch of days to come. I know, this isn’t the exciting “racing stuff” you were hoping for…but that’s coming. Just keep reading, asking questions and I will keep posting. The race starts Saturday morning but I am sure I will post more before then. I also have some pictures I will post to flickr today, so look for those. Will tag them #2010raamtt1 and #jeffraam2010. Later!